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Cacophony all the way
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Screeching buses, yelling passengers, rash car drivers, beggars ... you name it, it is all there. Have Chennaiites become immune to noise pollution?
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URBAN NOISES are at their worst. I was invited by a friend to see a new Tamil film... and I must say that it was an ode to urban noise. The film projected every type of noise, as if it was a panegyric to pollution.
Screeching buses, yelling passengers, noisy three-wheelers, rattling two-wheelers, rash car drivers, street fighters, beggars, loud mechanics, ... you name it, it was there.
Chennai and its rather unruly inhabitants at their worst, criss-crossed the big screen, crying hoarse, to be heard. For those few moments of beauty and poetry, the film had innovative images... a birthday party, complete with a cake, choreographed amid sweaty bodies stuffed like sardines in an overcrowded bus, tilted precariously to one side.
I commented to my friend: this is realism in our movies. She did not buy it and merely laughed. Troubled hospital scenes had a sound track of... yes, screeching noises. The poorer sections of society were shown working in tin sheds. They were also shown "enjoying" life with a potent mixture from our friendly neighbourhood liquor shop. Followed by dancing to a deafening din. Realism again...
This is the way we are... amid all the cacophony, girls go to college, chat with friends, risk their lives crossing the road, defy mothers and fall in love with educated car mechanics. Young lads miss buses and miss getting a job. Only a mother, who doesn't go out at all, sits pretty in her lovely home, noise free, tension free. Not realistic... even she must go grocery shopping in one of the new noisy super-markets some time.
A friend remarked after shopping in one of the super-markets where film music was being played at full volume, "What a din! Why can't they play classical music or at least something pleasant?" Why indeed not, as one of the leading chains today is part of the group that owns the oldest recording company.
Perhaps, soothing music will slow down shoppers... in a frenetic atmosphere, they are likely to pick up all the things they don't need and never intended to buy. For years, I went to a beauty parlour only because they played the tapes of Yesudas singing light songs. The effect it had on the complexion needed no questioning.
I do remember one of my early visits to Singapore... a time when there were only two malls, unlike today when it can be described as a city of malls. I found the unfamiliar Chinese melodies distracting and after an hour of gazing at pretty things I fled, looking for a small noiseless boutique to buy gifts. On the other hand, I have wandered into bookshops, spent hours browsing with Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the background making me want to buy all the books I ever wanted to read.
No public place, which provides entertainment, has given much thought to the state of the nerves of the people. Waiting recently in the departure lounge for an international flight, one was treated to rapidly switching TV channels showing Hindi movies, with no volume control. The bazaar atmosphere is probably what the authorities think people feel comfortable in ... even if it is midnight. Providentially, there was no delay that morning.
People increasingly have become immune to noise... or rather insensitive to it. Flats reverberate with 50 different cable channels, with each resident showing off his preference. Pets are admired for barking at friends and encouraged to bark until they leave, which may be an hour later.
Children are encouraged to scream at the crack of dawn even if the neighbours are sleeping.
It is not surprising, therefore, that when people see a film, which reflects their noisy life, they cheer and clap. It is realistic... it is all about them.
LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN
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