Picture this… Nick purchases a truckload of Indian fireworks, skyrockets and crackers at Diwali, hides them in a wardrobe and bans the use of naked flame within a 50 metre radius. Now Christmas is imminent it’s time to start celebrating. We load up the children’s arms with fireworks and head downstairs onto the street. The street hums with Saturday night activity, pedestrians, rickshaws, scooters and expensive cars (we’re in Koregaon Park after all).
Armed with an empty beer bottle to stand the rockets in, a packet of matches and armfuls of Indian fireworks in a busy Indian street. What could possibly go wrong?!! Hilariously – no disaster befell us. The highlight was one of the skyrockets going spectacularly awry and flying sideways up into the apartments, crashing into an open balcony and exploding. Of the 100 balconies it could have crashed onto… this was ours!!! We ran upstairs… somehow the washing and windows are all unscathed. Time to call it a night 🙂
If you would like to get an idea of just how unreliable Indian fireworks are, check out the flight path on this one we launched out of a beer bottle gaffer-taped to the balcony!
Check out these vids. When you hit the ‘play’ button it may take a moment to load. Parental Guidance is recommended (but not always applied) and please don’t try this at home 🙂
Crazy firework displays bought back memories of my 1960s childhood in the suburbs of Melbourne when you could buy cheap penny bangers, comets and Chinese lanterns – all sourced from under the counter at the local milkbar! Looks and sounds like your all having great fun.
Chris
I’m sorry you missed out as a child Fiona – fireworks were banned in Oz for very good reasons. But seeing these clips reminds me of my childhood, and all the local customs which applied – the ten shilling note in the mail from Nana, the bonfire (bonnie) built over the preceding week on an empty block, being out after dark, doing exciting stuff with grownups, etc. The fireworks were pretty tame by today’s standards – I preferred the Roman Candles, Catherine Wheels, Jumping Jacks and Sky rockets, the boys like the noisy ones, like penny bungers, which were big fat crackers.
Making up for this bit of lost childhood in India. At this point only lost childhood, no lost limbs or digits. Reckon the boys still like the noisy ones. Lucinda, Audrey and I tend to run and hide when the crackers and bombs go off.