For the last 3 years that I have spent living in the heart of Pune City, the Peth area, the question I have in my mind, like many others, is WHY?
If it was for 1 time, I would be ok with it, but this has become the scenario for every festival, and every event. The extremely loud music systems. So loud and harmful that the cat near my hostel was scared and was finding a place to hide desperately, so loud that the windows in my room were shaking, and we could feel the waves standing anywhere in the radius of 10 meters of those speakers. The harm it causes is a long list. But people are ready to defend it, saying, Don’t you respect these deities? Are you not aware of X leader’s contribution to history? And so on!
But the question is totally invalid, because how much do you respect that god if all you are playing is item songs like Saki Saki and then changing them if some old man scolds you near the stage? Yes, change 2 songs and play the same bullshit again. This is how much you pay respect to them.
Also, who are these deshbakts and saints and tand heists who demand sounds at high decibels??
I have been talking to people during the festive season in all the age groups. Except for a few teenagers and the other unemployed ones, no one loves this kind of celebration. The older population has health issues, which are triggered by noise pollution. The adults are working for the whole day on computers, and this noise is adding up to the migraines in their lives. The teens are studying for some or the other exam throughout the year, and the school kids don’t even know what we are celebrating; they don’t even know the meaning of that bloody song. Then who is your listener? If 90% of the population of my area is having issues with the sound, who is this being played for, and what is the purpose of such a kind of celebration? Paying tribute to whom?????
Today, on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti, I saw speakers at almost every chowk. So much so that the noise was clashing with one another, and the most eye-irritating light showed for no reason.
This is how we pay tribute to the greatest king in history. By playing rubbish songs that have no connection to him by any means. Even if we are playing good songs, or I should say songs related to the leader in some areas, is there a need to play it at this ear-wrecking volume and bass and other stuff?? Is your statue going to listen to it?
Then comes THE question!! Why NO action on this? Hahaha, it's quite simple. Because we are SCARED. We people don’t want to get into fights with these people carrying illiterate business of noise and air pollution. Of course, I didn’t come to the part of firecrackers at the extent of a nerve-wracking mountain. The garbage on the roads the other day, the torn flags on the roads, and the holes in the cement roads we make for the bamboo of stage fitting…. Do you take responsibility for this? NO, YOU DON’T, BECAUSE YOU ARE SLEEPING SOMEWHERE AFTER CONSUMING FREE ALCOHOL UNDER THE NAME OF CELEBRATION. You are paying tributes to the great leader by whistling at girls wearing a navvari saree for the event, tributes to that leader who worked for women's safety, and tributes to that leader who will never want to put someone in trouble. But you are putting in trouble the lakhs of people staying nearby.
I saw 2 incidences today. At one place, 2 folk artists were playing powada. People gathered, listened to them, and praised them; some mothers were explaining it to their children and then quietly went away. Then at the next place, they had this huge stage, with no statue of Shivaji Maharaj, not a single person on stage, just a huge screen with dancing light animation and tremendous sound. People standing there belonged to the age group of 15-18 to 23-25 mostly. Having a phone shooting the scenes, screaming for no reason, and the other people in that place were finding ways to just go from there ASAP, as the noise was just unbearable. Here, the moms covered their children’s ears because indeed it was going to cause damage, and just getting out of that place.
Everyone knows there are better ways to celebrate things, but no one knows the purpose behind these dancing lights and loud music… This is spreading hatred among the masses. It is definitely not bringing any such awareness among our youth to respect our history.
By the way, while writing this, while sitting in a library, I am hearing the song ‘ishq hai’ from Mismatched being played in my nearby chowk. I wonder how my little brother will know about the time Shivaji Maharaj ruled 50 forts by listening to this song.
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