mid day editorial: Let's celebrate a safe and green Holi

We are already into Holi week and fervour is in the air. Several campaigns are sweeping Mumbai about eco-friendly colours, and there are apostles and their acolytes telling all and sundry about how it is to their advantage to opt for natural colours.

Caution lights are ablaze and it is imperative that caution is used in abundance. Rewind to reports of yesteryears, about large number of kids landing in hospitals with nausea, stomach ailments and skin rashes due to colour poisoning. Stay true to the purpose of festivals, which is to celebrate. It's better to spend more and opt for quality colours. Let us also redefine the meaning of revellers. It should not mean only people who throw colour at each other and douse people in water, but also people on the road, commuters or those who are enjoying some free time.

Respect their right to space, and the right to celebrate in whatever way they wish to. Do not target the unwitting with water balloons, colour or muck. You certainly have no right to make somebody a punching bag in the mistaken notion that it is Holi and this gives you the perfect excuse to harass and harangue others. If we see an end to horror stories on local trains where commuters have lost an eye to hooliganism passed off as playing Holi, it will truly make for a Happy Holi.

Let us bring back the joy and innocence of festivals, and steer them away from the degenerative farce they have become for some. More police presence during these times is certainly welcome, but the fact that we need more cops on the roads is a sad commentary on the bullying and mob mentality that some think goes with the concept of fun. It should be safety with a smile, this Holi. Rang barse.

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