A fun way of telling children why diwali is celebrated.

1. YOUNG CHRONICLE October 23rd , 2014
THE YOUNG CHRONICLE
Say No to Crackers this Diwali!

2. YOUNG CHRONICLE Oct 23rd, 2014
Page 2 23/10/14
Ron and Pranks love
Diwali. They don’t burst
crackers, because
crackers cause pollution,
disturb the elderly, and
Birds and Animals feel
tortured. Ron and Pranks
are also against child labour and when
they found that many cracker companies
hire children, they completely stopped bursting crackers.
But they love lighting diyas and gorging on sweets. But Ron
was curious and kept asking mumma why Diwali is
celebrated.
Mumma then decided to tell Ron and Pranks the story.
Here’s how it goes.
Once upon a time, there was a king, Ravana, who had
pleased the gods and had got the boon for immortality from
gods and daemons. However, he felt that he was superior to
other humans, so never took immortality against humans.
With immortality, Ravana was unstoppable. The gods were
disturbed with the power Ravana had.
Lord Vishnu then decided to be born as prince Rama. Rama
was the eldest son of King Dashrath, and was expected to be
king after his father died. However Rama’s step-mother
wanted her own son to be king, and made King Dashrath
send Rama away from the kingdom for 14 years.
So Rama, one of his other brothers, Lakshmana, his and
wife Sita, went away to live a simple life in the forest. But
when they were living in the forest, the demon Ravana's
sister fell in love with Rama and tried to get Rama to leave
Sita and come live with her. When Rama said no, Ravana's
sister attacked him, but Rama and his brother Lakshmana
fought her off and Lakshmana cut off her nose.
Ravana’s sister then went back to her brother Ravana in
Lanka (modern Sri Lanka) and complained to him. Ravana
was very angry. Also, he had heard how beautiful Sita was,
so he set out to the forest to take revenge. Revenge, as we all
know is a very bad thing.
When Ravana got to the forest, he found that Sita was very
beautiful, and he stole her away from Rama and took her
back to Lanka with him. Sita was very sad there and missed
Rama very much.
Rama and his brother
Lakshmana needed help to
rescue Sita, so they went
to see the king of the
monkeys. Hanuman, who
had the magic power to
make himself bigger or
smaller. Hanuman found
Sita on the island of Lanka
and told her that Rama
was coming to save her. But Ravana caught Hanuman and
set his tail on fire! In the end, though, Hanuman escaped
and set fire to the whole island of Lanka.
Hanuman went back to the forest and got Rama and
Lakshmana, and they all went back with the whole monkey
army to attack the island of Lanka. There was a terrible
battle, but finally Rama killed the Ravana and rescued his
wife Sita!
After completing 14 years in the forest, when Rama came
back home, the villagers celebrated Rama’s home-coming
and victory by lighting lamps and bursting crackers. This
celebration is called Diwali.
Who is Rama and why do we celebrate
Diwali?

3. YOUNG CHRONICLE Oct 23rd, 2014
Dos and Don’ts this Diwali
- Don’t burst crackers this Diwali. Make it a silent one. Elderly people, ill people, animals, and
birds find the crackers most discomforting.
- A number of cracker companies hire children, and the material that goes in the crackers is bad
for lungs. So by bursting crackers, you are promoting child labour and bad health for the
makers. The more you burst crackers, the more the companies will make them. So stop bursting
crackers.
- Last but not the least, Crackers cause air and noise pollution, and dirty the roads and
compounds.
- Crackers are dangerous and can hurt you. So there really is no reason to burst crackers.
If you still plan to burst crackers, then you should
- Be as careful as you can when you burst crackers
- Carry a bucket of water with you, so that if you burn your hand by mistake, you can dip it in
water immediately
- Ensure you are not wearing synthetic clothes. You should preferably wear cotton clothes while
bursting crackers
- Clothes should be well fitting. Lehangas, Dupattas and Sarees etc should be avoided as they can
catch fire fast. So warn your mother too, if she is bursting crackers with you.
- Check your surroundings before you burst crackers. Crackers should be burst on level ground,
far from roads, cars, people, street dogs etc.
Word Meanings
Pollution: The action or process of making land, water, air etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use. Noise pollution happens when crackers
are burst, causing a huge noise.
3
Tortured: The act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone a lot.
Boon: A power that gives you an advantage over others.
Immortality: When someone can not die.
Daemons: Devils, Rakshas
Immortality against humans: When someone can not die when a human kills him.
Revenge: to inflict pain in return for an insult.
Escaped: To run free from something.
Rescued: To free someone from danger.
Victory: To win
Hire: To Employ or to pay for work.
Gorge: To eat a large amount greedily.
Ideally, you should celebrate diwali with Dias, and sweets.
Thought for the Day
Instead of Bursting Crackers, People Should Burst all Evil in the World. Happy Diwali!