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Journalism of Courage
It8217;s a nightmare. You toss and turn in your bed as one of your neighbours celebrates his grandson8217;s birthday. 8220;Tum jiyo hazaro saal,8221; shrieks a crooner, completely out of tune with the orchestra. And right in your ear. Unable to sleep, you heap curses on the poor child, shut all the windows of your house, stick your fingers in the ears and are on the verge of joining the screaming contest when the drama ends. Abruptly. At 2 am. I have lost count of the times I have had to suffer this. A corner house with a ground in front and on the side might have its advantages, but these get crossed out when the entire sector congregates there to celebrate. As loudly as they can. Firm believers in the philosophy of flaunt it if you have it, they do it in style. And spare no resources to ensure that the reverberations of their function 8212; be it a marriage, reception, jagrata or kirtan 8212; are felt in every corner of the sector. They hire the biggest loudspeakers and screechiest singers. So whatif it disturbs students preparing for their exams, raises the BP of heart patients and has most of the sectorwallahs clutching their heads and muttering choicest abuses. You will agree that as an attention-getting mechanism, nothing can beat the amplifier.
Your parents might call this an offshoot of an increasingly exhibitionist society, but sociologists trace its origin to agrarian society of the yore when people made use of drums to celebrate marriage, birth of a child or to make any other important announcement. Psychologists, however, attribute its use to the innate human desire to show off. It8217;s like beating your chest and saying: 8217;Hey! look I have money to throw around. See, I am celebrating.8221;
But loudspeaker-fans are deaf to these arguments. Tell them to lower the volume of those ear-shattering amplifiers and they will give you a lecture on the freedom of speech and action. But my dears, remember the great thinker who said: 8217;Your freedom to wave your hand ends where my nose begins.8221; Similarly, your right to blow your trumpet ends the moment it starts hurting my ear. Not many know that even the law prohibits this loud behaviour. Please give a big hand to the Punjab Instruments Control of Noises Act 1956 which was specially formulated to control the use of loudspeakers, microphones and amplifiers. It rules that no person can use any such instrument between 10 at night and 6 in the morning, or at a pitch that is likely to be audible to others, without the written permission of the District Magistrate. And anyone who doesn8217;t take permission or flouts the conditions laid down by the Act is liable to be punished with a fine of Rs 1,000 or six months imprisonment or both.
The process of getting permission involves verification by the SHO and endorsement by the SSP. The DC8217;s office finally gives the green signal after the applicant agrees to abide by the following conditions:
