Kashish Kapoor to Sonu Nigam: Celebs protest against loud religious rituals

Festival celebrations are fun but loud. During the recent Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai, while many enjoy the chaos festivals bring, many do not like the noise it brings. The decibel at which the band and dhol play becomes quite bothersome for people to bear.

On the same lines, 'Bigg Boss 18' fame Kashish Kapoor had a similar issue with the noise from the Ganesh puja pandals. Kashish took to her social media and bashed them for continuous noise and said, “Sar mein dard shuru hogaya hai."

Bigg Boss fame Kashish Kapoor criticises loud noise during festivals

Taking to her Instagram, Kashish Kapoor shared a video of herself in which she said, “Dusro ko harass karke kaunsi bhakti hoti hai? And now, I know ke main yeh bol rahi hoon toh aayenge kuch Dharam ke rakshak aur poojari mere comments section mein mujhe gaali dene ke liye. But please bear with me when I say this. Main 20th floor pe rehti hoon aur mere ghar ke saare khidki darwaze bandh hain, and yet jo yeh neeche shor ho raha hai, yeh jo baj raha hai, yeh mere sar mein ghus raha hai."

Kapoor further continued and shared, “I understand ke visarjan hai, procession hai, main bhi gayi hoon, and I love it. The feeling is enchanting and amazing. Lekin bhai, 15-minute, 20 minute, aadha ghanta, ek ghanta, saade teen ghante se yeh baje jaa raha hai. Kitna impress karoge Bappa ko ek hi corner mein baja baja ke."

“Aur thoda sa agar reasonable volume pe bajaoge toh Bappa bura maan jayenge kya? Thoda logical, reasonable decibel mein toh bajao. Na sur hai na taal hai, khaali peete jaa rahe ho aur saade teen ghante se peet rahe ho. Sar mein dard shuru hogaya hai bhai, bandh kardo ab. God will understand you love them. Please stop harassing us. Ab gaali dena mat aana, please understand," Kashish concluded.

When Sonu Nigam complained about Azaan loudspeakers

In April 2017 social media users were in for a surprise when Sonu Nigam wrote a series of tweets complaining about the Azaan announcement. Azaan is the Arabic call to prayer for Muslims, formally announcing the time for the five daily prayers (salat) and Friday worship.

Seemingly annoyed by the sound of Azaan, Sonu wrote in a now-deleted tweet, “God bless everyone. I’m not a Muslim, and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India.”

The singer added in his next tweet, “And by the way Mohammed did not have electricity when he made Islam. Why do I have to have this cacophony after Edison?” This was followed by yet another blunt statement saying, “I don’t believe in any temple or gurudwara using electricity to wake up people who don’t follow the religion. Why then...? Honest? True?” He concluded saying, “Gundagardi hai bus.”

Fans were shocked, the tweets soon went viral and later Sonu Nigam apologised. Later, he even deleted his Twitter account.

So, which is the right way to go?

On one hand, festivals like Ganesh Utsav bring communities together and are an essential part of cultural and religious expression. On the other hand, the increasing volume of celebrations can disrupt the peace of others, especially in densely populated cities. While public celebrations are a cherished tradition, striking a balance is important.