As a twelve or thirteen year old, I recall being roped into a ‘bucket brigade.’ It was the night before Diwali. 🪔 Across India, the festival of Diwali is usually celebrated with loads of fireworks—noisemakers 🧨 sparklers, & rockets. And it was no different in Chennai (then Madras). One of the rockets that someone had launched in the neighborhood fell on the thatched roof of the terrace above my grandfather’s garage. Before you knew it flames were kicking up from the roof.
My uncle quickly got my cousins and other uncles to form a line in the front driveway. Short as I was I found myself in the middle of the line, facing the garden. The kids on either side of me faced the other way. Buckets of water were passed from the side of the house up the line to the garage by the uncles and kids facing the house and flung on the roof. Empty buckets came down the line with those of us facing the garden. Luckily we got the fire put out before it spread too far. As kids we found it far more fun that the firecrackers themselves. The adults I reckon would have rather not have to deal with fighting fires at all! And looking back it probably wasn't a HUGE fire, so I can imagine what fighting a real fire in Rome or elsewhere would have been. Thank you for this fascinating post.
As a twelve or thirteen year old, I recall being roped into a ‘bucket brigade.’ It was the night before Diwali. 🪔 Across India, the festival of Diwali is usually celebrated with loads of fireworks—noisemakers 🧨 sparklers, & rockets. And it was no different in Chennai (then Madras). One of the rockets that someone had launched in the neighborhood fell on the thatched roof of the terrace above my grandfather’s garage. Before you knew it flames were kicking up from the roof.
My uncle quickly got my cousins and other uncles to form a line in the front driveway. Short as I was I found myself in the middle of the line, facing the garden. The kids on either side of me faced the other way. Buckets of water were passed from the side of the house up the line to the garage by the uncles and kids facing the house and flung on the roof. Empty buckets came down the line with those of us facing the garden. Luckily we got the fire put out before it spread too far. As kids we found it far more fun that the firecrackers themselves. The adults I reckon would have rather not have to deal with fighting fires at all! And looking back it probably wasn't a HUGE fire, so I can imagine what fighting a real fire in Rome or elsewhere would have been. Thank you for this fascinating post.
What an amazing story - thank you for sharing it!