By Varda Mehrotra (Executive Director, FIAPO)

I love Diwali – the festive mood, the decorated markets, meeting friends and family, enjoying yummy vegan treats, putting diyas in my house. But I know it has a darker side too – dogs and birds disoriented from crackers, smoggy evenings, and huge quantities of mithai made of milk from illegal and cruel dairies.

Increasingly, though, a compassion-filled life for animals seems to be in vogue. Popular actress Aliaa Bhatt, for example, is an avid dog and cat lover, and through her social media presence promotes the general idea of being kind to animals. Various celebrities endorse and give back to animal charities and organisations that work for their protection. Actress Shraddha Kapoor adopted a dog instead of buying one- and through such activities influencers spread a positive message to their followers.

More celebrities are switching to a cruelty-free diet, be it for health reasons- Virat Kohli, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sunil Chhetri, or for the animals and the environment- Mallika Sherawat, Richa Chadda, Ayesha Takia, and others. The world-famous designer Anita Dongre, also got her brand vegan certified to ensure that her clothing line does not harm animals in any way. In a Netflix series called The Creative Indians, Anita speaks about how she decided to stop using wool in any of her products after being exposed to the cruelty in the production of wool through a video.

This is a trend that needs to be trending more.

How can we begin to take significant steps for animals and the planet in order to express our love and solidarity for them this Diwali?

The answer is simple- by not wearing silks, and opting for beautiful zaris or crepes instead. By perhaps feasting on delicious vegan coconut barfis or dairy-free gulab jamuns. By looking out for our animal friends – who might be overwhelmed by the noise – loud music and the sound of crackers. By wearing nylon wool instead of sheep’s wool on chilly evenings. By lighting oil diyas instead of wax ones. By not bursting crackers at all, even the noiseless ones like phuljaris or anaars.By providing used blankets that we would otherwise discard to street animals as they shiver in cold. By making donations to those who genuinely need our support for the overall betterment of animals. By spreading the message of compassion.

All of us can celebrate, look our best, eat the most sumptuous snacks and sweets, and include animals and the environment in our celebrations by opting for cruelty-free products, ways, foods, and clothes- so that we can FEEL our best too.

I wish you all a fantastic, cruelty-free, compassionate, and environment-friendly Diwali.