On Diwali night, India gasped for breath

Twenty of 26 air quality monitoring stations across the country recorded “severe” air quality at midnight on Wednesday night, a level of pollution that India officially rates as its worst possible, and describes as one that “affects even healthy people, and seriously impacts those with existing diseases”. In Delhi, particulate matter levels surpassed the worst that Beijing has experienced, The Hindu’s analysis of air quality data shows.

On Wednesday night, which was Diwali night, air quality deteriorated across the eight states for which data is available through the Central Pollution Control Board’s National Air Quality Index monitoring portal. Looking at PM2.5 levels - the hourly concentration of very fine particles up to 2.5 microgrammes in diameter which can severely affect respiratory functioning - alone, The Hindu found that even cities with relatively better air quality saw a dip on Wednesday night. Both the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi confirmed that firecrackers had contributed to the worse air quality.

In Chennai, the air quality reached “severe” or “very poor” levels on Tuesday night, when Diwali is celebrated in that city, and improved on Wednesday night. In most of the rest of the country, PM2.5 levels were at “severe” levels on Wednesday night. In Dwarka (Delhi), the PM2.5 levels were “very poor”, while at the BWSSB-Kadabesanahalli monitoring station in Bengaluru, the index was at “poor”. The Airoli monitoring station in Navi Mumbai was the only one which recorded “satisfactory” levels of PM2.5 throughout the period.

In Delhi, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 available from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee showed that levels spiked to 985 microgrammes per cubic metre at 9.20 pm on Wednesday night in RK Puram, as against the World Health Organisation’s safe standard of 60. This was twice as high as the PM2.5 levels earlier this month in Singapore which forced school closures and the relocation of outdoor and sporting events. It was higher than the worst levels experienced by Beijing this year, and just a little lower than the worst PM2.5 levels ever recorded in China, which was last week in Shenyang, northeast China (1157 microgrammes per cubic metre). Moreover, the air Indians actually breathe may be even worse. The Centre for Science and Environment’s exposure monitoring at various locations in Delhi on Wednesday night - using handheld monitors to measure the actual air quality residents are breathing as opposed to the ambient air quality recorded by official monitors - revealed even higher PM2.5 levels of up to 2500 microgramme per cubic metre, or 40 times the safe standard. Old Delhi and Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi were the worst affected.

The big fat Diwali taash party

“How lucky have you been this season?” is a question that becomes a conversation starter every year during the run-up to Diwali. House parties have become trendier and the than swanky bars and the expensive, but often neglected, Indian party wear section of a wardrobe comes off the hangers to replace western party wear. Nobody fusses over what genre of music is being played and party hopping from one house to another across NCR becomes the norm. The only important ingredient one really needs to keep a party going on all night is a deck of cards.

No Diwali season is complete without a little fun at a taash party. It does not matter if you are a novice or a seasoned player, there is lot of fun to be had trying to read how the rest of the table is playing the game and get to know new people without trying to yell over the loud music.

Suraj Khemka says, “Back when I was in college in the 90’s the card party scene was slowly growing from a family affair on Diwali to a couple of nights before Diwali. Over the past few years, it has been sleepy mornings in the office as the entire week leading up to the festival is packed with card party invitations. Over the weekend, it’s managing multiple invitations on one night.”

His wife Reema says it is a common scene in every house. You walk in meet the host and choose a table to be seated. There are always the fun tables where the stakes are small and more of gossip and then there are the serious tables where it gets quite intense as there is a lot at stake.

“The problem arises when the stakes are too high and the party goes from being a fun event to a gambling scene. We just thank the host and leave when that becomes the scene,” adds Reema. Event manager Vipul says card parties have now become an event and people hire professional services to arrange it. It’s not just getting food catered from outside since people want to throw a party everybody is talking about but it is also about the game.

No more is a party restricted to teen patti. Now, there are professional dealers and poker tables and chips that can be hired to turn the living rooms into casinos.

“Like the big fat Indian wedding, people are hosting extravagant parties at their farmhouses and willing to spend money to outdo others. Since the numbers are much smaller than weddings, we can add a personal touch to a party and ensure that people will be talking about it till the next season.”

However, for some the trend of converting living rooms into casinos is quite worrying.

Seema Arora says, “Its fun at the start of the night but sometimes it gets uneasy and too serious when lakhs are at stake. The entire point of mixing with people and celebrating the festival is lost when that happens. The host needs to step in such a situation and ensure that the party is not going out of hand.”

For college student Komal Ahuja, the problem at card parties within her college group is that they are gambling with pocket money. “While it does not hurt someone with deep pockets, some of my friends get carried away and then spend the rest of the month regretting their decision.”