minor rant time

Diwali is Saturday and I have to say that I find this to be the most annoying and frustrating holiday EVER!!! It is the festival of light which means that people light candles but they also light fireworks. I was so frustrated by the fireworks last year that this year I'm leaving town and going down to Goa (yes, still in India but much less populous than Delhi and only 60% Hindu so hopefully will be calmer); but even though the holiday is on Saturday the fireworks have started.
Now you are probably wondering why I find fireworks annoying. Well, they aren't organized, it is basically kids running around lighting them off wherever and whenever they want to, so it is crazy unsafe; and they are really loud but really plain - HUGE boom, almost no light. How loud are they? Last night I was on the phone in the middle of my apartment, probably 100 meters away from where the kids were lighting them and I was inside, and the person I was talking to heard the boom through the phone. That is loud.
But my other frustration has to do with the fact that (in my opinion) most of the Hindus here seem to have no concept of religious awareness and don't understand why someone that is not Hindu wouldn't pray to their god or goddess.
Confused?
Well, last year on the day before Diwali the staff conducted a prayer service in the office, it was about a 1/2 hour long and involved singing and incense (cough, cough). I found it slightly annoying as I was trying to work but it was also interesting. But I could tell that the one muslim guy in our office was really annoyed by the whole thing. So this year I asked that if the staff want to have a prayer service that they do so in the conference room because now out of 25 staff there are 4 of us that aren't Hindu. Then an email was sent around to the entire office saying when the prayer service starts tomorrow and telling everyone they must dress up in traditional clothing and take part in the service.
Maybe I'm just being a stickler but I don't think that religion and work go together and I should not be forced to take part in a prayer service to a goddess I don't believe in. The muslim guys in our office would never say a peep; I guess they are used to it by now; so I'm just a lone crusader for religious awareness. I don't care which god (or gods) a person prays to but I do ask that people respect my decision to pray the way I choose.
And thus ends my mini-tirade. I guess I was spoiled growing up in a largely christan country in an area of the country that is quite tolerant so this is my first taste of intolerance that I have experienced.
Not fun.
Oh well, this weekend I'll be in Goa which is about 10% Catholic and I'll visit lots of churches so will get my fix and will feel better about the whole thing. And I will continue on my mini-crusade to educate people on fireworks safety (seriously, giving kids firecrackers to light off with no supervision is just not safe) and religious awareness.