Diwali trends: Youngsters say bye to fire safety, embrace ‘fire handshake’

Indians are over the sanitiser trauma since the pandemic and have started putting the germ killer to more creative uses. This Diwali, a new trend has taken over social media, where youngsters pour alcohol based sanitisers on their palms and proceed to light them on fire to create a flaming handshake.

Thrill chasers in the comment sections of these reels have asked for tips before committing to the act and have received responses like “keep a bucket of water nearby” and “as long as you don’t do it to the back of your hand you’re good to go”.

However, to nobody’s surprise, videos of people treating their hands with Colgate, chunna and cold water are also gaining similar traction, as a tried and tested warning to the dangerous trend.