Few years back we were very happy to shift our house from Dr Rajkumar road in Bangalore to a suburb Vidyaranyapura. It was a nightmare to continue stay at Rajkumar road where the traffic is ever increasing with entire road becoming commercial. The sound of all kinds of vehicle were so strong that neither we could hear our family conversation nor watch any programme on TV without any disturbance. In fact, the floor of our house used to vibrate whenever heavy vehicles passed through the road.
But our joy of shifting was short lived. To our utter disappointment, the vast green fields around Vidyaranyapura also soon started vanishing and concrete jungle of houses and flats started coming up in all the direction at a very fast pace. With the new residents coming in with their pet dogs and stray dogs arriving in full strength from nowhere completed the corum to disturb others only at a time when somebody wanted peace and rest. How can Street vendors, beggars and ‘Basavannas’(coming with decorated Bull) remain far behind. They all joined together to add to the noise level. If this was not enough, than there are sounds at odd hours of ‘reverse gear siren’ of different tones fitted in cars or people honking near their own house entrance gate till some body opens the gate!
Thanks to my daughter & son in law for inviting us to stay with them at California in US. Having heard so much about the cleanliness, pollution free atmosphere there, I was happy to be away from all those noises for some time as long as we stay in US. But it was not to be. Here one can get up from bed on hearing the sound of Lawn mower. Entire lawn area & grass area is cleaned/trimmed with this machine in the morning. After a gap, another person comes with branch cutter who with the mechanized machine cuts & trims the tree branches around the apartment. This is followed by Gas powered riding lawn mower to collect the cut grass & leaves.
Its 10 am and you want to relax & read newspaper in peace? Wait; here comes a giant size Garbage collection truck with two trunks like hands to collect the apartment garbage from the dumpsters made of thick iron sheets. As the entire process of emptying the garbage drums through mechanized hands, the sound of lifting & again putting the drums down is enough to give a feel of 100 piece orchestra all playing in high pitch at a time!.
Here even most of the toys my grandchildren play with are musical. Musicals to keep you awake as only few have volume button! After noon time may be a short nap time but not for real, because it is the time for all airplanes to fly. Being nearer to the NASA research Center their planes & helicopters keep hovering around the area. In between comes a big truck from FedEx or UPS to deliver courier packets. The driver is so used to the vehicle that he drives down the truck even to deliver next door! Around 4 pm comes a giant surveillance plane flying so low that your ear drums can starts vibrating.
Come night and you heave a sigh of relief to go to bed. But wait, there are two ferocious looking cats upstairs who keep playing hide & seek chasing each other all night with their paws sound clearly audible downstairs despite carpeted wooden floor.
Now tell me, where on this earth can one find a place free from Noise pollution, Antarctica??
