Near my office stands a Pillayar temple. A quick look is enough to confirm its most sacred feature—not divinity, but encroachment. The deity may remove obstacles, but apparently paperwork is beyond his jurisdiction.
A kind-hearted devotee—a patron of public disturbance has sponsored a hand bell. Not a modest one. A heroic bell. During every aarti, the priest rings it continuously, as if silence itself is an evil spirit that must be exorcised.
Yes, your intuition serves you well. The sound comfortably crosses permissible decibel limits. Legally, acoustically, and morally. From early morning to afternoon, and again from evening to night, the bell rings on. Because faith, after all, grows best when force-fed into unwilling ears.
The nearby residents may devotees or may not devotees, but they are generous contributors. They donate their sleep, concentration, sanity, and hearing—daily, unpaid, and without receipt.
Let us pause for clarity.
Encroached structure: illegal.
Noise beyond permissible limits: illegal.
But sprinkle a little divinity, add a bell, and suddenly illegality earns immunity. Laws retreat respectfully. Decibel meters develop spiritual blindness. Complaints are advised to be more “adjusting.”
This is not a temple. It is an unlicensed sound system with a god-shaped logo.
So let us stop pretending.
This is not Pillayar.
This is Illegal Pillayar™
fully unauthorised, permanently amplified, and proudly protected by selective silence.
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