Today, we bow to those who showed us that religion can be a personal and beautifulexperience, and that a silent prayer can say many a thing
Dear Readers,
A week has passed since your paper stated the Gratitude Series. Every day now, we have thanked those who helped make this world a better place in 2018. Today, we bow to those who showed us that religion can be a personal and beautifulexperience, and that a silent prayer can say many a thing
Mindful of the sound pollution caused by religious celebrations, some organizations decided that the path to divinity and revelry need not be noisy.
Ulhasnagar's Amritvela trust initiated silent morning kirtans using bluetooth headphones led by the guru and kirtankaar (preacher) Gurpreet Singh Rinku. Amrit Vela is an auspicious prayer ritual in Sikhism held between 4 am to 6 am. The organisers were concerned this would inconvenience non-participants. "We have been organizing Amrit Vela prayers for six to seven years," says Gurmukh Singh, spokesperson of the trust. "However, a Supreme Court order prohibits use of loudspeakers between 10 pm to 6 am in public spaces. Some people in the neighborhood also filed cases against us. We wanted to honour our tradition as well respect the law, and hence had to find a middle path."
Their techno savvy guru went to China and met factory owners who tailormade a tech solution for their problem of faith. The unique technology collects the master sound in one machine and relays it to thousands of bluetooth enabled headphones used by the devotees. No microphone is used and Amrit Vela proceeds unhindered. The trust is capable of running the technology for up to 35,000 devotees at one go.
This year, during Guru Nanak Jayanti celebrations, the trust set up LED screens in a maidan and on street corner so devotees could listen to bhajans even from the comfort of their cars.
A commercial host in Malad also decided to hush their Navratri celebrations with a silent garba held at Rajmahal Banquets.
"We saw the song from Ae Dil Hain Mushkil which is set in a silent disco," says Aboli Ambardekar, director of Rajmahal Banquets, "Garba gigs in Mumbai have to end at 10:30 pm as per court rules on noise pollution. So we decided to organize a silent garba."
The patrons were given a choice of three audio channels playing various genres of music – film songs, traditional Gujarati garba and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) on their headphones. You choose one and break out a move.
Soon, other banquets began emulating the concept and it suited Mumbai's night owls just fine. Silent garbas can go on till 4 am without the fear of police crackdown as they do not flout the 10:30 pm curfew imposed on loudspeakers.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Noise pollution")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}