It’s sheer coincidence that my
house ( in fact many houses) happened to be in the vicinity of a triumvirate –
a temple, a mosque and a Sayi bhajan centre. And come the myriad festive
seasons we are deafened to oblivion in a competitive spirit by all three with
their ubiquitous loud speakers pouring out song after song until we attain nirvana. Before the Ayyappa season was over the Nabi
day came and the bhajan group was untiring throughout whether it’s rain or
shine. Once when the innumerous Ramayana recitals, during one of those Ramayana months, sans tala or laya were done
with in the utmost cacophonic way I decided to call it a day and rang-up the
temple authorities for a breath of sanity! They sure gave me an ear and without
fail confirmed my ‘credentials’ in a disarming way. The melancholy in their
response was palpable echoing something like ‘you too....’, but they dimmed the
volume for a couple of hours until the euphoria of the festive mood outran the
promises, and by that time I had re-attained my auditory immunity for the week.
Episode two had to follow within a
few months as the religious fervor spiralled them to an another season of
boisterous revelry. As usual when the
ear drums stopped drumming I resorted to my second frantic call. Never-the-less
I had contemplated filing a police complaint despite the protest of my god
(men) fearing father, and the support of my ‘religio-phobe’ wife. Promptly I
was answered and this time too they confirmed my ‘standing’ through casual and
brief personal questions. This time they
gave some minor arguments like it’s temporary and stuff but never resorted to
intimidation. Again they sounded like talking to a renegade wishing fiercely to
get me back in to the clan. The din ofcourse didn’t come down for that bhakti season but I presume it made them
think as at times (I felt) it came down a note or two. And I, to gear-up for
the onslaught of festivals come February, donned the traditional oracle attire
and rocked feverish to the ‘loud screamers’ like a true fanatic seeking hyper
tolerance in a deafening world!
