Noise Level Observations During Ganesh Festival 2003

by Sudhir P Badami
15 September 2003

Preamble

Mumbai is one of the most highly dense metropolises in the world in terms of human as well as vehicular population. People are subjected to constant high level of noise during the day while commuting to work, at work, while going out for entertainment, near schools and colleges or even while trying to relax or worship.

Night time is the time for rest and recuperation. Anyone subjected to constant noise at high decibels experiences restlessness and fatigue as well as loss of hearing and the body reacts by way of developing high blood pressure over a time. There are several ill effects which get entrapped in the vicious circle. A repeated loss of restful sleep triggers a state of trauma. Even sporadic noise of not very high decibel level in an environment of reasonable quietness cause sleep disturbances.

Ideally, for a restful sleep, the noise level could be only as high as 35 dBA in the bedroom while the Ambient Air Quality according to Environment Protection  Act 1986 and Noise Rule (Regulation & Control) 2000 and its amendment of October 2002, should not exceed 45 dBA during night and 55 dBA during the day in residential areas. In Silence Zone, which is within 100 meters range of an educational institution, court, hospital or place of worship, the night time noise level should be within 40 dBA and day time within 50 dBA.

As will be seen from the observations, the prevalent noise levels on all major roads as well as smaller lanes of commercial areas, which is usually accompanied by residences on upper floors,  and some residential areas is much higher than those permissible under the EP Act. With high densities of people, there is no dearth of household and commercial premises undergoing renovations and wood and stone cutting activities too generate irritating and damaging noise, a noise which does not give any rest to elderly and infants as well as children and mothers in need of restful naps even during the day. Thanks to growing level of deafness and general high level of noise, music, radios and TVs are played at higher volumes, adding to the overall aggravating situation.

Life is stressful to all and noise spares no one.

Festivities bring their own set of noises and some religious rituals too add to this. Let it not be forgotten that educational institutions too add to the noise by using loudspeakers indiscriminately at high volume; they are the culprits of generating future citizens who become insensitive to needs of the society and live a life unconcerned about others. Yes, the educational institutions need not be solely blamed for it as they have to resort to use of loudspeakers due to overall high noise levels in the surrounding areas, partly created by their own students. But we are not indulging in blame game here.

It is observed that whenever loudspeakers are used, the noise level increases considerably. Efforts are to be on to bring down the noise level on the whole and in particular due to use of loud speakers. Towards this objective, noise levels were measured by myself during the recently concluded Ganesh Festival. The observations made are presented below. Dr Y T Oke and Ms Sumaira Abdul Ali too have carried out this study in their neighbourhoods of Andheri and Bandra.

I am located at Babulnath, near Girgaum Chowpatty, Dakshin Mumbai. Therefore I restricted my observations closer home.
 

On the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi - 30 August 2003 night

Ganesh Chaturthi was on Sunday 30 August 2003. It is the previous evening that devotees went to shops to get the idol to be installed the next day for carrying out the Pooja. I was told that the spot where there were many idols in different sizes and shapes was the eastern neighbourhood of Chinchpokali bridge along side the Sankalp Nivas and the Police Chowki at the foot of the bridge. I was also told that the residents of this building have been bearing the brunt of noise made starting from the evening of the Ganesh Chaturthi eve till all the idols were taken away ceremoniously by thousands of devotees until mid morning of Ganesh Chaturthi, the next day. The whole experience was very unique and interesting. It was the first time that I ventured out to witness the event even as I spent the whole of half century of my life here at Babulnath.

A documentary film maker, Sanjeevan Lal was making a film on noise and religious events. He invited me to join him during the shoot that night. He wanted to record the decibels of the noise of the scenes he was shooting and hence my presence was sought. I recorded noise levels from 8:30 PM of 30 August 2003 to 1:30 AM of 31 August 2003. I give below the noise levels I recorded during the night of 30 August 2003.
 
 
 

Noise levels on the night of 30 August 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	Gamdevi - Road Junction of Ramabai Road & Patkar Marg From within a taxi with engine idling at signal	20:35	66
2	Nana's Chowk From within a taxi with engine idling at signal	20:37	66
3	Mumbai Central Road Junction (Hamied Chowk) From within a taxi with engine idling at signal	20:40	66
4	Ghadge Maharaj Chowk (Jacob Circle)  From within a moving taxi	20:45	72
5	Chinchpokali Dr S S Rao Marg Police Chowki Drums (plastic membrane) at ~ 5 m distance	21:00	100	Reaching 110 dBA  sporadically
6	- same place as above - Shehanai-Vajantri at ~ 15 m distance	21:05	90
7	- same place as above - Drums (plastic membrane) at ~ 25 m distance	21:10	80
8	- same place as above - Drums (plastic membrane) at ~ 12 m distance	21:20	100
9	- same place as above - Drums (plastic membrane) at ~ 15 m distance	21:25	95
10	- same place as above - Drums (plastic membrane) at ~ 20 m distance	21:30	90
11	- same place as above - No Drums or Loudspeakers nearby	22:00	70	General lull
12	- same place as above - No Drums or Loudspeakers nearby	22:20	72	General lull
13	- same place as above - No Drums But electronic Banjo on Loudspeakers	22:40	95	Police asked  them not to play  and directive was  complied with
14	- same place as above but on terrace of 3 storey building  - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	22:55	80	Away from terrace parapet wall
15	- same place as above but on terrace of 3 storey building  - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	23:00	90
16	- same place as above but on terrace of 3 storey building  - Drums and couple of Loudspeakers	23:05	105
17	-  same place as above but on terrace of 3 storey building  - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	from 23:00 to 24:00	consistently at 90 without respite	fluctuating to  95 & 100  once in a while perhaps when  loudspeakers were present
18	-  same place as above but back on road level  - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	00:10	95
19	-  same place as above at ~ 3 m - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	00:15	110
20	-  same place as above at ~ 8 m - Drums and Loudspeakers with electronic music	00:20	110
21	-  same place as above > 10 m - Only Drums; No Loudspeakers	from 00:20 to 01:10	consistently at 90 without respite	fluctuating to  95 & 100  once in a while perhaps when  loudspeakers were present
21	At Chinchpokali Railway Station Platform about 200 m from bridge	01:20	70	No train passing
22	At Chinchpokali Railway Station Platform about 200 m from bridge	01:20	90	passing fast train
23	At Chinchpokali Railway Station Platform about 200 m from bridge	01:25	76 in the train rising to 92 at high speed	Perhaps the last train to CST that night
24	At Babulnath outside taxi	~ 02:00	52

One could see that the use of loudspeakers was minimal and was curbed by police intervention. Police bandobast was polite but firm and perhaps much cooperation from devotees was forthcoming considering the fact that Mumbai had experienced the twin bomb blasts just the Monday prior. Another fact to note is that as the night deepened, the use of loudspeakers on lorries and carts increased but apparently at lower volumes and the Police refrained from making it an issue.

One more fact, unrelated to the task of noise level observation, which was observed is that one could get to know the community that was carrying out drumming assignments only by reading the name of the company or group printed on the drums and talking to the drummers and majority of these came from the Muslim community - a very heartening feeling that such an harmonious (or shall I say drummorious?) atmosphere existed at Chinchpokali, or Kakachowki which was notorious for riots of 1993. Even every other van was driven by a Muslim driver.

While the trucks, vans and carts may have been hired for the entire night for the process of taking the Ganesh idol to the place of installation, the drummers were hired locally until the van or cart left the Chinchpokali precinct. Some devotees of course had their own drummers.

A fact that needs to be understood here is that while people residing here talked complaining about the noise levels and its continuation till early mid-morning and lack of sleep, when asked to make a statement on the video there would be an about turn, stating that they were enjoying the same. Another point to note is that many of the idols, especially the larger ones, were manufactured by the artistes from the residents of these neighbouring buildings only. Most of the medium and small sized idols came from Pen and Pune areas, some in unpainted state for giving final touchup here. It was a fascinating experience. Perhaps I should have continued till some of the lager idols were taken away and recorded the noise situation then as these were the ones belonging to influential groups capable of defying any rule. I was told that these would be taken out at about 4 AM onward. The noise seemed to have confined to the neighbourhood. I am sure, as some of the idols were taken to long distances at slow pace with dancing youth and perhaps a few bursting  crackers enroute, people would have been disturbed from their restful sleep repeatedly.
 

On a typical Ganesh festival day - 3 September 2003 night

Fourth night. Generally noticed that there was no loudspeaker used in pandals around Babulnath, Chowpatty-Bandstand and no music at all closer to 10 PM. However tonight I ventured out to record noise levels in Girgaum, the heart of Ganesh festivities in the Dakshin Mumbai. I took a taxi to save the bother of post dinner long walk of five kilometer plus. The route I followed was Babulnath to Ajinkya hospital at junction of Ramabai Road and Patkar Marg, Sukhsagar, Opera House, Girgaum Portuguese Church, Jagannath Shankar Sheth Road (Girgaum Road), Thakurdwar, Khattar Galli, Yagnik Chowk, Gol Devul, VP Marg, Harkissondas Hospital, Sukhsagar, Ajinkya Hospital and Babulnath. Except for two mandals, loudspeaker was apparently not being used. Ironically, both were off Khattar Galli and from one of these pandals I noticed an Inspector of Police and a constable emerging on their motorcycle beat. Time was little past 10:10 PM. The loudspeakers were still on. Tonight was not the day when loudspeakers were permitted to be used till midnight.
 
 

Noise levels on the night of 3 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	At Babulnath Indoors with open windows and no fan	21:45	50	Generally no traffic
2	At Babulnath & Chowpatty Bandstand Closer to Pandals	21:50 to 22:15	65	Sound of traffic on main road as well as TV & Radio sound
3	In Taxi in Girgaum Babulnath to Ajinkya hospital at junction of Ramabai Road and Patkar Marg, Sukhsagar, Opera House, Girgaum Portuguese Church, Jagannath Shankar Sheth Road (Girgaum Road), Thakurdwar, Khattar Galli, Yagnik Chowk, Gol Devul, VP Marg, Harkissondas Hospital, Sukhsagar, Ajinkya Hospital and Babulnath	21:50 to 22:15	65 with engine on 60 with engine off
4	In Girgaum - off Khattar Galli 2 Mandals played music on loudspeakers. Levels recorded outside on Khattar Galli	22:10	70 to 75
3	At Babulnath Indoors	22:30	50 with fan 45 without fan 40 without fan and closed windows

This was the fourth night after the commencement of the festival. I had not heard  this year the usual noise I normally hear every year, even at the quiet place at my residence, until this night. As will be seen, the story seemed very encouraging. I guess the Ganesh Utsav Mandal and its coordinating committee needs to be complimented, especially the President Shri Jayawant Salgaokar for convincing the 6000 odd Ganesh Mandals to keep citizens's woes in mind and be considerate. Along with this, I suppose the law enforcing agency, namely the police too needs compliments for maintaining peace thus far. There may have been other places where some defiant Mandals may have disregarded the plight of neighbourhood or the rule of law and Police may have been found wanting, but these in my opinion may have been exceptions. But please remember, I speak from my experience in the areas I stay and visited.
 

On a typical Ganesh festival day - 4 September 2003 night

Fifth night of the festival. Again generally noticed that there was no loudspeaker used in pandals around Babulnath, Chowpatty-Bandstand and no music at all closer to 10 PM. However tonight I ventured out to record noise levels at Girgaum-Chowpatty. It was peaceful except when some drums were being beaten on the road near Wilson College and I was recording noise level on the beach closer to the steeper slope. Water was not close by.
 
 

Noise levels on the night of 4 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	At Babulnath outdoors	21:45	60	With no traffic
2	At Babulnath & Chowpatty Bandstand Closer to Pandals	21:50 to 22:15	65	Sound of traffic on main road as well as TV & Radio sound
3	On the Girgaum-Chowpatty closer to the high tide line with water not close by.	22:30	70	Drums near Wilson College on the road - much further from the observation point
3	At Babulnath Indoors	22:30	50 with fan 45 without fan 40 without fan and closed windows

 

Mid-festival idol immersion day - 5 September 2003 night

Sixth night of the festival, a Midfestival immersion day on completion of five days. Tonight the Noise Rule 2000 as amended in 2002 permitted use of loudspeakers till 12:00 midnight. Many schools had declared half day and some offices too closed early. Some readings were taken during the early hours of the evening and then specifically during the immersion time. Not too many big idols were there for immersion but medium sized ones were being immersed nearer midnight.

I walked to Girgaum, Grant Road and then by train to Dadar, walked upto Gokhale Road and traveled by bus back home to Babulnath. Loudspeakers were being used in the processions but more in breach than as a rule. Drums, especially the ones with plastic membrane made the most noise. Loudspeakers added to the decibels. There were a few crackers also burst, couple of them were of chain type burst over 15 seconds. At Gokhale Road, I visited an elderly person's residence and found that firstly neither he nor I could hear each other and then pain was very obvious on the face. This was around 10:30 PM. Crackers were also being burst. The neighbour to this elderly person was also another elderly couple but slightly younger. They had apparently opted to stay awake, but surely appeared helpless and had to bear the noise.
 
 

Noise levels on the night of 5 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	At Chowpatty - V P Road Junction In stationary Taxi	16:25	66
2	On Marine Drive near Bal Bhavan In stationary Taxi	19:00	66
3	At Chowpatty - V P Road Junction In stationary Taxi	19:10	70
3	At Chowpatty - Wilson College Junction In stationary Taxi	19:20	68 78 with traffic
4	At Chowpatty Bandstand road median	21:15	75
5	On the Chowpatty beach	21:20	75
6	Sukh Sagar corner on VP Road & Bhadkamkar Road (Lamington Road)	21:25	95 without speakers 100 with Police directives on loudspeakers
7	Bhadkamkar Road to Grant Road	21:30	95 without speakers
8	Train to Dadar	21:45  to  22:00	75 at stations 90 at peak speed
9	Outside Dadar Station	22:00	80
10	Lady Jamshedji Road near Antonio D'silva School	22:10	100 to 107	There were no loudspeakers but cymbals and drums were used with vigor
11	Ranade road upto Gokhale road and then upto Shiv Sena Bhavan	22:10  to  22:30	100 to 110	Some carts played music on loudspeakers and some were bursting crackers especially chain variety
12	In the Bus	22:30  to  22:50	75 to 90	In idling stationary and raised-engine-moving bus. Generally higher noise levels was prevalent due to the immersion activities.

 
 

2nd Mid-festival idol immersion day - 6 September 2003 night

Seventh night of the festival. Tonight also the Noise Rule 2000 as amended in 2002 permitted use of loudspeakers till 12:00 midnight. Again generally noticed that there was no loudspeaker used in pandals around Babulnath, Chowpatty-Bandstand and no music at all closer to 10 PM. I did not venture out to record noise levels anywhere in particular except at Girgaum-Chowpatty. It was peaceful except when some drums were being beaten on the road near Wilson College.
 

Noise levels on the night of 6 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	At Babulnath outdoors	22:00	60	With no traffic
2	At Babulnath & Chowpatty Bandstand Closer to Pandals	22:05	65	Sound of traffic on main road as well as TV & Radio sound
3	On the Girgaum-Chowpatty closer to the high tide line with water not close by.	22:15	70	Drums near Wilson College on the road - much further from the observation point
3	At Babulnath Indoors	22:30	50 with fan 45 without fan 40 without fan and closed windows

 

Post 2nd Mid-festival idol immersion day - 7 September 2003 night

Eighth night of the festival, a post 2nd Midfestival immersion day. Tonight the Noise Rule 2000 as amended in 2002 permitted use of loudspeakers till 12:00 midnight was not applicable. I was invited by Ms Anuradha Sainath of Aaj Tak to accompany her team to record noise at Pandals of mandals in Lalbaug which she did with camera on the loudspeakers and the decibel meter and my wrist watch. The process of recording was telecast on the 2 minute programme "Ye jo ho na saka" on the night of 8 September 2003 at 11 PM and repeated several times on 9 September 2003. The line went some thing like "despite the Supreme court directive, the noise level could not be controlled within limits" and "despite the efforts of the police, use of loudspeakers could not be curbed" etc. The recorded readings are given below.
 
 

Noise levels on the night of 7 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	At Nariman Point Maker Bhavan II on the road	23:30	60	Practically no cars in the CBD Nariman Point
2	On the way to Lalbaug in Maruti Van while traveling	23:40	68	Practically no mandals enroute encountered and if we did, then only lights at the gully entrance noticed.
3	At Lalbaug near the Mandal with the theme of Akshardham. on the bridge	23:50	75	Lot of people queued up for the darshan.
3	Within the Akshardham theme mandal setting	24:00  to  01:15	85 normally 95-100 sporadically	Songs and music played on battery of loudspeakers which appeared to be played at much below their capacity.
4	Along Dr Ambedkar Road upto Dadar-Pune Taxi Stand	01:30	75 to 80	Essentially the road traffic and bus traffic made this sound
5	Journey to Babulnath via Gokhale Road, Annie Besant Road and Worli Naka, Haji Ali Pedder Road by the Aaj Tak Van	01:45	65	Practically no mandals enroute encountered and if we did, then only lights  noticed.
6	At Babulnath	01:45	55	Outside residence with no traffic either
7	At Babulnath Indoors	02:00	50 with fan 45 without fan 40 without fan and closed windows

 
 

Penultimate day of Ganesh festival - 8 September 2003 night

Nineth night of the festival. Again generally noticed that there was no loudspeaker used in pandals around Babulnath, Chowpatty-Bandstand and no music at all closer to 10 PM. I did not carryout any measurement tonight as noise level seemed like any typical Ganesh festival night experienced this year.
 
 

Final idol immersion day - 9 September 2003 night

Tenth night of the festival, the final Midfestival immersion day after completion of ten days. Tonight the Noise Rule 2000 as amended in 2002 permitted use of loudspeakers till 12:00 midnight. Many schools and Government of Maharashtra had declared holiday and some offices too closed early. Some readings were taken during the day and then specifically during the immersion time. I walked the route I had traversed in taxi on 5th with slight variation. I took readings at specific points and had hoped to repeat taking it again at late night but managed to do so only partially as noise levels were comparable with the earlier round except that the trucks and vans were not as close as bumper to bumper noticed in the first round.

It was observed that loudspeakers were used in pandal at Chowpatty-Bandstand in preparation to immersion rituals; music was being played on the loudspeakers at reasonable loudness and just across lied the Police Chowki, opposite Mulchand Nivas. It required an intevention on my part to induce the constable in charge to go and ask them to at least lower down the volume. When he left to do his duty, I proceeded with the task in my hand. This was essentially to ensure that police did not slacken from their duty of keeping noise under control at least in the area I resided in.

At about 7:30 in the evening, the on going procession included a group indulging in bursting crackers and the location was right in front of the Gamdevi Police Station. While I was taking the reading of the bursting 'bomb', a police officer and two constables walking towards the station showed curiosity of what I was doing. I showed what the Noise meter was showing and asked in turn whether it was true that bursting crackers was banned during the Ganesh festival and in the procession and when he said yes, I popped the question why was its being burst even i front of the Police station and it was being ignored by the police? His answer was that these people do not listen to police!! I asked him to at least begin by going across and ask them to stop, which he did and the these people obliged - at least temporarily!

There seemed to be some effort to curb the noise, especially from loudspeakers but the equally disturbing implement has been the drum and that has given the slip to the entire campaign for noise reduction.

Interestingly, while the evening observations showed very few or almost non existence of loudspeakers in the trucks or vans, as the evening made way to night, the loudspeaker mounted vehicles began joining the procession.

The readings are given below:
 

Noise levels on the night of 9 September 2003

Srl  No.	Place	Time  hh:mm	Noise Level  dBA Background level  in ( )	Comments
1	Babulnath - indoor	11:30 11:45 15:00 16:10 00:45	70 to 80 55 55 55 55	School closing early  All students - teachers had left Traffic had reduced on main road Only watchman's radio playing softly Far away background sound of loud speaker music.
2	Babulnath Temple Road Junction	16:10 19:20 01:00	72 (to 80+ with cars) 76 to 90 74	No traffic generally Some mild traffic generally No traffic generally
3	Wilson College Hostel Junction	01:00	90	Music on loudspeakers and drums
4	Chowpatty-Bandstand near police chowki opposite Mulchand Nivas	16:35	72	No traffic but loudspeaker 75m away
5	Chowpatty sands near emergency services enclosure	16:45 01:15	72 (to 80+ PLS) 70	Higher decibels when ever police spoke on loud speakers
6	Vittalbhai Patel Statue - Chowpatty	16:47 01:18	72 to 76 72	Night time (01:18) no police loud speaker
7	Sukh Sagar corner on VP Road	16:55 16:55 01:20	75 90 90	No loudspeaker Police Loudspeakers and drums Music on loudspeakers
8	Opera House - Kutch Castle corner	17:05 01:25	80 90+ 90 100	General - drums etc with drums and police loudspeakers Drums & Music on loud speakers Additionally, the police loud speakers
9	Portuguese Church - Jagannath Shankar Sheth Road (Girgaum Road)	17:10	100	Drums and crackers and roadside loudspeakers
10	J S Sheth Road - Majestic	17:15	85-90 95	Loudspeakers Music on loud speaker and drums
11	J S Sheth Road - Gaiwadi	17:18	90	Music on loud speaker and drums
12	J S Sheth Road - Dhootpapeshwar	17:19	100 to 105	Cymbals and drums
13	J S Sheth Road - Thakurdwar	17:25	90+ to 100	Drums and music loudspeakers
14	Phanaswadi	17:32 17:34 17:36 17:38	90 95 100 100	~50 m from Thakurdwar With drums Narrow Lane Music on loudspeaker
15	C P Tank Cawasjee Patel)	17:55 18:05	100 105	Drums & Police Loudspeakers - do -
16	Yagnik Circle	18:12	70
17	Alankar Cinema - V P Road	18:20	95 115	Loudspeakers and drums Crackers in addition to above
18	Harkissondas Hospital junction	18:30	100	Loudspeakers and drums
19	Goldfilled Leather Works Retail shop	18:34	98	Loudspeakers and drums
20	Bhadkamkar Road (Lamington Road) Police Station	18:45	100	Loudspeakers and drums
21	A residence on Bhadkamkar Road at 3rd floor	18:50	76 91	in the room on verandah
22	Grant Road Bridge	19:00	85 70	Mosque loudspeakers used Without loudspeaker
23	Nana's Chowk near J S Sheth's bust	19:05	110 90	Drums plus political party loud speaker Only drums
24	Gamdevi Police Station	19:10	100 90 110	Drums plus political party loud speaker Only drums Crackers in front of police station
25	Ajinkya Hospital road junction	19:18	90	Drums

 

Conclusion

Loudspeakers were mainly responsible for the major noise on immersion days / nights and these were essentially of Police force. In addition, the political parties providing water and juices to the devoties made additional noise on loudspeakers. Lastly, the loudspeaker mounted trucks/vans/carts did also contribute to the noise. The noise levels were nowhere near the limits specified in the EP Act and we know now that this year atleast it was the police loudspeaker that increased the noise level. The most of the noise that came on immersion day was also from drums, especially made from the plastic membrane, beaten by over enthusiatic drummers who may have gone deaf not to have realised the noise level. The other aspect was that the 12 midnight rule was ignored by the police on the nights of the specified days by Government of Maharashtra. The good part was that, less loudspeakers were used by processions and mandals did not keep loud music on after 10 PM in general and also before. But abberrations were that the immersion of Lalbaug cha Raja taking place at about 3 AM, after which the background noise vanished. Meaning that, the entire stretch from Lalbaug to Chowpatty traversd by the Raja disturbed the people all along.

Readers of this article may send their stories and suggestions to me at badami@vsnl.com. A story such as the one I heard at Lamington Road. The idol installed at the police station was immersed earlier as the police would have to be on duty the next day. They made a lot of noise without any consideration to either the EP Act or to the people residing around. Interestingly they paid due respect to a funeral procession by halting the 'revelry' until the funeral procession passed by. This was the story I was told by a resident on Lamington Road!

With greater awareness and realisation that noise made by one affects others adversely and that too to about fifty, we can look forward to a quieter festive celebrations.

If one reads the Times of India of 14 September 2003 on the unhappiness of the organisers of Dandiayas during the Navaratri, one can see that very well that it is solely for commercial reasons that they want exemption on all the nights.