New visually delightful fireworks fill the market before Kali Puja-Diwali, but no end to the noise demon

A slew of never-before-seen firecrackers will brighten up the nights this Kali Puja and Diwali. There are unusual hues of chocolate, crimson, violet and blues bursting out in jets from multiple spinning wheels – that have filled the fireworks market this time.

There are displays of light wrapped in bright packaging of some popular chocolate bars, assorted spinning wheels or charki in packages resembling popular confectionary products and more.

The chocobahar celebration contains four boxes, each box containing five spinning wheels. On lighting the wick, all five wheels start spinning simultaneously putting up 10-seconds display of lights. Chocobahar is currently the most popular among the fireworks being sold in retail market of Champahati and Haral in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas. A pack of Chocobahar comes at Rs. 290. This has been developed by workers of the area.

As the police, administration and activists fight to stop the noise pollution, there is a definite tilt towards making the visually delightful fireworks. But perhaps it will take many more years to stop the firecrackers that cause noise pollution.

Another popular contender this year is Akash Charki, which is 10-inch long, rises 40 feet into the air while spinning. It continues to spin for seven seconds while giving out multicoloured streaks of light. Five pieces sold in a pack, cost Rs 120.

Crackling Bahar is a specially designed eight-inch long flowerpot which will give out rainbow of seven colours. The sparkles coming out will make a clock-like sound and the display will continue for close to a minute. It comes in two sizes – the eight-inch variant costs Rs 250 and the four-inch type costs Rs 60.

The spiller charki has been especially designed to spin on both sides. Ten of these are sold in a pack and costs Rs 110. Jewel pot on the other hand, is three-inches long flowerpot which will give out milky white streams of light for 10 seconds. The Arjuna flower pot will give out small pieces of paper-like visual effect along with the usual display of light. It comes at Rs 40. These ingeniously designed fireworks are turning out to be tough competition for the famed ones from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu.
However, though such newly designed fireworks have filled the market, people’s habit of bursting noise-producing crackers doesn’t seem to be a thing of the past yet.

Banned fireworks with noise limit beyond 90 decibels continue to be sold surreptitiously in retail markets of Champahati, Haral, Solgohalia and Begampur in South 24 Parganas.

To escape searches being conducted by police, these banned crackers are not just displayed, but codenamed or nicknamed nimki, totka or pute. Prices start at Rs 40 and go up with increasing size.

In Champahati, 30 km from Kolkata, banned firecrackers – the most popular among them being chocolate bombs – are sold throughout the year. In order to stay on in the business and to prevent customers from going empty-handed, sellers often say it is a compulsion to sell the banned firecrackers. The same situation prevails in Sogohalia and other areas.

Kolkata Police has taken stringent measures this year to prevent entry of banned firecrackers which come mostly from South 24 Parganas. Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police’s headquarters, has alerted all police stations to check godowns to prevent stockpiling of banned crackers.

But whether these and other measures prove to make a huge difference, only Kali Puja and Diwali next week will show.