I am no expert on firecrackers and firewords, but this Diwali I was awed by the sheer amount of explosives and light on beautiful display at Dehradun. I thought I would estimate the total spend.
I was at the outskirts of the city. I could hear a steady bursting of crackers. It was a continuous sound in the background. I estimated about 20 crackers were going off every second within my audible range. For perhaps 3 hours (including the previous day's crackers etc.)
How much did each "pop" cost? I had no idea. But I estimated it at Rs. 10.
So Rs. 200 per second. 3600 seconds an hour or Rs. 720,000. Three hours = Rs. 21 lakhs.
I guessed my audible range was 1 km. The city is 5 km in radius, say. 75 sq km, of which I was hearing 3 sq km. I had to multiply by 25.
25 times 21 lakhs = Rs. 5 crores.
Is this the right number? I don't know. But I checked on the net a few minutes ago and it seems that Lucknow spends Rs. 30 crores on firecrackers each Diwali. So Rs. 5 crores may be reasonable.
I tell you, I love this number-checking.
4 comments:
Respected Sir,
Reading your calculations life seems so real and with lots of facts.And if you have Calculations done then conclusion can be sure always rather then a guess.
Thanks
Proton Akshay
Fall09
Dear Sir,
I was amazed by the ease you calculated those figures. I wish you would have given an approximate value of the money spent on crackers in the country as a whole, my guesstimate is 100crores+, I shall google it now...
Regards,
Shoaib Qureshi
Good Evening Sir,
Wish you Happy Diwali and a prosperous new year.
These days even i am developing a habit of checking, any calculation coming to me. It is fun and helps maintain our brain function efficiently.
This year in Indore as well a lot of people were indulged in bursting crackers, which indicates that this time other businesses except IT sector has grown up and people have spent money on crackers and lightening up their houses. People of Indore celebrated it with great energy and enthusiasm.
Regards
Vidit Shah
Respected Sir, It's really nice post. In such way we can estimate even for a unknown metters, especially in interview.
Post a Comment