On the day of Diwali, millions of tones of crackers will be burst, releasing thousands of tones of poisonous gases into the environment. Diwali is becoming a festival more of smoke, dust and noise than light. Moreover, imports of Chinese crackers and diyas take toll on domestic Indian market. Going against the trend, students of IIT Kharagpur, India's largest and the oldest IIT, is leaving no stone unturned to make Diwali eco-friendly and “India-genic”.
The students here celebrate Diwali in a unique way entitled "Illumination" or more dearly called "Illu", having its inception past 4 decades. The students erect gigantic bamboo structure with diyas projecting a theme and reflecting the true spirit of Diwali. The raw materials for creation of these beautiful structures are purely indigenous, bought from local vendors.
The oil used in the diyas are well experimented with varying combination to sustain the diyas for a long time with minimum smoke production. With the astounding combination of colours, light and obviously the creativity of the students, Rangoli adds the sparkle to the festival. The colours used are indigenous and non-toxic.