Diwali is supposed to be about unity and celebration. However, every Diwali there is an exodus of sorts among Mumbaikars because they can’t stand the noise or the acrid stench of the sulphur-filled air.
Renowned psychiatrist Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla, chairman of Academy of Medical Specialties, Indian Medical Association, estimates around 7 lakh people leave the city to escape the noise and pollution during Diwali. Dr Mohan Jagde, professor and head of ENT department at JJ hospital, puts the number higher at about 10% or 10.5 lakh Mumbaikars.
Hemant Chhabra, 50, an organic entrepreneur, lives a good 100km north of Mumbai, far from all the din. His organic farm, where he runs a camp for children and their parents, is appropriately named Hide Out. Originally from Mumbai, he says he left the city because of asthma. “I wanted to breathe fresh air, eat fresh produce and live a quiet life. Simple things, but you can’t have them in Mumbai,” he says. “The city is not livable during Diwali; the air is just not fit for human consumption. In all my 50 years, I have probably been in Mumbai twice during Diwali.”
His sentiment, it seems, is shared by many Mumbaikars.
Chhabra is expecting around 100 visitors at Hide Out this Diwali.
Noise and pollution are not the only reasons why people want to take off. Madhvi Mathre, 48, is a social worker with an NGO. Every Diwali, family in tow she drives up to her house in Dhokawade village near Alibaug because her allergies act up due to the dense pollution and she has trouble breathing. But there’s another reason too. "I feel we’re losing out on our traditions. Everything is so westernised now. Somewhere in the haze of the parties and DJs blaring Bollywood music the real meaning of the festival gets lost."
And it’s not only the middle-aged who are fleeing Mumbai. Reema Prasanna, 26, has been leaving town on Diwali for five years. She says she is still true to the oath she took in school to celebrate the festival quietly. "I visit my family in Coimbatore. They celebrate Diwali too, but not in the over-the-top manner it’s celebrated in Mumbai."
Not everyone’s as fortunate though. Dr Kesdi Chavda, a psychiatrist at Hinduja hospital, says, "There are many, especially among the elderly, who are unable to leave the city for health as well as monetary reasons."
