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Out & About: Quiet please ... please just a little quiet
The ancient Egyptians had a goddess who appeared in the form of a cobra-headed figure known as Meretseger
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The ancient Egyptians had a goddess who appeared in the form of a cobra-headed figure known as Meretseger.
Her name translates as "she who loves silence" and, according to the legends, she would spit poison on those who offended her and her kind. Meretseger was a protector and a fearsome one at that.
It is also said that she dwelled upon a hill overlooking the Valley of the Kings in ancient Egypt where the pharaohs were laid in their tombs. Presumably her name means she would look down upon the valley to make sure the pharaohs rested in peace, but despite her protection grave-robbers and archeologists denied them this privilege.
I would not condone spitting poison on anyone, but sometimes in Jakarta it feels as though it would be nice if there was a figure like Meretseger to supply a little peace and quiet in the city.
Sometimes the noise is stressful and is made even more stressful by the extent to which it can be just so unnecessary.
OK, I know this is a city bursting at the seams with millions of people hustling and bustling as they try to earn an honest buck (well, mostly honest), but often there is noise here that is just so unnecessary.
The other day I was sitting in a mall dining with friends and commenting to them on how unusual it was not to have to talk over unnecessary and usually boring music; or masses of people talking so loudly that they inevitably would vie with each other to talk to the loudest. Sadly, this period of relative quiet was not to last.
Suddenly a booming voice was heard. We looked around to see where this sudden and disturbing aural interruption came from. It was not from anywhere close by - a number of the tables were empty and those that were occupied were populated with other diners who seemed similarly happy at the relative quiet.
We looked up and there was our answer. A man on a balcony above us was gesticulating and practically balling into his mobile phone. His voice echoed off the marbled walls as he shared his telephone conversation with people on two levels of the building.
Now it may be he was getting bad reception and felt it necessary to literally shout down the phone, but was it really necessary, or polite, for him to create such a disturbing noise for everyone else in the vicinity?
Noise is all around us, it cannot be escaped, but surely it can be avoided and surely people can discern when they are making a noise and becoming a nuisance.
There is, I suppose, a time and a place for most things in life but sometimes people create noise simply by not recognizing the right time and right place to do something.
Cinemas are a good example of this. Jakarta's cinemas always put up notices (in English?) for viewers before shows start, asking people to "shhh" and "please be quiet during the show", but this good, polite and reasonable request is not always responded to appropriately.
The consistency with which people sit in cinemas to have a bit of a natter is truly disturbing. Is it because they just don't understand the movie they are watching and are too lazy to read the subtitles? Often during quieter sequences of movies the chatterers get going in there disturbing conversations. When an action sequence bursts onto the screen they fall silent and watch.
Of course, action sequences are attention-grabbing, but dialogue and the quieter sequences of movies can play important parts too. Subtlety, however, seems lost on these people and their attentions waiver and the chattering begins again. Their chattering may not be noise to them, but in cinemas it certainly is.
We live in a big city and so noise almost inevitably has to be expected and lived with, but this still should not make it impossible for us to enjoy quieter times and quieter places. There is a dignity and graciousness to being able to find quiet and be quiet. Quiet can and does help us with the stress that can come with city living.
-Simon Marcus Gower
We invite readers to contribute to this section about things happening in Greater Jakarta. Personal experiences, rants and protests are also welcome. Please send your story to city@thejakartapost.com. The article should be between 600 and 800 words.
