When music hurts
By a Staff Reporter
The Pioneer
Sunday, September 22, 2002
It is cacophony in one of the premier hospitals of the
country. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
which has just hosted its annual students' festival,
Pulse, is facing criticism for "disturbing" the
residential precincts.
Says the wife of a resident doctor, who stays in D2
block, "It is very disturbing late at night, when
visitors behave in a rowdy manner and litter the entire
place."
The residents of C1, C2 and D2 blocks, through which the
road for entry and exit passes, are the worst affected.
"Till the wee hours, students keep disturbing the
residents," says V N Singh, who works in the
administrative section and stays in E block. Singh says
all the residents complain about the high noise levels
and instances of littering. "Some of them find it
difficult to go out for morning walks," he adds.
Resident doctors in the hostel, in spite of being the
worst affected, spell out mixed reactions. A senior
resident, working at the Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary
Cancer Hospital, the department closest to the fest
venue, says, "Patients here are not much affected since
the place is closed, but it becomes too much for us. The
dance parties should ideally be over by 2 am."
Shashank Gang, another resident doctor, says, "I think
students should be allowed to have their seven days of
fun, though time restrictions should be observed."
That the patients are not disturbed is also helped by
minor factors, like an AC plant, "which makes enough
noise to drown any sound of music permeating into the
cancer hospital", says a security guard.
The fest's chief coordinator, Sunil Kumar Agarwal, admits
that they had to face some protests the first day. "After
that, we lowered the volume of music so as not to disturb
the residents," he adds. Sunil, however, maintains that
not much can be done about outsiders disturbing the
campus. "We cannot stop it, though we can appeal to
them," he says.
The hospital authorities and students are quick to come
up with a defence. Music functions (like Hindi pop nite
and classical nite) take place inside the Jawaharlal
Nehru auditorium, while jam sessions (which start around
11 pm and run till 6 am) are held in the faraway
basketball court, taking into consideration patients'
convenience.
Departments like cardiology and neurology are also far
away and sound-proof, so there is no chance of the noise
entering patients' rooms, they claim.
"I think they have made good arrangements in the sense
that the road frequented to reach the fest venue is far
away from where patients stay," says Aashish Gupta of the
Mahatma Gandhi Medical College, Indore. Aashish, visiting
the fest for the first time, says that though the
students get "loose" at night, a considerable sense of
decency is maintained. Maybe the fest organisers will be
a bit more careful next time round.
Read the complete news at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
News Plus
http://www.mantra.com/newsplus
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti
Panchaang for 13 Ashadh 5104, Friday, July 11, 2003:
Shubhanu Nama Samvatsare Dakshinaya Nartana Ritau
Mithun Mase Shukl Pakshe Shukr Vasara Yuktayam
Jyeshtth-Mool Nakshatr Brahma Yog
Taitil-Gar Karan Trayodashi-Chaturdashi Yam Tithau
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the
educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of
this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent
the opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name,
current e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others
are not necessarily those of the poster.