A Surat mother whose two young sons struggled with Delhi's polluted air found a new way to celebrate Diwali: she weaves 80 reusable wooden sticks into a chain that crackles without gunpowder, fire or smoke

For two young boys, the excitement of Diwali now comes with a different kind of cracker. Instead of buying boxes of firecrackers, their mother, Swati Jain, has found a way to recreate the familiar crackling sound using nothing more than 80 wooden ice cream sticks. The sticks are woven together in a particular pattern and, when released, spring apart one after another, producing a loud popping sound without gunpowder, flames or smoke.

Jain, a mother of two from Surat, Gujarat, came up with the idea after a family experience made her think differently about how her children would celebrate festivals. Her homemade crackers have since become an activity in which her sons can participate, from painting the sticks to watching the finished chain burst apart. She shared the video on Instagram and shared the method to prepare the special crackers.

The parenting content creator has two sons, four-year-old Nirvaan and two-and-a-half-year-old Vayu. The family first tried making these wooden crackers during Diwali 2025.