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Blasting The Eardrums

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Balajee, Apr 20, 2017.

  1. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Sorry Sonu Nigam I am not with you. You may tweet criticizing use of loudspeakers early in the morning in places of worship disturbing your sleep. But I am firmly on the side of those who disturb sleep.


    You see I happen to be one of them.


    I can’t sleep beyond three-thirty in the morning. I get up, make myself a cup of coffee and in no time hit the home gym. And the trouble begins then, not form me but for my wife and pets, I need some peppy music on a rather high decibel level to make me move on the treadmill. And that disturbs the wife who watches TV until midnight before nodding off.


    The pooches don’t appreciate music either, or probably they do and want to sing along and try their level best to showcase their musical talents in a karaoke exercise by letting out howls. So I am forced to lower the sound of the speakers. Dear, Maulvis of mosques, now I know how you would feel when singer Sonu talked about “imposition of religion” when his sleep was disturbed by the Azaan call for morning prayers through a loudspeaker from a mosque near his place.


    That triggered a wave of protest. One maulvi offered Rs 10 lakhs to anyone who would shave off Sonu’s head. That is quite a moderate offer considering people cutting across political and religious line have been off late offering that much for heads of their rivals.


    Sonu immediately shaved off his head but nobody has paid him a penny yet. Dear readers don’t line up at some barber’s to get your head shaved off hoping for a fat cheque of Rs 10 lakh. Conditions apply. You gotta make a controversial comment, preferably one that is presumed to hurt religious sentiments. That is damn easy. Nowadays anything and everything could be interpreted as stepping on the toes of believers.


    In my considered opinion, loudspeakers are the worst invention mankind ever came upon pushing the nuclear bomb to a distant second (loudspeakers yes, not the speakers of my music system that I switch on early in the morning. They may be loud but don’t qualify as loudspeakers). A nuke device will obliterate everything in a jiffy but loudspeakers can drive you nuts blaring away to glory until late in the night



    There is a Supreme Court ruling that these ear blasters cannot be switched on between ten in the night and six in the morning but nobody gives a damn.


    They are a real nightmare during the Navartra seasons twice a year when all these all-night Bhagwati jagrans test your eardrums.Once an irritated neighbour of mine called cops to enforce the ruling when loud jagran that was going on in a neighbouring apartment block till wee hours of the morning. Initially the cops were nervous, they went and confiscated the speakers. Next day angry organisers came calling and banged at my friend’s door. He wisely didn’t open and they were evicted by security guards after the devout fired off some interesting religious comments ascribing incestuous relationships with mothers and sisters for those who disturb such holy activity.


    In Mumbai, make such a complaint about loudspeakers during the Ganpati festival and you would probably wake up in some hospital bandaged from head to toe looking like a mummy from some b-grade horror movie.No point in yelling “MUMMY!!!!!!” then.


    Frankly I would prefer a ban on the manufacture of these ear blasting monstrosities. They have spread more hatred and triggered more violence than any other instrument. I don’t think they have ever been ambassadors of goodwill.

    So after reading this someone offers a big fat stash of cash to ANJYONE who would shave my head then I would gladly give them the address of my barber who regularly ensures that my pate remains bald forever or at least until I decide to change my hairstyle. I think that guy can do with a big amount to refurbish his shop.
     
    jssd and satchitananda like this.
  2. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    LOL Balajee. Now you think of way of killing two birds with one stone - ensuring that your current hairstyle is maintained and the barber gets to refurbish his shop.

    Jokes apart, I am waiting for the day sense prevails and all kind of public imposition of religion on unwilling individuals is stopped just the way the lal batti culture has been stopped.
     
  3. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Balajee,

    Loud speakers have been a problem for years. In early 1960s when I was 10 years old, it is a reminder to have shower in the month of December-January to rush to the Temple to worship. Only consolation was piping hot pongal. In the evenings, loud speakers used to be indication of someone speaking about Ramayana or Mahabharath. We need to rush to listen to such important teachings after finishing our homework. Some times, we used to hear DK public meeting calling for sanity by joining the rationalist movement. !Loud speakers used to announce the upcoming movies in town as well.

    Viswa
     
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  4. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Satchi very true religion should be a very private affair between the believer and the deity that he/she believes guards over him. When you bring it into public space you only cause trouble.
     
    satchitananda likes this.
  5. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Haha so you want someone else's sleep to be disturbed because you want a piping hot pongal breakfast? If anyone wants to listen to Ramayana, Mahabharata or for the matter a DK speech, they don't do it at four in the morning do they? Or for the matter don't blast your eardrums away to glory until late in the night.?
     
  6. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    @Balajee

    Come elections we have party people blasting their Thalaivar songs nonstop. If it is Ayyappa season, we have pandals at every nook and cranny with ear piercing devotional songs. With the arrival of Aadi month, every week we have Mariamman songs exploding through the loud speakers. Right next to our apartment we have senior citizen neighbors, hard of hearing, watching TV channels non stop with volumes turned up to the fullest. Noise pollution- who cares, Very soon I may be in need of hearing aids!

    Agatha83
     
    umaakumar likes this.
  7. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    @Balajee

    Just because I am fast becoming stone deaf, I do not want to appear ignorant about sound and its aspects. As usual, I sought the help of my friend Google and what I came across there made me feel happy that I am hard of hearing. We were living during my childhood in Triplicane which was the source of all noise in the then Madras. In order that we were audible to others in that noise, we always conducted our conversation in high decibels. Once when we went to visit an uncle in a quiet village, we spoke to him in our usual decibel by force of habit and he promptly told us that we were not addressing a public meeting!
    Sri
     
  8. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    There is so much of noise that deafness appears to be a blessing.. The mindset is the noisier you are the more you get noticed Your loudness is more important than the profoundness of your thoughts.
     
  9. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Cheeniya sir, welcome back after a loooong time. During festival and election seasons I almost get a feelkiing that deafness is a real blessing. But you have shown me the positive side of noise. It can condition anyone and everyone into becoming a public speaker.
     

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