- At the cost of sounding controversial, Indians are habitually inclined to showcase themselves as loud and boisterous whenever the occasion demands. India is a vibrant, democratic country, imbued with such diversity and a rich heritage that the entire length and breadth is endowed with different hues. One gets to immerse oneself in an extremely divergent existence while traversing a huge swathe of land in this glorious country. Of course, the most accepted territorial division in the country is the Northern and Southern parts, alongside the Western and the Eastern regions, too. Whereas each region has its own uniqueness, one of the most observed phenomena among people is that we tend not to hold back vis-à-vis decibel levels. There’s uniformity here.
PC: Hindustan Times
- Look at some of the most common occurrences, like any gathering in India. It could be celebrations of various natures, events, programmes, and some such occasions where people congregate to be a part of the same with absolute delight. We always tend to be nerve-wrackingly loud rather than adhering to the most accepted maxim of silence as gold. Again, at the cost of sounding patronizing and donning a pedagogical hat, most of us wittingly or unwittingly let go of the mask of decency and/or civilized disposition in public places. Let’s start from our very own homes, where the decibel levels are more than they should be, ideally. Neighbourhood homes, roads, places of worship, offices, political rallies, festivities, and vehicles only add to the cacophony.
PC: Legally Speaking
- Little wonder, the decibel levels in most of the cities are unbearable, way above the acceptable limits. It leads one to wonder why on earth we are so loud, not only imperiling the sanctity of our auditory senses but also posing tremendous challenges to keep our sanity intact amid unbearable bombardment from every corner. The louder the celebration, the more attention one garners seems to be the mantra for all of us. The moot point to ponder over here is why we do not follow some of the other countries that have made a conscious effort to ensure the decibel levels do not breach the desired levels. Let’s look at how these Western societies go about addressing this basic issue in the face of changed priorities.
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PC: LawBeat
- To start, we could take a leaf out of Transport for London’s book. They’ve launched a campaign to urge headphone dodgers to plug in on buses and trains, because most of the passengers – 70% per their survey – do not like second-hand entertainment. Londoners call it bare beating and sodcasting when they’re not mincing words. Mind you, they’ve got strict laws against it – two years ago, a man was fined 300 pounds. Here, we won’t know where to start. Punjab police are having a tough time checking bikes with loud exhausts. SC’s old order about the use of loudspeakers at night opted for early retirement. German laws prohibit hammering, drilling sawing at home on Sunday. Can we expect some respite from the unabated spiraling of auditory abuse? Hopefully.
