<p>He put the good old cup of tea with a soft sound on the table. I took a refreshing sip, just right, as usual, not too hot, not too sweet, not too strong, and not a drop spilt on the saucer. He was not Wodehouse's Jeeves but Thomas from my office.</p>.<p>Routine noise, sounds and vibrations get memorised often in the mind based on the causes, effects and complete actions.</p>.<p>Take for example the old touring talkies drum cart in the sixties. The boy would promote the movie as "Raj Kumar’s full fighting movie" and make us run behind to collect the fliers. This enabled us to be in the “floor-sitting-Gandhi-class” learning to whistle. That was the equivalent of a promotion!</p>.<p>Now, the day starts, gloriously with the “tup” noise the rolled newspaper bundle makes, ending the early morning dream and marking the beginning of a day full of various sounds. Then comes a pleasant rendition of <span class="italic"><em>suprabhatam </em></span>in MS's ever-green voice, followed by jarring noise of broomstick, working sump-pump, coffee waves, the faint promotional voices of vegetable vendors, pressure cooker whistles, and finally the prayer and chanting of the bell from the pooja room or a temple.</p>.<p>A good day always starts with nice and melodious chirps by the visiting birds and the barking of our dear street dog the Bilya. I am allowed to prepare the chutney in the kitchen, and the nice rhyming sound of stone-grinding by hand pleasantly gives a prayer-like blissful feeling.</p>.<p>The noises continue through the day. Traffic appears good and competent with honking, hand-signalling and engine sounds. I am delivered to the office to start serious work after meeting Thomas with tea.</p>.<p>In a non-pandemic time, canteens nearby feature good food, the process involving a lot of familiar sounds. Big cheers emerge from cricket stadia or local grounds owing to fine players, while the neighbourhood schools are abuzz with the conversations of children, teachers and everyone else.</p>.<p>Amid the pandemic, we have been missing many of the regular sounds. The working sound of music, morning discussion with the high-sounding boss, the industrial noise of motors, compressors, material movements, appear far away. That is quite disturbing.</p>.<p>Many of the melodious noises are waiting to make a comeback. Jerome K Jerome said it right: “Voices are calling us to some great effort, to some mighty work.”</p>.<p>Everyday noises blend quite naturally with life. The feel of a sound is a catalyst in many ways. That's why we like it. Yes — the "Sound of Music” isn’t far away, it's in our lives.</p>
<p>He put the good old cup of tea with a soft sound on the table. I took a refreshing sip, just right, as usual, not too hot, not too sweet, not too strong, and not a drop spilt on the saucer. He was not Wodehouse's Jeeves but Thomas from my office.</p>.<p>Routine noise, sounds and vibrations get memorised often in the mind based on the causes, effects and complete actions.</p>.<p>Take for example the old touring talkies drum cart in the sixties. The boy would promote the movie as "Raj Kumar’s full fighting movie" and make us run behind to collect the fliers. This enabled us to be in the “floor-sitting-Gandhi-class” learning to whistle. That was the equivalent of a promotion!</p>.<p>Now, the day starts, gloriously with the “tup” noise the rolled newspaper bundle makes, ending the early morning dream and marking the beginning of a day full of various sounds. Then comes a pleasant rendition of <span class="italic"><em>suprabhatam </em></span>in MS's ever-green voice, followed by jarring noise of broomstick, working sump-pump, coffee waves, the faint promotional voices of vegetable vendors, pressure cooker whistles, and finally the prayer and chanting of the bell from the pooja room or a temple.</p>.<p>A good day always starts with nice and melodious chirps by the visiting birds and the barking of our dear street dog the Bilya. I am allowed to prepare the chutney in the kitchen, and the nice rhyming sound of stone-grinding by hand pleasantly gives a prayer-like blissful feeling.</p>.<p>The noises continue through the day. Traffic appears good and competent with honking, hand-signalling and engine sounds. I am delivered to the office to start serious work after meeting Thomas with tea.</p>.<p>In a non-pandemic time, canteens nearby feature good food, the process involving a lot of familiar sounds. Big cheers emerge from cricket stadia or local grounds owing to fine players, while the neighbourhood schools are abuzz with the conversations of children, teachers and everyone else.</p>.<p>Amid the pandemic, we have been missing many of the regular sounds. The working sound of music, morning discussion with the high-sounding boss, the industrial noise of motors, compressors, material movements, appear far away. That is quite disturbing.</p>.<p>Many of the melodious noises are waiting to make a comeback. Jerome K Jerome said it right: “Voices are calling us to some great effort, to some mighty work.”</p>.<p>Everyday noises blend quite naturally with life. The feel of a sound is a catalyst in many ways. That's why we like it. Yes — the "Sound of Music” isn’t far away, it's in our lives.</p>