You must have thought that baby blog turned one and then went to sleep :) Well, not exactly, the blog has had no post for a long time owing to a little bit of lethargy on my part and a lot of excitement involved in planning my dream holiday to Latin America, which kept me busy. I’m back now and with all the festivities around the only thought that comes to mind is NOISE!
Why are you shouting? I can never forget this “welcome back question” from a friend the moment I landed back in Dubai (on a holiday) after relocating to India for good! That’s the first time I realized the kind of ‘background noise’ we are used to back home. Then on, I had to be conscious of my decibel levels throughout my visit!
The more I see the world the more I am convinced that we must be one of the noisiest countries in the world, especially our cities. It all starts at home when you need the ceiling fan to be at full speed to brave the hot humid climate. The noise made by the fan forces us to increase the television volume in order to make sense of what is being said. The sound from the streets (courtesy, open windows-for the elusive breeze) gives you copyright free access to high decibel surround sound generated by auto rickshaws, cars, buses, motor bikes, repair work etc. This again leads you to keep your door bells and telephone ringers on high volume.
The vicious circle of noise creating more noise is only exasperated during the second half of the year when festivities for Ganesh Chaturti, Dussera and Diwali begin! We are unable to enjoy ourselves unless we are also ‘heard to be having fun’. Music blasting from pooja mandals and every nook and corner makes you wish you were deaf for most part of the time these festivals are celebrated. No one seems to have a clue to celebrating events without being loud. Thankfully government restrictions are trying to make sure these pathetically noisy celebrations don’t go beyond a certain time at night.
Oh! How can I forget the big fat noisy Indian weddings, 'thread ceremonies' etc where you cannot communicate with each other unless you speak into the other persons ear….literally! God has been very kind to us...it’s a miracle that so many of us are not already deaf!
Ok, now that I have let the steam out, I can move to other things. Of all the things that have happened in the past few weeks the ones I recollect immediately are:
Nearly one year after giving investors a heart attack Ramalinga Raju got one for himself. I am still not sure if it was real or exaggerated in order to get VIP treatment at the hospital.
After Advani its Jaswant Singh who was at the receiving end for his Jinnah glorifying comments. BJP is soon becoming a Bharatiya Jinnah Party, much to the amusement of other political outfits.
Economy class now has a new name, ‘cattle class’. Outbursts against Tharoor proved once again that we have absolutely no sense of humour. If you are unable to laugh at yourself be sure others will gladly do it for you!
The moon mission has had its own sense of humour. Apparently they seem to have found a thin invisible layer of water on the moon. Hmmn wonder how they found it if it was invisible :) Poetically too I am not convinced that it is true…such mein agar chand par pani hota toh chand ab tak apna daag na dholeti? :)
Finally, it’s the joy of giving week in India…so all pretty and intelligent women can have their share of joy by giving me their contact details!! I know one person reading this blog who will chide me and say – “always fishing”. Well, young lady I would like to borrow and adapt a line from the movie “Scent of a Woman” and say. ‘The day we stop fishing, Nihi, is the day we die”!!!
Talk about movies and I finally managed to see the movie I've been wanting to see for a long time - The Bucket List. An amazing movie which is funny and yet so touching. A million percent my kinda movie. It also catalysed my sky diving dreams in Brazil!
Wishing you all a Happy (noise free) Dussera.
Why are you shouting? I can never forget this “welcome back question” from a friend the moment I landed back in Dubai (on a holiday) after relocating to India for good! That’s the first time I realized the kind of ‘background noise’ we are used to back home. Then on, I had to be conscious of my decibel levels throughout my visit!
The more I see the world the more I am convinced that we must be one of the noisiest countries in the world, especially our cities. It all starts at home when you need the ceiling fan to be at full speed to brave the hot humid climate. The noise made by the fan forces us to increase the television volume in order to make sense of what is being said. The sound from the streets (courtesy, open windows-for the elusive breeze) gives you copyright free access to high decibel surround sound generated by auto rickshaws, cars, buses, motor bikes, repair work etc. This again leads you to keep your door bells and telephone ringers on high volume.
The vicious circle of noise creating more noise is only exasperated during the second half of the year when festivities for Ganesh Chaturti, Dussera and Diwali begin! We are unable to enjoy ourselves unless we are also ‘heard to be having fun’. Music blasting from pooja mandals and every nook and corner makes you wish you were deaf for most part of the time these festivals are celebrated. No one seems to have a clue to celebrating events without being loud. Thankfully government restrictions are trying to make sure these pathetically noisy celebrations don’t go beyond a certain time at night.
Oh! How can I forget the big fat noisy Indian weddings, 'thread ceremonies' etc where you cannot communicate with each other unless you speak into the other persons ear….literally! God has been very kind to us...it’s a miracle that so many of us are not already deaf!
Ok, now that I have let the steam out, I can move to other things. Of all the things that have happened in the past few weeks the ones I recollect immediately are:
Nearly one year after giving investors a heart attack Ramalinga Raju got one for himself. I am still not sure if it was real or exaggerated in order to get VIP treatment at the hospital.
After Advani its Jaswant Singh who was at the receiving end for his Jinnah glorifying comments. BJP is soon becoming a Bharatiya Jinnah Party, much to the amusement of other political outfits.
Economy class now has a new name, ‘cattle class’. Outbursts against Tharoor proved once again that we have absolutely no sense of humour. If you are unable to laugh at yourself be sure others will gladly do it for you!
The moon mission has had its own sense of humour. Apparently they seem to have found a thin invisible layer of water on the moon. Hmmn wonder how they found it if it was invisible :) Poetically too I am not convinced that it is true…such mein agar chand par pani hota toh chand ab tak apna daag na dholeti? :)
Finally, it’s the joy of giving week in India…so all pretty and intelligent women can have their share of joy by giving me their contact details!! I know one person reading this blog who will chide me and say – “always fishing”. Well, young lady I would like to borrow and adapt a line from the movie “Scent of a Woman” and say. ‘The day we stop fishing, Nihi, is the day we die”!!!
Talk about movies and I finally managed to see the movie I've been wanting to see for a long time - The Bucket List. An amazing movie which is funny and yet so touching. A million percent my kinda movie. It also catalysed my sky diving dreams in Brazil!
Wishing you all a Happy (noise free) Dussera.
