Sir,
Bhubaneswar, known for long as a city of residents with a laid-back outlook to life, maybe because of the deafening sound generated and patronised by its senior citizens, has passed into the hold of residents who relish the glitz and glitter marked by year-round noisy sound on all occasions, festivities, celebrations, felicitations, public functions in honour of both persons of eminence and politicos in seats of power.
Sound, a euphemism of noise, has tended to drown the culture part of the various cultural programmes, barring exceptions.
Physicists have defined decibel (dB) as a unit of measuring the intensity of sound; the higher the decibel level, the louder the noise. Scientists have studied the levels of sounds in our environment and prescribed decibel
level 85 dB for safe listening and avoiding noise-induced hearing loss.
Protecting the ears from the sounds around us using earplugs is also their guideline for all noisy situations.
While it is not within the grasp of lay people to decipher the connect between the figures of dB and the levels as well as the sources of sounds, scientists have prepared a short list of common sounds and how they measure up: Normal conversation– 60 dB; heavy city traffic- 85 dB; MP3 player at maximum volume- 105 dB; sirens- 120 dB; concerts- 120 dB; fire arms- 150 dB.
Now, Bhubaneswar will be celebrating the festival of lights Deepavali, more appropriately the festival of sound generated by a wide variety of fireworks, including crackers.
The nation’s apex court has taken the initiative to make the festival less noisy by spelling out the do’s and don’ts during the festival.
The advisory has always fallen on deaf ears of the revellers even as the show goes on, bringing to one’s mind the anecdote of the donkeys rendering music during the wedding of camels.
K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025, Mob: 9437616497