Most people say they prefer loud music over silent discos, despite the noise pollution.
Bangalore: Silent discos are a rarity and ignored by people in Bangalore as most people prefer loud music, said an event organiser who specialises in silent discos.
Surbhi Tiwari, the co-founder of Fusion, an event planning firm said, “We organize silent discos in different places like house parties, pubs, clubs or in other spaces.” The company organised six silent discos from June to December in 2023. This year so far, they have organised only two silent discos.
Rafael, who works in Bangalore said that he prefers clubs with loud music rather than silent disco because clubbing is all about loud music. “It feels very lively to be there. The headphones don’t give that vibe,” he said.
Sonia, a psychology student said, ”I got to know the concept of silent pubs from a Bollywood movie and since then I always wanted to try this, but haven’t been able to do so.”
Before the COVID outbreak, only one pub had silent disco facilities. An employee said that when they started the silent disco people came to try it as it was a new concept in the city. However, the novelty soon wore off.
The concept of silent discos was first mentioned in Finnish sci-fi film Ruusujen Aik, in 1969. In the 1990’s it became more public, it was mostly used by eco-activists in effort to reduce noise pollution.
Meanwhile for silent disco enthusiasts there is no place to celebrate their weekends in Bangalore. In silent discos wireless, colourful headphones are given to people in which they can like at whatever volume and enjoy the party without disturbing the environment as loud speakers do.
An official from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) said, “We are very new to this concept we don’t know about this. But in a silent disco there is no loud music so it avoids noise pollution. The KSPCB has defined decibel (dB) limit for the noise levels. For residential areas the limit is 55 dB in the day and 45dB at night. Even after setting the limits some residents file complaints in regional offices over loud noises.”
Ashika, an environmentalist said that we can enjoy parties without disturbing others. She added that since a large number of pubs in Bangalore are in residential areas silent parties are a great idea.
