Noise, sound and god

Local trains in our city happen to strike almost every element known to humans. And that includes sound. Pleasant or unpleasant in nature, sound can’t possibly escape a moving locomotive. Regardless, the less we talk about the noise that’s created inside train compartments, the better. There are hawkers, peddlers, beggars, unruly citizens, drunkards creating a scene, babies bawling due to lack of ventilation, people playing annoying songs on their cellphones and the list goes on and on. Ironically, the thing that’s supposed to make a sound is muted—television—even when it’s not telecasting funny clips featuring Charlie Chaplin from the silent cinema era. On the contrary, one can’t overlook a group of men banging manjeeras and singing bhajans in the morning. They may not have the sweetest of voices around but they sing with utmost dedication. The folk music is unmistakable and unbearable at times, too. Not every co-commuter might agree with this method of expressing oneself but nobody complains either. Perhaps it’s better to avoid interrupting divine intervention; especially in a tolerant city like Mumbai where noise and music coexist. Like one of the crooning passenger asked, “Why do you think train accidents don’t take place in our city?”

Shor

Where there’s noise, there’s scope for music too. And what better place can one be than in Bombay to experience this phenomenon? Seldom do we come across a place here that justifies the word ‘serene’. No wonder we don’t get to her a horde of sparrows chirping together anymore. But music pertaining to human influence has a slightly different angle. On one hand, we have religious practices that produce music—whether everybody appreciates it or not—while on another hand, Bollywood songs are constantly blaring out of loudspeakers. The less said about the former the better. About the latter, we can only wonder what really happens to non-filmi music. Where exactly are they heard? I stumbled upon two classical musicians performing in a suburban hotel and later we came across two disabled musicians performing on railway platform. The similarity between the two sets of performers is both were dispensing music—irrespective of where they were stationed—amid the noise.