We are fond of noise. Living as I do inside the campus, I thank every day for the sound of silence. On a cold winter day, just stop and listen to it. It is so soothing and refreshing. In the summer, early morning, I go for a walk. The only sound I hear is that of the birds chirping. It is blissful, such a lovely way to start the day.
Stepping outside is a hazard- horns of all kinds being tooted randomly. Every vehicle is in a rush. They have to move fast, fast, faster and what better way to do than to blow the horn. As loudly as possible. The pedestrian, the lowest form of human being, has to make way for the moving vehicle. It does not matter what age the pedestrian is. The old and the young, the able and the disable- all have to make way for the vehicle. It will remind you by blowing the horn, deafening you in the process.
Then there are all the religious establishments who have to reach out to the faithful and to God. The jagrans are other thing- the all night jagrans, the nine-day puja during navaratri, the list is endless. The loud speaker is put at the highest possible volume so that no one gets sleep.
And don't get me started on Deepavali- a festival completely ruined by the high volume, highly polluting fireworks. Without that noise and smoke how could the festival be complete?
We also have student events- fresher's party and the Hostel nights- neither of which are complete without the loudspeaker. The Hostel nights coincide with the board exams of the children on campus. I often wonder our students have also gone through those torturous time of board exam. Don't they remember how irritated they would be if any body made noise? Then what gives them the right to put loud speakers at high volumes during exam time?
My sympathies with Sonu Nigam, though the original statement he made could have been made little bit more diplomatically. It is not the mosque only- it is every religious shrine. The thing is I have the right to Silence, to be not bothered by raucous noise.
Will anything come out of it this controversy? I doubt.
Stepping outside is a hazard- horns of all kinds being tooted randomly. Every vehicle is in a rush. They have to move fast, fast, faster and what better way to do than to blow the horn. As loudly as possible. The pedestrian, the lowest form of human being, has to make way for the moving vehicle. It does not matter what age the pedestrian is. The old and the young, the able and the disable- all have to make way for the vehicle. It will remind you by blowing the horn, deafening you in the process.
Then there are all the religious establishments who have to reach out to the faithful and to God. The jagrans are other thing- the all night jagrans, the nine-day puja during navaratri, the list is endless. The loud speaker is put at the highest possible volume so that no one gets sleep.
And don't get me started on Deepavali- a festival completely ruined by the high volume, highly polluting fireworks. Without that noise and smoke how could the festival be complete?
We also have student events- fresher's party and the Hostel nights- neither of which are complete without the loudspeaker. The Hostel nights coincide with the board exams of the children on campus. I often wonder our students have also gone through those torturous time of board exam. Don't they remember how irritated they would be if any body made noise? Then what gives them the right to put loud speakers at high volumes during exam time?
My sympathies with Sonu Nigam, though the original statement he made could have been made little bit more diplomatically. It is not the mosque only- it is every religious shrine. The thing is I have the right to Silence, to be not bothered by raucous noise.
Will anything come out of it this controversy? I doubt.
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