The other day I went to a new mall in Pune, and JBL had displayed their biggest and best speakers right in the middle of the mall.... the music was blaring so loud that an old couple sitting there had to scream into each other's ears. A friend recently inspired and urged me to do something close to my heart.. So here I am sharing my views and opinions and a lot more on a very specific problem that most of us face today. NOISE POLLUTION. This is not a blog where you can just come and crib about NOISE. There's a lot more to it. Pour your heart out, I want to know everything about how you face this uninvited trouble.
Almost everyday I come across a few people who tell me how they suffer because of noise. Given the fact that our culture in itself is very vibrant thus demanding noise. Considering all the festivals:
Almost everyday I come across a few people who tell me how they suffer because of noise. Given the fact that our culture in itself is very vibrant thus demanding noise. Considering all the festivals:
- Diwali and its fireworks.
- Weddings and its fireworks, orchestra and the people..
- Ganpati and its speakers and intensely loud music.
- Holi, Dasserah, Dahi handi, and sooooooooooooooooooo many more..
- Restaurants, Malls, CCD's and other such places.
Why does everything have to be so LOUD? What is the need for coffee shops and restaurants to play music so loud that you can't even hear the person next to you??? Noisy neighbours, construction, HORNS, rickshaws, diesel engines.
Have we ever cared that when speaking so loudly we might be disturbing another human being, animal, bird???? Have you ever thought of what the normal human hearing ability is???
darling...first let me welcome you here :)
ReplyDeleteand the noise pollution has many cultural background which wont be resolved easily.... to start, could you ask two people standing 1 meter away not to shout while speaking?!?!?!?
True, I know..... but we have to start somewhere. For example, the lift in your building don't you think that's noise pollution??
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how often I have to tell the person standing right next to me to stop shouting into my ear!!!! And they'll be like "I'm not shouting!!" Dude, you are I'm not mad or stupid, yes I do have ears more sensitive than yours but that still doesn't mean you have to scream in my ear. People who speak very loudly most often aren't aware of it for various reasons. One, they don't realize it, two they probably can't hear themselves clear enough. You know what I really want is to know how other people feel about such situations. Most of my loud friends stop talking to me after sometime as they feel offended for me having told them that they're loud. HMMMMM!!!
ReplyDeletegod...the lift is the most possible irritating THING...and I am the only one, among all 44 residents of the building to complain about it...I guess they even don't hear it!!
ReplyDeleteby the way,
ReplyDeleteI found your background two noisy!
:))
That's the whole point it is suppose to be noisy because that is what it represents. NOISE!!! I'm sitting in my house right now and there's not a single peaceful moment. From nearby to far away I can only hear noise...
ReplyDeleteStarting from neighbours to construction, sweeping, crying and screaming babies, drill machine, trucks, rickshaws, flying planes, jet and fighter plane practice sessions. It is so predominant.
My dear blog, I know I haven't done you any justice yet and you have no followers. It isn't easy in today's technology dominated world to get you enough attention anyways. However, remembering the reason I gave birth to you don't worry I will keep coming back...
ReplyDeleteAt this point I am wondering how considerate people are towards the environment that they live in. Technology and the easily accesible ameneties today have made us so lazy, lame and ignorant, that we see nothing but our comfort. The big I, MINE, ME. The general attitude that people are even raising their children with is selfishness. Courtesy, chivalry, kindness.... what??? what are these words??? My next door neighbor Julie aunty, shouts from 10 in the morning in the building, at everyone and anyone she can find. Once during my exams I asked her to keep it down she was so offended and created a major scene as if I had asked her to have sex with my father!!! What??? Are you deaf??? The neighbor opposite my house, they have two doors.... The typical ones... opens the inner one, outer one, slams the inner one, slams the outer one goes down one flight of stairs, come back with the lift (one floor - 16 stairs)within 2 mins, repeats the process, goes back down again in 2 mins, repeats the process 50 times a day. I've counted it.... He's 24 yrs old...
I've been thinking about logging in here for many days now. It's not like I have given up on my project, but amidst work, getting tattoos, traveling, errands for Loopita, and other stuff that I do on a daily basis I've been real busy. Also there has been a slight transition in my feelings for NOISE.
ReplyDeleteLet do a feeling/hearing noise check/check noise?
Ok so first of all I have worked real hard to change that state of mind where all types of noise bother me. It has been successful to a certain extent, but the fact remains that I am not DEAF. And so long I my hearing is fine I don't think I can avoid hearing.
So, noise is not really just a state of mind. Sound travels to our ears and we HEAR!!! Anybody ever wondered what is the normal decibel range for our hearing that won't let us go deaf?? Well I'm going to find out since I work in a school now. Soon I will be able to make my documentary on sound and maybe people will see it.
One funny thing about Indian culture is how loud it is. Not just the culture but the SOUNDS too.
At this point we say weird and unusual noises (only I of course am meant to know what that means).
The other day I was eating at a restaurant and the table nearby was packed with 15 kids and adults screaming on the top of their lungs over fried rice and chicken!!! When we shhhhshed them, they were quite offended and mocked saying she wants peace!!! Well of course want peace, all of mankind wants peace. I'm sure she would have wanted peace too if she was sleeping, or needed quiet!!
On another occasion I asked a neighbor to not encourage her child to scream when he wants something and she responded by saying "they are kids, they are meant to scream and play, you have problems with our children screaming and yelling go live in a jungle!!" Excuse me??? Was I even supposed to respond to that?? So, this is not just about noise anymore!!! It's about making others realize and understand why we should live in peace!! Peace and quiet affects our lives in many ways.
There's an old proverb that says: Children should be seen not heard!!
I don't blame those children though, if you have a parent who screams from across the street to a neighbor, vegetable vendor, security gaurd or anyone else wouldn't you be learning from them?? Children duplicate their parents' reactions, they are mirror images of the adults around them. How can we not take responsibility for raising our children appropriately?
As for me I need to get back to work now. But this is a new beginning and so I shall be back!!
September 2011 posted my last comment!! Well since then I got a Masters degree, made some amazing friends, got some great tattoos!!! In love with a new life, new people, new things altogether.
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy to live in a hugely populated country and expect quiet. Is this true??? How applicable is this to logic? Well, fact is China is quite populated too, then how come they are such peaceful and calm people who still care and respected other people's silence and desire for peace???
ReplyDeleteCan we ask ourselves this question? Why is India such a noisy country? Do we think about the repurcussions of our actions? Are we really fair to everyone? Are we fair to those who cannot bear noise for various reasons (list will be provided in future blogs)
I have been mocked at for picking NOISE as a social issue, as it does not seem to be an issue to most around me. Surveys shall reveal facts later!!!
At this point what I would really like to know is how others feel about noise in general. What kind of noise bothers you the most??
ReplyDeleteIs it that nobody has a problem with noise?? Am I the only one???? Interesting!!
ReplyDeleteI read it somewhere that the vibrations of the noise are most difficult to clean up (by nature) and it stays for hundreds of years. So even if u r dead and come back somehow after, say, 150 years with some great powers, then you will be able to hear what u/others said... It is horrifying.... May be it takes more energy to clean noise-vibrations than clean up plastic pollution.
ReplyDeleteAnd i feel it has some deeper meaning also. The more your mind is chaotic, the more you need noise around you. And as the voices or noises in your mins lessened, you just don't need the noise outside. I have experienced this. The calmer you are inside the just want to run away from noise. But you can manage that.
http://www.ted.com/talks/bernie_krause_the_voice_of_the_natural_world.html? [15 min]
ReplyDeleteLovely blog n great initiative. Yes noise has become a problem n m sure even I m noise for many :) I love dogs but the gang of street dogs that keep barking day n night irritate me. Also a man in the neighborhood loves to talk loudly over his phone. People honk for no good reason. Most people prefer to yell.my daughter's screaming drives me man.If I go to name it is a long list n honestly it is pretty noise
ReplyDeleteIt did bothered me..that i have changed places because i could not feel peace at those places and so much that i have had thoughts of talking to the owners of the secluded old buildings at the law college road if i can stay there....And so much that i had searched about soundproof material and how is soundproofing done over google and thought how if they would use soundproofing normally done...:)
ReplyDeletenoise is an epidemic... with the Ganesh festival coming around the corner... expect the worst. Where are my ear-plugs??
ReplyDelete