Bhogi Smog!

Bhogi is a prelude function before the harvest festival of Pongal and celebrated in every  nook and corner of the state.  This is also celebrated elsewhere in the country as Makar Sankranthi denoting harvest festival.  Traditionally in Tamilnadu, the villagers used to consume the residual waste of the harvested grains to fire indicating the arrival of new crops and the beginning of a new era in their lives.  Times changed and slowly people started throwing the old clothes and unused articles that remained in the house into the fire thereby disposing unwanted articles from  their homes easily.  Modern times saw people throwing old tyres and other plastic materials into the fire adding to pollution in the atmosphere and restricting our lungs to breathe fresh air.  The government is doing their best to educate people not to throw rubber and plastic materials into the fire as they pollute the air that we breathe and it has found some level of acceptance  but a lot needs to be done more.  There are still pockets in  the city and the State as a whole where such bon-fires are created diminishing the quality of air.  The smog thus created creates lots of problems to people who have asthma and other ailments as they choke their lungs for want of fresh air.  Adding to the woes, the fire which is lit all around the state drives away the chillness of December season and makes the weather hotter.  If only people avoid following this stupid rituals of lighting fire, probably we can have some more days of cool weather besides good quality of air that we breathe!?