Yes, you read me right. Guilty as charged. & for a continuous crime. For a crime that I’ve been committing for nearly 20 years now. What was I thinking? Correction-I wasn’t thinking at all. If I’d just spared a thought…
A thought to all the pets that have better auditory powers, who tremble when even a small bomb explodes, who hide under the bed for five days preceding and succeeding the day of Diwali…
A thought to the stray animals that end up eating the toxic waste the day after…
A thought to all my fellow human beings who’re asthmatic, who start suffocating & wheezing as soon as there’s a hint of smoke in the air…
A thought to my parents’ finances which goes up, literally, in smoke, for the ephemeral joy of some flowerpots…
A thought to all those who lose an eye, an ear, a limb due to their or someone’s carelessness…
A thought to the child workers in Sivakasi whose tales I’ve been hearing since times immemorial, & yet have looked the other way…
A thought to the environment, which suffers significantly in just a couple of days…
I burst crackers of all sorts till I was in school & college. Post-graduation & work diminished those to sparklers & flowerpots. Today, I’m not even thinking of anything more than sparklers, & even those I’m still debating. Is it a token? Does it signify anything?
My mom’s asthmatic & she’s had to use the inhaler for almost a week now. I shudder thinking what will happen tomorrow.
My heart goes out to all puppies that have been yelping & hiding for nights together now.
No. I’m not going to preach anything. I’m not going to ask you to give up firecrackers. I’m going to admit my mistake. I’m open to whatever punishment is meted out to me. But I’m still glad. Glad that the realization is better late than never.
Yes Milord! I plead guilty.
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