Laxman Magar, a 44-year-old mini-bus driver, says that without music there is only horns and roaring engines, which is absolutely boring. Besides, it keeps the passengers entertained.

Music is becoming an integral part of public vehicles in Nepal. But is it really serving passengers the way Magar intended? Or is it becoming a problem?

Here’s a backstory from my recent commute. It was eight in the morning. I was in a bus listening to music wearing headphones attached to my phone. There was already some music being played by the driver. In time, his music rose to a crescendo and my earphones ceased to buffer it. So I decided to pause my music and listen to the louder one. And for the next half hour, I sat in discomfort as the songs being blared were offensive and in bad taste. I had to pretend that there was no one beside me. Even after I exited the bus and went about my day, the words “Pink lips, pink lips” were ringing inside my head!

Deafeningly loud

One of the major problems in the public transportation music scene is its volume. The knobs are turned up so high that music becomes noise. Passengers often complain about it to the driver but most of the time they are compelled to listen on. Sometimes, even when you are trying to listen to something else on your phone, you can’t, because your earphone can’t buffer the noise. And people have to put up with whatever that the bus wallahs offer in their overcrowded automobiles.

We are not clueless about its effect on us. Shreeti Pradhan, a music therapist, says that listening to music at a loud volume can result in many negative health consequences such as hearing loss, hypertension, sleep disturbance and fatigue. Continuous exposure to loud music can lead to tinnitus (ringing ears). Moreover, according to the neuroscientists, exposure to intensely loud sounds damage hair cells, which act as sound receivers in the ear, which can in turn make us permanently deaf.

Perhaps that is not the only reason why developed countries have implemented strict “no music without earphones” policy in public vehicles. It’s partly because some people prefer quiet and solitude. If someone wants to listen to music they can do it at their own private space. Some passengers might want to read a novel, or watch their favorite TV series on their phone, listen to their favorite podcast, read newspaper or reopen their notes an hour before an exam. Can’t they have that freedom? They could, and they should.

But we sit timidly, while the noise continues to pierce our eardrums and strain our minds unknowingly.

Sleazy lyrics

Every passenger, once in a while, has been privy to inappropriate lyrics of songs played inside public vehicles. Neither the drivers nor their assistants care to choose songs that are suitable for a public space. Hence, the infelicitous lyrics. The songs sometimes are quite offensive and vulgar—thus by extension, even unethical. Songs like Pink Lips, for example, portray men as ‘sex-driven studs’ and women as sex-objects. Every other Hindi item song or contemporary American pop music contains such sexual overtones. Sad thing is, the songs we listen to have many psychological effects. Our mind operates in such a way that everything we hear or see could have a potential, often long-lasting, effect.  A child constantly being called dumb grows up thinking that he or she really is dumb. If we constantly receive negative messages we will have negative beliefs. And we may actually programme ourselves by the songs we listen to. In this case of public vehicle music, the negative messages are entering our subconscious without first being filtered by the conscious mind.

And let’s be honest. We’ve heard our eight-year-olds saying ‘Yo Yo Honey Sing’. They don’t even know what the rest of the song contains. But the melody is catchy. So it gets etched in their heads. Children unknowingly singing offensive songs is an international problem, so to speak.  And in Nepal, public vehicles are one of the mediating factors between such songs and our young ones. And well, we don’t want our children to chant salacious Hindi item songs instead of their rhymes. Do we?

So it would be great if policy-makers could design laws that address this issue, especially regarding music inside public vehicles. Moreover, we all, the general public, should be aware and concerned about these matters and its consequences. After all, who doesn’t like to listen to some soothing music after a tiresome day at the office? The songs should be chosen and played thoughtfully. Public vehicles can actually be a good place to foster public awareness. If managed creatively, it can be used for other beneficial public programmes, instead of the current unregulated sonic harassment.