Avanti Sopory
Urban landscape is growing by every brick and mortar. International builders and designers have swarmed unexplored lands and converted them into flourishing townships.
World class facilities and security systems have attracted everyone. To name a few temptations – centralised air conditioners, walk-in lift, biometric entry to the condominium, heated and covered swimming pools, levelled parking, most modern housekeeping facilities and a plethora of other world-class amenities are available right there. Everyone right from the government pensioners to the “hashtag selfie” brigade are flocking towards these concrete nests.
This all looks alluring and fascinating; however there is a small request to all builders, who are instrumental in dishing out these facilities to us. Can we now please have sound proof flats? How about having condominiums, which beyond the obvious can offer its residents sound proof flats – any sound and noise from one flat does not reach to the neighbours and vice-versa. Every flat is voiceprint free and hence forms the foundation of a utopian state.
Man is a social animal and cannot live in isolation – I am sure by now, this statement must be swirling in everyone’s mind. That’s exactly my thought too, but what do you say for neighbours who get disturbed by the hauling of the suitcase, walking of the children, giggling of young ones, talking of families, accidental dropping of items, running of the washing machine or the many sounds that arise during any regular Indian household chore? My following experience pushed me to ask for a sound-proof flat for these disparaging people, who have no social graces of living in a condominium.
It was about a week back, when I arrived late in the night at my friends place. As I reached to her floor in the lift I did not haul my stroller least it would disturb the neighbours. I also did not ring the doorbell, least it would wake up her kids. I called her from my mobile phone and soon she opened the door. We met at the main door of her flat and then quickly stepped in. I settled myself with a strongly brewed coffee and we chatted till late in the night. While we were still catching up; soon there was an incessant ring at the door. We were startled and looked at each other in utter shock; it was 1:45 am and it was a starless pitch dark night. The call on the door felt like a million icicles poking into my skin. My friend’s face had turned pale. She gathered her strength, checked from the door-eye and saw her neighbour standing outside, who lived in the flat just below hers. As soon as my friend opened the door, her neighbour started complaining in high pitch voice about the sound and light from our flat disturbing her. She even hurled abuses at my friend, accusing her of being uncivilised and not being considerate of others in the society.
Preposterous. So the hauling of the stroller inside the house was a cause for her disturbance! And take a note – She thought that this was a reason enough to walk into anyone’s house in the middle of the night. We were too scared and stood cold like a stone, whereas the woman was just not stopping her outrageous behaviour. I heard the doors of other flats opening up and could see heads popping out from the windows, against the dark sky looking for the cause of the noise.
I understood my friend’s plight even further, when she narrated that her maid’s saree had been mercilessly cut at several places by the same lady, since unfortunately one end of it was dangling closer to their part of the balcony.
At another occasion, during her son’s play-date on a Saturday noon, the neighbour sent cops to her place, alleging that the kids were playing too loud.
It is a bizarre situation, but regrettably that’s the reality of the times we are living in. Everyone is short of patience and compose. Tolerance in our times has flown out of the window. Tempers are always brewing and at the edge of a burst off at the slightest trigger.
Looking at my friend’s neighbour, it was established that they get disturbed at the slightest sounds of human existence. Walking steps disturb them, running bathroom flush disturbs them, sounds and cacophony of the children disturb them, the working of the mixer/grinder disturbs them and opening and shutting of doors disturb them. This has given my friends family a nightmare, especially the kids, since out of fear the poor kids don’t talk, they whisper, they don’t walk but tip-toe…they look like prisoners in their own house. On the contrary parents prefer condominiums, for the simple case of common playing areas, safe compounds and lobbies for their kids to play. Wonder how her neighbour would react had my friend been living in the big joint family system of India? – where the loud melodrama of family life is endless. In that case, of course they would be shuttling between various court hearings.
Now what is this called? A case of lost patience? Or is it a case of my friend trespassing condominium norms?
Someone needs to remind the unreasonable neighbours that they are living in society flats and not in stand-alone bungalows. People living in condominiums share a common wall, lift and lobby floor. Sounds do travel across the walls and floors. As long as the sounds coming from neighbourhood are well within the precincts of Noise Regulation, there is no reason to get alarmed and unnecessarily harass others.
But in this case, it is only a case of intolerance and of being unsociable. Sounds coming from a running washing machine cannot be disturbing enough to dial 100, for police assistance. If families and individuals cannot bear the sounds of neighbour hoods, where everyone lives in co-existence, then they should move to private bungalows for everyone’s tranquillity or look for sound-proof flats.
I am not against urbanisation and development, but at the same time, we need to learn to live in synchronicity in our urban dwellings. Especially at times when our relatives are far and our neighbours are near.
In a common building, how is anyone expected to control the sound of the water gurgling in the washroom cistern? Or stop the teeny-meeny wheel of the stroller from moving on the floor? Does anyone give the neighbour the right to stop kids from playing in their own home? Do the kids have to walk bare feet; else the neighbour might not like the sound of their steps. Isn’t it a feeling of being caged in your own house?
May be my friend’s neighbours will find peace in the proposed sound-proof houses. So happy shopping to them!
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel