Let everyone enjoy the occasion!

Independence Day is around the corner and the mood for celebrating is manifesting itself in the general public, who can be seen buying flags and other paraphernalia like flags etc. to mark the occasion. Families can be seen at various stalls that have been put up by enterprising persons to earn an extra income in these difficult times. These makeshift stalls can even be seen along the expressway and other major roads as drivers often stop and buy what they need while staying in the comfort zone of their vehicles - the vendor is usually very keen to serve them and shows them each item hoping they will eventually buy something.

All this flurry of activity is quite heartening, albeit worrying as well because of the rising cases of the COVID-19 since wearing masks is not a priority with most people and social distancing is non-existent. While all this extra activity is well tolerated by the majority – though it must be a headache for the administration and security personnel – what really is annoying is the fact that crackers – in local parlance ‘pathakas’- which are a banned item, are sold to children, mainly boys, who start using them at all times of the day, which is tolerable, but also till late at night which is a big nuisance for those living in the neighbourhood. What is frustrating is that parents do not stop their children from disturbing others – there may be old or ill persons who want to sleep but cannot due to the bullet-like sound of these awful crackers, which sound like bullets, which brings memories of sad occasions to some families.

The administration should ‘crack’ down (pun intended) on the vendors and children should be taught that what is enjoyable for them is not very pleasant for others, so we can have happy memories of the day, while at the same time be thankful there will be no more sharp sounds that bring unpleasant ones.