it’s that time of the year again when schools prepare to shut for the ‘winter’ vacation and children and adults alike get ready to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights that, until recently, was better known for the fury of its sounds.
A gradual change has been discernible over the past few years in the way Diwali — and indeed many other festivals — is celebrated in our city. The use of noisy firecrackers and sutli bombs has reduced perceptibly and you see more of the pyrotechnics that were earlier associated only with New Year’s Eve over Sydney Harbour Bridge or the opening/closing ceremony of Olympic Games or a World Cup. And the anti-noise brigade, too, has admitted that this year’s Ganeshotsav and Navratri festival were less noisy than in the years past.
But the battle against noise is far from being won. Even today, ambient noise in most parts of the city far exceeds the norms set by the government for industrial zones, let alone residential areas or ‘silent zones’. While this is a battle that will not be won in a day, maybe even in a year, that is no reason to give it up and let the noise brigade rule unfettered.
That is why DNA is launching its ‘Volume kam kar’ campaign today. This isn’t only about festivals, or drivers who honk incessantly, or loud music. It’s about the noise that seems to pervade our environment, that sometimes makes us want to shut our ears and scream. That, however, is no solution. At least part of the solution lies with us, too. Let’s make a beginning this year by trying to celebrate Diwali the way it should be, as a festival of lights rather than sound.
