கோவில் ஒலிபெருக்கிகள்: பக்தியா? பொதுமக்களுக்கு இடையூறா?

நீங்கள் உங்கள் வீட்டில் இருக்கிறீர்கள் அல்லது உங்கள் வேலை செய்யும் இடத்தில் வேலை செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறீர்கள். ஒருவர் உங்கள் காதுகளுக்குள் வந்து தொடர்ந்து பேசிக்கொண்டே இருந்தால், உங்களால் வீட்டில் நிம்மதியாக இருக்க முடியுமா அல்லது வேலைதான் செய்ய முடியுமா? நீங்கள் அவர்களை என்ன செய்வீர்கள்? விரட்டியடித்து விடுவீர்கள் அல்லவா?
ஆனால், நம் நாட்டில் அது முடியாது. ஏனென்றால், அந்த காதில் வந்து தொடர்ந்து பேசிக்கொண்டே இருப்பது கோவில்களில் 'இறைவனுக்காகஓதும் மந்திரங்கள்' என்று சொல்லிக்கொண்டு, ஒலிபெருக்கியில் தொடர்ந்து ஒலித்துக்கொண்டே நம் காதுகளையும் புண்ணாக்கி, நம் மனதையும் புண்ணாக்கி, நம்மையும் புண்ணாக்கி, நம்மைச் சீக்கிரமே சாகடிக்கச் செய்யும் கோவில்கள்
இதை எதிர்த்து நாம் சட்டத்தை நாடினோம் என்றால், சட்டமும் மௌனமாகிவிடுகிறது. அதிலும் கொடுமை என்னவென்றால், சட்டப்படி இந்தக் கோயில்கள் செய்வது எதுவுமே சட்டத்திற்கு உட்பட்டதல்ல; ஒலிக்கும் டெசிபல் அளவுகளும் சட்டத்திற்கு உட்பட்டதல்ல. ஆனாலும் சட்டமும் அவர்கள் பக்கம்! நம்மால் எதிர்த்தும் அவர்களிடம் பேச முடிவதில்லை; ஏனென்றால், கோயில்களை நடத்துபவர்கள் ரௌடிகளாகத்தான் இருக்கிறார்கள்.
நம் வாழ்வு சாவை நோக்கித்தான்; ஆனால், அந்தச் சாவை இந்தக் கோயில்கள் விரைவாக்கிக்கொண்டே இருக்கின்றன. வாழ்வதற்காகக் கட்டப்பட்ட கோவில்கள், சாக வைப்பதைத் தொழிலாகக் கொண்டு செயல்படுகின்றன.

சத்தமே சாமி

ஆடி மாதம்
அம்மனுக்கு கொண்டாட்டம்

போகும் வரும் வழியடைத்து
தெருவெங்கும் பந்தல்
தெருவை உடைத்து பாழாக்கி

தெருவடைத்து
வழியடைத்து

காட்டுக் கூச்சலாய்
ஒலி பெருக்கி பாடி

மக்கள்
உயிர் வாழ
கண் காது வாய் முடவைத்து

தனக்கென 
அம்மனும் 
கண் மூடிக்கொள்ள

சாதி மதமென
சட்டமும்
கண் மூடிக்கொள்ள

ஆடி மாதம்
அம்மனுக்கு கொண்டாட்டம்
மக்களுக்கு...

Illegal Pillayar™

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.

Preaching Sound, Practicing Noise - Article 21

The town is asleep.
With a blasting sound
With illegal cone speaker 
Mounted on post with very height on the mosque 
And with high decibels
For you call on prayer
You wake up people 
Whom are not your audience.
You wake up people 
whom you are not going to serve
You wake up people 
For to serve a miniscule.
Let you think of
Is it correct to call to call a group 
You preach about good things 
But you do the opposite 
Even after informing you
It hurts you go hurts
You are not bound to ethical 
You are not bound to moral 
You are not bound to legal
What is the the use of your preach.

Divine Distrubance

The New Year of 2026 began not with peace, but with a relentless assault of high-decibel noise from Ayyappan devotees. From New Year's Eve onward, speakers erupted with continuous sound, displaying a disregard for law, civic morality, and the well-being of others—as if they were the sole inhabitants of the universe.

No sooner had their observances concluded than a new wave began: a discordant cocktail of noise from various temples, each broadcasting its own message, blending into an indecipherable cacophony. This was swiftly followed by the amplified calls from mosques, completing the cycle of auditory siege.

These factions, by claiming dominion over public space through their religious institutions, inflict a profound disturbance on the general public. Our town has been transformed into a living hell. This is our New Year’s reality—a state of torment stemming from the total failure of the authorities to protect people's right to peace.

If God exists, He has surely fled elsewhere in search of quiet. Such is the state of our divine town.

With that, I extend New Year wishes to all—from the heart of this bedlam.

Suprabhatam Under Article 21

I am not your God—
you need not wake me.
I know my time,
I rise when I must.

I am not your God—
I can wake myself,
without your calls,
without your noise.

I am not your God—
keep your voices
between you and yours.
I never asked to hear them.

I am not your God—
yet in your shouting,
you disturb the very one
you claim to serve.

Lower your noise.
Let your faith be quiet.
Let your devotion be private.

I am not your God.

Noise Pollution

 Margazhi = Hell

If Noise Is Devotion …

With the onset of the Ayyappa pilgrimage season, many neighborhoods across the region are witnessing late-night devotional gatherings and kanni pooja ceremonies. While the season holds deep spiritual significance for Ayyappa devotees the celebrations are increasingly accompanied by high-volume loudspeakers, causing widespread disturbance.

These gatherings extend late into the night, with amplified chanting and music echoing across residential areas. The devotees describe themselves as being a spiritual state (“sami”), yet the level of noise often disrupts the peace of the very communities they live in. A tradition meant to elevate the spirit ends up exhausting the neighborhood.

The noise is unbearable for school students preparing for exams, infants, senior citizens, and patients who require rest. On nights, the sound is so loud that it feels like the entire neighborhood is being pushed into a kind of hell.

Noise Pollution Laws Frequently Overlooked

Current noise-control regulations clearly restrict the use of loudspeakers during night hours. However, these gatherings operate far beyond the permitted time and volume limits, placing stress on people’s sleep, health, and daily routines.

Public health experts warn that exposure to high decibel levels, especially at night, can lead to anxiety, elevated blood pressure, sleep disorders, and long-term stress.

Faith is personal.
Noise is public.

And when personal devotion spills into public suffering, it stops being holy. True spirituality doesn’t demand loudspeakers; it demands empathy. Devotion need not come at the cost of another person’s peace. In any season of faith, consideration is the highest form of worship.

Noise Pollution and Mosques

The announcements and preaching from mosques begin as early as 5 AM, often at sound levels far exceeding the permissible limits. Such excessive amplification not only violates public health norms but also contradicts the very spiritual message of kindness and consideration.

A striking contradiction emerges when high-volume sermons proclaim verses such as “…Be good to your parents… and the neighbour who is near and the neighbour who is far…”—yet the loudness of these broadcasts disturbs the very neighbours the scripture urges believers to protect. The impact is felt most by people whose sleep and health are vulnerable: school-going children, night-shift workers, patients, and the elderly.

The Quran itself advises moderation in speech.
In Surah Luqman (31:19), it states:
“Be moderate in your pace and lower your voice; indeed, the harshest of sounds is the braying of a donkey.”

This reminder makes it clear that true devotion includes respecting the peace and well-being of those living nearby