I have slept for just three hours today, not because I chose to, but because a temple nearby is having its festival and they decided to play music at 5.30 in the morning. I had been awake till 2 in the night working.

It feels so insensitive.

Aren’t there supposed to be laws on such loudspeaker music being played in public? Actually, there is. You’re not allowed to play loudspeakers from 10 in the night till 6 in the morning.

I woke up at 5.30 because of this music.

Maybe half an hour wouldn’t make much of a difference. That’s what I told myself. That’s what everyone tells themselves, I guess. And that’s how noise becomes normal.

But temples and churches and other religious institutions seem to be the biggest culprits in this regard. The fine for breaking the rule? ₹250. That’s the official value of my sleep, apparently.

The only people who can make a more impactful complaint are the Pollution Control Board. Their intervention can raise the fine up to ₹1 lakh and imprisonment up to 5 years. So I went and searched for the nearest Pollution Control Board. On Google Maps they had such terrifyingly wonderful reviews that I didn’t even feel like calling them, let alone making a complaint.

It shouldn’t be this hard. It feels like my only choice is to build a soundproof house. But that would mean insulating myself from the very community I want to be part of. The other option would be to quietly fly away like many Malayalis do and become citizen of a more respectful community. But that isn’t what I want to do.

I feel frustrated and irritated with my lack of sleep, and the insensitivity of the person playing the music at such loud volume so early in the day. I also feel helpless at not being able to do anything about it. I can complain to the temple. But then that means going to the temple and making a complaint.

I don’t know.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll call the Pollution Board.

Maybe I won’t.

But today, I’m just tired.

And it shouldn’t be this hard to sleep in your own home.