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“I used to live in a noisy neighbourhood. Not that my present neighbourhood is any less noisy. I mean, we live in a noisy country,” opens Kalki Koechlin her rapturous slam poetry centred on noise.

The seven-minute video, made for World Music Day, is a provocative cacophony of sounds that engulfs us all. “Religious, political, and social noise has reached a peak today and it’s hard to hear ourselves think or feel. We wanted to explore life brimming over with ‘noise’ as an ode to silence,” said Koechlin about the Blush Originals video.

Of course, it’s all about perspectivee. Street sounds that became a springboard for percussionist Bickram Ghosh to create music in Kolkata are a symbol of clutter for Koechlin in Mumbai. The constant noise on the streets and in our minds – the blaring traffic, the hubbub at fish markets, the in-your-face news, and the overwhelming clamour on social media – is all drowning out our own inner voice, and silence, her piece stresses. Here’s a sample of Koechlin’s lines:

“We ride right into the clamour of peak hour traffic stammer,
the horn ok please philosophies of tata bye bye trucks
gas guzzlers, subcompact minis, vans, wheels, squeals at potholes,
and asthmatic fits from exhaust pits
and there’s a rick head on against a Mercedes in a three-metre gully
ruled by carts selling sabjis.
It’s an obstacle course that shakes the Monday morning sleep out of office goers
and in minutes we’re in it
like a speedy video game
shouting, cursing, gulping down our coffees
turning keys, swiping credits, counting out our monies,
there’s rents to pay, and EMIs
and out on the streets lives that continue to survive
the wants of the haves
and the needs of the have nots.”