Half the people I’ve spoken to say the noise this Diwali has been unbearable so far. The other half think that things are much better than they were a few years ago, before all the noise pollution rules and awareness campaigns about child labour in Sivakasi began.

The thing is, when your heart jumps out of your body when a thunderous blast rips through the night you don’t always remember that it’s better than it used to be. But perhaps it is. Friends in Mumbai say their dogs are not quite as jumpy as usually are. Friends in Dehra Dun say that they can’t remember the last time they woke up to silence on Diwali morning like they did yesterday.