Glittering lights, fascinating sounds, sparkling souls and festive spirits- just how more enticing can Diwali be? The Festival of Lights never fails to mesmerise with its twinkly sprinklings of joy and delightful peals of happiness. And while sweets and lights, colors and festivities inevitably rule all celebrations of love and life, Diwali hold its own world of charm as it revels in a cacophony of sounds, unique to its spirit.
Among the myriad festivities that deck up Diwali celebrations, crackers are the most ubiquitous of the lot. Not only because they usher in the whole essence of the festivities, but also lend a special charm and aura altogether to the entire spirit of the festival that ushers in a bright new world of possibilities, while cutting out the darkness and negativity.
For many of us as kids, Diwali had as much been about the dhoom of the crackers and the phatt of the bombs as it is about the crackle of the dainty diyas. The ritual of firecracker shopping also has a special romance attached to it. From readying them by ‘sun bathing’ to eagerly awaiting the beginning of the cracker lighting spree, Diwali evoked a wholly different emotion for us people of the ’90s.
Let’s relive our times of those Happy Diwalis when crackers caused greater joy than pollution. Shutout to the crackers of ‘our times’!
PHULJHARI
Among the crackers that used to be synonymous with Diwali, Phuljharis are perhaps the most evoking. These hand held sprinklers that sparkled with even the first ignition used to be much delight for us as children.
CHAKRI
Round and rotund, emitting sparkles of light as they spun around was so much a fun treat to the eyes. And not only the visuals, the frolics and jumps to avoid ‘collision’ on the course of this Diwali staple used to be so much adventure for us!
ANAAR (FLOWERPOTS)
Vertical was as much a thing as horizontals. So, of course, the complementary to the chakris was the anaars or the flowerpots that used to burst with gusto like fountains full of magical explodes! And for us demure ones who couldn’t muster up the courage to send rockets shooting up in the air, the almost sky-high reach (well, almost, somehow maybe) of the anaars used to satiate the proverbial high rise spirit of us lesser mortals!
ROCKET
Now, this is one Diwali staple without which the cacophony was incomplete. From getting the perfect bottle to send these rockets shooting up to ‘discovering’ where they actually ended up landing on, this one was a sure shot adventure trip.
CHILLI BOMB
Those long, winding trails of sweet red colored pillars of seemingly silent rolls when burst on loop send forth the Diwali celebrations into a maniac frenzy. One of the truest embodiers of the Diwali spirit for sure!
SNAKES
Well, this was a sort of silent celebration amidst the Diwali fanfare. A whoosing sound emits all throughout as the snake like curler burns its way to ashes. Honestly, it shouldn’t classify as a cracker but maybe the anticipation of witnessing an offbeat burst had us hooked.
HUNTERS
Hazardous, because without any safety latch to hold onto, this one was a serious shot at Diwali dhamaka. Illogical but nevertheless encompassing the thrill of the essential Diwali crackers.
ALOO BOMB
Well, aloo bomb is among the high decibel bombs. Included alongside the likes of chocolate bombs or atom bombs and Lakhi bombs, aloo bombs would steer the highest level of excitement in even the naivest of kids.
AKASH GANGA
This is a personal favorite. The array of lights that light up the night sky is truly a spectacle to behold. Splinters of colors scattering into the sky giving off the impression of a galaxy of twinkling lights used to entice us like no other. And not only bursting these crackers ourselves, the anticipation of witnessing the grand phenomenon every time we heard the crackle of these costliest of crackers among the lot used to be another thing unique to Diwali.
POPPING STRIPS
Now this is truly one unique type of cracker lending fun to the festivities. Either load them onto a gun and go pop- pop or simply step on them to lend you the noisy feel of Diwali. Indeed, fun couldn’t have been simpler!
