Sunday, April 12, 2009

Sound observations


Shooting a documentary really makes you aware of your surroundings.
Is the light okay?How quickly is the sun going to move? Does the colour get balanced out somehow in the frame? Is that too dull a background?Are the sound levels okay? Wait a minute!
What's that humming sound ? Do we have to wait for it to go?

Wherever we went,no matter when and where we were shooting, this
humming noise seemed to follow us.There was nothing we could do about it.All we had to do was just wait it out.Eventually, we figured out what it was- A construction drill.

They say every city has its distinct sound and smell. For Mumbai, that
sound would definitely have to be the construction drill. The sign of the city's desire to grow bigger, better, bolder and possibly more efficient.

At first we thought we had bad luck, but then we realised that this sound was pretty much everywhere.Take a look around you.Construction sites are springing up around every corner and in the suburbs,there's a new mall practically every week, not to mention the mess that the metro digging and construction is causing.

Now one could look at this from different angles.
1.Where is all this money coming from?
2.How are real estate, infrastructure projects sold and bought in Mumbai?
3.Shouldn't there be restrictions on the number of drills going into the earth at the same time?
4. What are the noise pollution levels like in the city?
5.Is Mumbai planning it development?

While all of the above are running through my mind, the question I'm asking, is
How sustainable is this?

Most of Mumbai consists of reclaimed land anyway and every year we get a friendly reminder from mother nature about how 'planned' this ' 'development' is. The monsoons wreck havoc across the city, leaving parts of the city submerged for days.There aren't enough water outlets to allow excess flood water to flow back into the sea and every year they seem to be getting narrower and narrower. All this in the name of infrastructure and making Mumbai into a 'global city'.( whatever that means)

As cliched as it might sound, isn't this going to come back to bite us in the ass?
Why do we as a city not seem to learn or care about past mistakes?
In the 'fast pacedness' of city life, I don't know if we seem to be caring enough about the things that really matter.

What are the things that really matter anyway? Feel free to let me know.

5 comments:

Simran said...

i jus cudnt agree more with u. sitting in a air conditioned locked up and sealed college class room... thats what my ears also seem to pick up louder then the lecture being conducted.. or even sleeping peacefully on a sunday morning.. it seems to be like ur wake up call.
sustainability is a question on all our minds today.. even while flushing the pot!
'streams of consciousness' happening here for sure!

Smitha Menon- said...

:) Thanks Simran. It just seems like that noise is everywhere. Especially when youre trying to catch up on some sleep!

Anonymous said...

catch up on sleep to mend the sty, smitha?! :)

but yea, those questions are really valid. it makes you think how friendly this whole development plan is. and also how much it adds to development on the one hand and natural degeneration on the other!

Vintage Obsession said...

liked how you have such a potpouri of thoughts for posts . :) very nice:))

http://2cupsofteaandacoffee.blogspot.com/

Smitha Menon- said...

Thank you !