I was thinking to name this post as "Why do you like the noise of Patakhaas (fire crackers)?" But, I am made to change my mind..... no, I don't want it to make it so generic. Gender generic, I would say. While, I was writing down my points for the post in my writing pad (yes, mostly I write on a piece of paper with a collected mind, before typing it out!), I came to some strange ... ehm.... well... conclusions! Men like Patakhas - both the fire crackers and the hot chics!
OK, to start with, Have you ever seen girls or women bursting crackers ?... those loud sounding explosive stuff, I mean? I am sure, No. Just in my last post, a co-blogger Nethra commented how she dislikes crackers part of Diwali. Even I was always very scared of fire crackers as a kid, and later on began to dislike that loud, deafening sound of such high decibels, that you instantaneously cover your ears with hands, close your eyes tight and run to a corner. I began to find it disgusting gradually, as I would see groups of young boys taking pride in the aftermath of thick smoke, scattered pieces of paper all over the roads and many pairs of angry eyes and a few smirking faces around them. Yes, they would be jubilant after burning them, especially after burning a series of crackers tied together. It was a macho act for them.
I used to wonder, what makes them so happy and proud? Do they not know that Diwali crackers makes the life of elderly people, small children, infants and pets so so miserable? Elderly can not take rest. Small children are to be protected by the parents all the time from going any closer to such places, as their reflexes are not so quick to run away. Infants, oh dear, you have to see how a newly born to six months old baby reacts to the blast, even at a far away place, with such a scared rather shocked way, even when he is asleep. Therefore, mothers are advised to put a little cotton wool in the ears of babies to minimise the exposure to the noise. And, those who have pets know it, And that how pet dogs have to be kept in some closed kind of a room to save them from the human celebration effect. Also, people suffering from breathing trouble experience great difficulty during this time, due to smoke.
Are these reasons not enough to decide for a person to avoid fire crackers? I wonder.
Coming back to the gender connection to bursting crackers. Does only the social conditioning and upbringing make males so aggressive or is it the physiology and genes too?
I was discussing with somebody as to what could be the reason that mostly boys do it.... the answer was, to seek attention! Men, I won't say have to keep on trying to get attention, but surely have competition more than women have. Blame it on the demography of a developing country or the genetic make up that makes the male of the homo sapiens are always eager to pass on the genetic material with zeal. (Survival for the fittest?)
I was discussing with somebody as to what could be the reason that mostly boys do it.... the answer was, to seek attention! Men, I won't say have to keep on trying to get attention, but surely have competition more than women have. Blame it on the demography of a developing country or the genetic make up that makes the male of the homo sapiens are always eager to pass on the genetic material with zeal. (Survival for the fittest?) By the time, I was writing this article, news about two such scientific researches/studies have come up, which suggest that aggressiveness promiscuousness has been more in the males right from the time they were cavemen, rather more at that time than to this stage of evolution.
The researches, I would say Science, is beginning to shed light on the genetic or hormonal reasons behind the desire of men for mating more and more women. (On the lighter side, I feel the researcher must be a man!)
Another finding which connects the sexual aggressiveness of cavemen with the size of their finger brings the same point home again. High levels of the testosterone hormones increase the length of the ring finger in comparison to the index finger, resulting in a low index- to ring-finger ratio. A study of fossilised remains suggests that our ancient ancestors had far higher levels of the male sex hormone testosterone than people living today, thereby making them more aggressive and promiscuous.
The researches, I would say Science, is beginning to shed light on the genetic or hormonal reasons behind the desire of men for mating more and more women. (On the lighter side, I feel the researcher must be a man!)
Another finding which connects the sexual aggressiveness of cavemen with the size of their finger brings the same point home again. High levels of the testosterone hormones increase the length of the ring finger in comparison to the index finger, resulting in a low index- to ring-finger ratio. A study of fossilised remains suggests that our ancient ancestors had far higher levels of the male sex hormone testosterone than people living today, thereby making them more aggressive and promiscuous.
Well, whatever is the outcome of these studies, one thing can be said with utmost conviction that men really like Patakhas - the fire crackers as well as the hot chics alike!
So guys, stay from the fire variety this Diwali and every Diwali!
On a serious note, within last few years, the initiative taken by Delhi Govt and Delhi schools, children have been made aware of the harm caused by the fire crackers and "Say No To Crackers" slogan has begun to show results as kids are spreading this message around and avoiding crackers to a great extent. This is a wonderful change. Let's all of us do our bit to avoid noise and air pollution. Also, think about those many little hands which are forced to work in factories which make these crackers. You are not giving them employment, you are giving them a curse to continue being an illeterate worker, who will one day burn their hands for you.
Have a beautiful Diwali dear reader!
RESTLESS :)
images: courtesy google images
PS: Changed post title later
images: courtesy google images
PS: Changed post title later
