Collecting your carton from the lorry office
Your first order outside Tamil Nadu: the lorry receipt, the office counter and what to check before you sign.
A Deepavali safety checklist
Cotton clothes, water and sand, arm’s length: the habits that keep a festival a festival.
Before the first match is struck, set out two buckets, one of water and one of sand. Used sparklers go straight into the water. Anything that smoulders on the ground gets a handful of sand.
Wear cotton, not synthetic fabric, and tie back long hair and dupattas. Light every item at arm’s length with a long agarbatti, never a matchbox held close, and step back once it catches.
If a flower pot or cake does not light, leave it. Never bend over it or try to relight a dud. Wait fifteen minutes, then pour water on it and set it aside.
Children should hold sparklers only with an adult beside them, and never hold anything that is meant for the ground. Keep pets indoors with the windows shut.
Finally, follow your state’s permitted hours for bursting crackers, and keep the unused boxes closed and indoors, away from where you are lighting. A little planning keeps the night about the lights and the sweets.
