Can the noise stop?

Everyday lakhs, if not millions of Delhi population hits the road- and gets assaulted by noise.

Typical scene is that of a busy road being motored on my busier people. Patience? Not one of the virtues Delhi can boast of! Signs like Speed thrills but kills are common place. It does, too... only when the drunk drivers manage to drive fast in the wee hours of late nights or early mornings. The mangled remains of the reputable cars are splashed on the front page of newspapers- unrecognisable as a car- let alone the brand! For the rest of us ordinary mortals, we have to commute on roads infested with vehicles like a crowd in a mela- each individual fighting for the space to put his foot or take the next step. The melange of cars of various sizes and configurations along with the ubiquitous autos and the out of control buses, not to forget the two wheeler motor-cyclists or even scooterists, makes sure we all crawl.

Better the road, more our expectation from the people moving on it. "Get the hell out of my way!" The horns blare. What makes the honkers assume that blowing high decibels into the surrounding will make the car ahead of them go any faster or even get out of their way? With another car in front of it and another one ahead of it almost endlessly, who CAN move? Can we not follow the reminders not very subtly projected at us at most traffic junctions- RELAX! Notice that the Red light reads it loud and clear! Plainly in view. There are those who choose to literally SIT on their horns even at traffic junctions!

Is this the capital city of a country known the world over for meditative reflection?

Also not to be missed is the early morning scene of mothers/ fathers dropping their children off to school. Such parents are always in a hurry. They will be late. The taxi drivers that some parents trust their tender hearts with are even worse. There are no red lights and no rules. They move with the singlemindedness of a bee attacking a thief putting his hand into the hive. Just try and get into a line of taxi drivers! You might hear very colourful epithets- regardless of your right of way or your gender. In Fact, if you are a lady, you will get looks that can wither even a cactus in the dessert. A lady overtaking a taxi driver? Impossible! How dare she! HONK! HONK!! HONK!!!

There was a time I used to find each horn sounded crashing into my consciousness and destroying my peace of mind. Then I happened to visit an EU country. It is not as if the traffic is not there. It is not even as if the traffic moves slowly. But the people just DO NOT BLOW HORNS! They simply follow the rules. They stick to their lanes. they stop at red lights. They drive within the stipulatetd speed limits and donot use their horns. Pedestrians in these places do not Jay-walk either. The flow of traffic is smooth. It stops only when it has to. In this case all involved understand horns will not make the person ahead move- because he cannot.

There is an interesting concept in the US. They celebrate "International" Noise awareness day and on that day- at two o'clock- what ever anyone is doing, they become SILENT. No noise for two minutes.

Can we bring about a little patience, a little awareness on our roads? Can we stop what we are doing and listen to the Kenyan who says he comes from a country that is less noisy than India?

Can we stop these deafening decibels? If only for a little while?

May be the Metro and the Mono rail will make commuting easier and take a few vehicles off the road.

May be... just may be... we will stop the deafening decibels before they stop us in our tracks- deaf and unable to hear the noise we generate.