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Though Diwali is celebrated across the country, with even Kerala joining the festivities in recent years, there are villages in Tamil Nadu where people look the other way and ignore it.
In Thurvaryurkottai in the Thanjavur delta, where farmers and labourers are facing hardships due to the failure of the southwest monsoon and the denial of Cauvery waters by Karnataka, villagers have stayed away from Diwali celebrations for over a generation now, with the result that the youth do not know anything about the festival.
It all began when the village elders decided to suspend festivities for one year because of a bad crop. In order to celebrate they would have had to borrow money at a high interest rate. The precedent has stuck and no one has any complaints now.
Down south in Sivaganga district, the residents of Ariyalur village have been celebrating Diwali without crackers, and all because they do not want to disturb the migratory birds.
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