Mint | Is Quietness the Most Elusive Luxury in India?

We have privileged vision over hearing, turning up the volume on everything from loudspeakers to construction noise. Peace and quiet must be available to every Indian instead of only those with soundproof homes and noise cancellation devices.

What might be the rarest luxury in India? Perhaps it is quietness.

When was the last time you were able to be in blissful silence? No matter where you travel in our country, you encounter human activity-related sounds. I have been deep inside forests where, along with the roar of a tiger or the tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker, I could hear airhorns from far away trucks, or the distant strains of amplified music.

During the recent Ganesha festival I was in Mumbai, enchanted by a beautiful pandal but distracted in my prayers by a deafening and distorted aarti broadcast over giant outward-facing loudspeakers. The attendant at the entrance shrugged and smiled when I blocked my ears with my fingers. I wondered if he had become immune to the noise.

Early humans relied on their finely tuned hearing to protect themselves from threat, and to anticipate and respond to danger. There are still people who live close to nature, who can hear the background music of the universe. I have been with birders who can hear the smallest sound of a warbler or an owl from several metres away. I have walked with naturalists from ancient traditions who can hear the wind move over blades of grass. Most urbanites like me simply cannot tune in to those frequencies anymore. Over time we have privileged vision over hearing. We may have lost the ability to hear subtle sounds and to listen to what the silence has to share.

Diwali used to be a festival of lights, but now risks becoming a festival of noise. Bombs and ladis, which are the noisiest of firecrackers, make up more than 60% of Sivakasi’s annual production. Earlier, firecrackers were restricted to Diwali, New Year’s Eve, and political victory marches. Now they are part of every celebration in a country with maybe hundreds of festivals across communities and religions, with continuous elections, and an increasing number of sports events.

It is not just celebration that creates noise pollution in India. Street traffic is a big contributor, with Indians’ penchant for honking driving decibels up further. Airplanes, trains, industrial activity, generators, and construction sites are notorious for the noise they emit. Our metropolitan areas have ambient noise levels that are way above safe limits.

A 2017 study by the National Physical Laboratory, Central Pollution Control Board, and Delhi Technological University found that in seven monitored cities, fewer than 10 of the 70 sites studied met the noise standards. Importantly, not one commercial or residential site complied. Despite being bombarded night and day, not many people voice their concerns about this issue. In India, often, pain does not easily reveal itself; it has to be uncovered.

DISRUPTIONS AND DAMAGE

Two theories about the word noise say it may come from the Latin word ‘noxia’ meaning injury or hurt, or from ‘nausea’. Both origins describe unhealthy states. The World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes noise levels above 65 decibels (dB) as pollution, and above 75dB as harmful. Our government sets a level of 145dB for firecrackers as anything higher may cause acute cochlear damage. Yet some firecrackers below that safety range can generate enough noise to cause sudden, permanent hearing loss.

Any chronic or intrusive noise can act as a stressor on the body. Long-term exposure is associated with hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and stroke. Even if people believe they have become used to noise, the body still registers the stress activation through raised cortisol and adrenaline levels and increased blood pressure and heart rate.

Sleep disruption is another significant outcome of noise pollution. Even short-term sleep deficiency can have knock-on impacts, and chronic sleep deprivation has wide health consequences, such as higher cardiometabolic risk. WHO recommends less than 30 A-weighted decibels in bedrooms during the night for a good-quality sleep. Not many spaces where Indians sleep would meet that goal.

A couple of years ago the local airport near my neighbourhood in Bengaluru had given permission for commercial airlines to train pilots at all hours of the night. The planes flew so low over our densely populated community that I felt I could jump up and touch them. The sound was so deafening and unpredictable that many of us could not sleep soundly for weeks. With the ensuing daytime fatigue and poorer performance, we joked that India’s GDP might be affected since so many entrepreneurs come from this locality. It took a concerted campaign across communities and classes to halt an activity that should not have been allowed in the first place.

EARLY SIGNS

A big concern is the link with children’s cognitive development. Chronic exposure to noise near schools or homes is associated with poorer reading comprehension, memory, and attention. ‘Stop. I can’t hear myself think’ may not be as exaggerated a statement as we thought.

Other vulnerable groups are the elderly, especially those with pre-existing heart conditions, and industrial and construction workers who are exposed to more than desirable noise over an 8-hour day. And think of all the traffic personnel, the transport workers, the security staff, the roadside vendors, the gig workers who work all the time in acoustically punishing conditions.

A new and disturbing phenomenon is the increase in youngsters habituated to loud music on their earphones. A WHO-led review published in BMJ Global Health pooled 33 studies from the past two decades, and the authors estimated that globally one billion young people could be at risk from unsafe listening practices. A small cross-sectional study of 350 people aged 18-25 at a Puducherry tertiary hospital concluded that prolonged use of ear devices over time might be significantly associated with early noise-induced hearing loss.

In a civilisation so finely attuned over centuries to practising and valuing meditation and maun (silence), how did we get to this point? Why are we unable to recognise our distress?

Since noise pollution is rather low on the nation’s radar, it is not surprising that there are but a handful of non-profit organizations working on this. Among them are Awaaz Foundation and Quiet India. Both conduct innovative campaigns to raise awareness and create impact. Apart from a citizens’ pledge to reduce noise, Quiet India has piloted noise ratings on Google restaurant reviews, to sensitize customers. Awaaz participated in a public interest litigation (PIL) for the implementation of Silence Zone regulations and stricter enforcement parameters for firecrackers and loudspeakers in Maharashtra.

Local groups also band together against noise. Loud parties and late-night music at the resorts around Corbett National Park helped launch a Kumaon chapter of Uttarakhand Against Noise Pollution. In Bengaluru and other cities, there are sporadic ‘No Honking’ campaigns.

The Mumbai traffic police tried an interesting experiment in 2020 before the pandemic hit. It was called ‘the punishing signal’ and if noise levels from honking crossed 85dB, the signal would reset to red. ‘Honk more, wait more’ was the viral video campaign. By its own analysis there was a 32% drop in average decibel readings. Yet this campaign has not scaled. We will need many more experiments with behavioural nudges to change mindsets.

India has strict laws under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, which classify cities into four distinct zones which have separate permissible noise limits for day and night. In residential areas, the limit is 55db in the day and 45dB at night, while noise in commercial areas is capped at 65/55dB. For industrial areas, it is 75dB by day and 70 at night.

The courts have also stepped in vigorously against public noise. The Supreme Court of India has declared that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to a peaceful environment. It has codified a 10pm to 6am ban on loudspeakers and outdoor firecrackers. Separately, in 2000, the court ruled that religious practices must yield to noise control laws, which are aimed at protecting public health. State governments have the legal authority to extend loudspeaker curfews until midnight for cultural or religious festivals, though it is meant to be capped at a maximum of 15 days in a calendar year. We only have to step out and listen to know that these laws are largely breached.

Who’s keeping track? Far from reducing the noise, we now have enthusiastic, competing sounds from mosques, churches, and temples. Until the larger public becomes much more aware of the hazards from noise pollution and understands the importance of respecting acoustic boundaries, the state alone cannot enforce a social good.

Collective celebration, inevitably accompanied by loud music or cheering, develops social capital and camaraderie. In fact, some people find the quiet unnerving. It makes them feel lonely. Those who live alone often leave the TV on to feel as if they have company. Yet there is a difference between sound and noise pollution. Noise pollution is defined as unwanted, excessive, or disturbing sound that poses a threat to the health and well-being of humans and wildlife.

Outside my home in Bengaluru is a public park. Hundreds of youths enjoy playing games there all day and sometimes into the night. They can be very loud, but there is no amplification. Somehow it does not disturb me enough to count as noise pollution. Why can we not celebrate our festivals, our religious rituals and public events similarly without loudspeakers?

It is time to enforce all our protective laws and create a true public movement for a quieter India. Peace and quiet must become a luxury that every Indian can afford, instead of only those with soundproof homes and noise cancellation devices. Let’s democratize the joy of silence.

DROWNING OUT WILDLIFE

Human-made noise can disrupt the communication, navigation, foraging and reproduction of both terrestrial and marine creatures. Take birds, for example. Bird calls are the most sophisticated forms of sound-based communication in the natural world. Researchers have found that birds in noisy environments consistently produced calls with significantly higher peak frequencies than those in quieter habitats, which interferes with mating success.

The Himalayan monal, the state bird of Uttarakhand, which is a stand-in metric for the fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem, is changing its call and song because of human activity. “In listening to the monal we hear the Himalayas asking for space, silence, and care,” says Anjal Prakash, a researcher.

Large terrestrial animals like elephants are equally affected. They communicate using frequencies between 14 and 35 Hz, which can be drowned out by even far-off traffic noise. India’s beloved tigers don’t like the noise either. There is recent evidence that high-traffic roads affect tiger movement and population connectivity across tiger reserves.

The story is the same when it comes to marine life. Shipping, traffic, and industrial activity have reduced the acoustic space of whales and dolphins by up to 90%. High-intensity naval sonar and seismic testing and deep-sea mining activities disorient marine mammals and are linked to mass whale strandings. Compared to pre-industrial ocean background noise, which was around 80dB on average, levels can go as high as 120dB, louder than a rock concert.

No wonder marine mammals have difficulty hearing and responding to each other. Even tiny insects can be severely impacted. Insect pollinators like bees are critical to keeping natural ecosystems in balance. They rely on subtle vibrations to detect pollen, and noise pollution can interfere with their navigation and reduce pollination efficiency. The noise we make is hurting all other living systems.

Shipping companies are coordinating to reduce ships’ speeds to cut underwater noise. National parks in the west are introducing quiet zones and reduced speed limits, documenting a quick return of noise-sensitive species. In Stuttgart, Germany, green corridors, which are connected strips of parks and gardens, both absorb urban noise and provide safe passage for urban wildlife. In London they are experimenting with acoustic shields against traffic noise. Much more innovation is on the way.

In India there is still a wide gap in noise pollution research, most of which is centred around the negative impact on humans. Private philanthropy and the state need to step in to bridge this deficit. If we rejig our conservation priorities to mitigate noise pollution, we can have a significant impact across natural ecosystems that sustain us.