Height Of Irresponsibility

Come Diwali and its time to rejoice and celebrate. For many. But for some others also it means time to plug in some cotton wool in their ears during nightime all thanks to negligent neighbours.
Children and young people are always full of enthusiasm but when it exceeds a certain limit, it is upto the elders to show them some discipline or to impose restrictions and above all, tell them whatever they are doing is wrong. But if the elders do no such thing, then its the hapless people around who are being victimized. Our family is one example of being a victim of 'mind-blowing' carelessness.

I stay in an independent house on the first floor. My aunt,uncle, her son and their grandchildren stay in the ground floor. The grandchildren are aged 5 and 1 years. My grandmother stays with us.
It was a Saturday night around 11,when the whole colony was sleeping. I was watching TV. Suddenly out of nowhere I heard a blast,so loud that it made my ears tingle. I then looked out of the window and saw my neighbour, a boy of 17 years bursting bombs and crackers. I got annoyed but still I didnt do anything. Then one more followed,and one more, and one more and more . Then it stopped. I heaved a sigh of relief. Just when I thought it was all over, another blast followed. Then my sister, who stays downstairs went outside and requested them to stop since everyone was being disturbed. After half an hour or so, the blasts stopped. I looked out of my window and saw that the neighbour's lights were off, meaning that their midnight spree of bursting crackers had ended for the day.

Then on Sunday night, no sound of bursting bombs could be heard till 11 so we concluded that they weren't going to burst crackers in the nighttime anymore. Around 11:30, another 'Whaam' and this time it was a lot more louder like bursting a balloon right in the ears. Startled, my dad and mom woke up. ( Sadly, I was at my cousins place for the night and missed out on the thrilling experience) My dad looked out of his bedroom window and saw the very same boy bursting bombs, this time from his first floor balcony and throwing them into the empty space between their house and our house.

Even the Punjabis who stay in the house opposite to ours had got up and were requesting the boy to stop lighting crackers. The people who stay in the next house to ours also had got up and were on the balcony trying to find out what was happening. My dad then bellowed out to the boy from his window itself to stop. Despite his heeding, the boy refused to budge and continued to light the bombs. Finally, my dad lost his cool. He, along with another neighbour and my uncle, who stay downstairs, went out of the house, into the colony and to their house. They beckoned the boy to come down to speak with them. Even then, the boy refused and still continued to burst the bombs. Then my dad threatened to call the police if he did not come down. In his height of arrogancy, the boy replied , with a very casual tone,to him to call the police.

Then my dad did it. He called up the control room who then informed the patrolling police jeep. The inspector was in the jeep at that time and spoke to my dad to enquire about the situation.

You might be wondering all this time where the boy's elders were. The boy was staying with his uncle and aunt. Till this point, the uncle did not even bother to come out and try to stop the boy from bursting the crackers. Even after my dad went out to their house to tell them to stop, the uncle remained inside, Only after my dad lodged a police complaint did he come out.The boy also had stopped bursting the crackers.

Within 15 minutes the police jeep was in front of the house. The Inspector got out and asked my dad about the sequence of events that took place unto that point. The boy and his uncle also came down. Then the uncle denied that the boy was bursting crackers and that he had stopped as soon as we asked him to. He told that it was a small incident and nothing major had happened. But my dad and the others told that despite repeated requests, the boy had refused to stop and even asked us to call the police. After a series of arguments, the inspector also got irritated with the man's way of talking. He then told them to come to the police station along with the boy, in the jeep itself.

The inspector asked my dad also to come to the station to lodge a complaint. Sensing that the situation was getting too tense and big, my dad told the inspector to let him and the boy off with a threat. But since the boy and his uncle were already in the jeep, the inspector told that if they were let off, they would remain stubborn. So, my dad and uncle went to the station on their bike, following the jeep with the boy and uncle in it.

In the station, the boy remained quiet. It was the uncle who did all the talking. He accused my dad that he was doing all this to show off his power and also threatened to put a case against my dad. He also told the inspector in a mock voice that we sleep by 8 and that he returns from his office after doing puja at 11 so after that only, he can burst crackers. ( stupidity isn't it?)

Then the inspector explained in a stern voice, with all patience of a mother trying to explain her son the ABC of eating food, to the uncle about the harmful effects of bursting crackers in the dead of the night. He explained that there are persons with heart problems, small babies, old people who all get disturbed in the night. He further told that there was time till 10 in the night to burst the crackers so at was the need to burst it after then?

Then the inspector told my dad to return home while he would keep the boy and his uncle in the station for some more time. My dad then returned home while the uncle and the boy were still in the station.

I do not know when they came back from the station and till now I did not see them outside. But as far as I know, they are not harmed.

Perhaps this situation is an eye-opener to the many people out there who burst crackers late in the nights mindless of the disturbance they may be causing to the people around.