Guest post by VIRAJ KAFLE

The morning broke like a bruised peach over the National Capital Region. What a deliciously tender, romantic sunrise! It was that sweet, lazy morning after Diwali—a day of earned respite when the sun wrapped itself in a cozy, opaque blanket of warm grey silk, refusing to shine too brightly out of sheer respect for our tired eyes. In the neighborhood park, little children played tag with blissful unconcern, their laughter echoing merrily alongside the sweet, occasional chirping of a persistent sparrow.

Who could possibly care that, overnight, the Air Quality Index had modestly flirted with the ‘Severe’ category? To obsess over a mere numbers game—a sudden jump from breathing air to swallowing soup in just twenty-four hours—is so hopelessly unromantic. And really, how can our beloved, festive crackers ever be blamed? To accuse an innocent, sparkling fuljhadi of ruining the air is pure malice. There are far greater, grander culprits at play. Look at the horizon—that is clearly the distant, stubborn smoke of crop burning in Punjab drifting over to ruin our mood. Or perhaps it is a whole host of complex atmospheric phenomena against which our valiant authorities, fighting heroically on a hundred different fronts, can only do so much. Continue reading Love in the Time of PM 2.5: Viraj Kafle →