Reverence lost in relentless festival noise

Drumah sapushpaah salilam sapadyam, streeyah sakama pavanah sugandhih |Sukhaah pradosha divsashch ramyaah, sarvam priye charutaram vasante ||The meaning of the verse is as follows: Oh beloved! everything has turned so beautiful during spring time. Trees are laden with flowers, ponds are full of lotus, air is scented, evenings pleasant and days are delightful.I entered my housing society park with a lot of enthusiasm to meditate, but failed. Why? Incredible decibel assault was on from the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway in the vicinity.

The devotees were moving with the ‘flame’ of the goddess expressing their religious fervour through thousands of watts of boom boxes.I am a practising Hindu. My grandfather used to be a dandi swami (ascetic of Advait Vedant tradition). My father was a poet and discourses on religion and literature shaped my early childhood.

I thought of confronting these ‘decibel devotees’, do you have any idea what the ‘flame’ represents?Our ancestors started the tradition of carrying a lamp to the temple to let knowledge reach all and sundry and not be confined to a fortunate few. Invocations like Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya (god take me from darkness to light) were a result of this practice. But these youngsters are doing exactly the opposite.

I never thought the first day of the Hindu new year would start on such a note.I thought even if the youngsters were blaring Durga Saptashati or other hymns of Maa Durga people could have tolerated the noise. But they were singing praise of goddesses based on cheap film songs. These people forget noise is damaging their ear drums and their long-term cognition.According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and reports from various environmental organizations, exposure