Religious festivals, traffic, headphones: How much noise is too much?

When Pune resident Vidyanand Bapat began urging people to celebrate Ganeshotsav without DJs, loudspeakers and other amplified sound systems, he was taking up a cause that has proved unexpectedly contentious. A public celebration, he argues, should not dictate the volume of noise that everyone else must be forced to live with.
The 37-year-old BPO employee, who works from his Narayan Peth home, was assaulted on September 3 while speaking to the media about his campaign.