A Canadian man living in India has sparked a discussion online with a viral video comparing noise pollution levels between two Indian cities during rush hours. Caleb Friesen, who resides in Aizawl, shared a clip on Instagram of a side-by-side comparison of traffic noise during evening peak hour in both Bengaluru and Aizawl. "Okay, now listen to this," he says at the beginning of the video, as he shows the painful noise of Bengaluru's traffic at 7:00pm. "Indians deserve better from each other. Just listen to this," he says as he shows packed roads with constant honking and the roar of engines.
Moments later, he transitions to a scene from Aizawl, recorded at the same time, but with a strikingly different atmosphere. The clip shows a calm and orderly scene with little to no honking. "This is actually where I live, by the way. Notice how there's no honking. That's actually because they've implemented a no-honking policy here in Aizawl," Mr Friesen says, adding that "the police actually do issue fines for people who disturb the peace".
In the video, the Canadian content creator explained that even though Aizawl has narrower, steeper roads, drivers follow traffic rules without complaint. "A lot of people don't realise that most of the roads here are just one lane wide. But still, people wait their turn. They queue up, and even when there's space to overtake, they don't. And they don't honk either," he said.
Mr Friesen also stated that drivers in Aizawl dip their headlights for oncoming vehicles instead of honking. "They understand that honking doesn't help. It just makes things worse. People here have more respect for each other. I think it's time the rest of India figures that out too," he said.
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Since being shared, the video has accumulated more than 642,000 views and over 42,000 likes. It triggered strong reactions from several social media users, many of whom agreed with the content creator.
"I'm an Indian and I agree & support your criticism and some food for thought for people. Its unlikely anyone's going to change here, your cause will just remain a "cause" for another 1000 yrs. They'll not spare a chance honking on moon and mars, if given a chance," wrote one user.
"Driving in Bangalore? Forget logic! It's a free-for-all where anyone can pop up from anywhere. Honking's your only warning - but when traffic is at a standstill, it's the last thing you want to hear," commented another.
"There is absolutely no fine for honking, and yes there is also zero implementation of law for honking. No one told us not to honk, people don't honk and we are just following what others did," said a third user.
"it's such a terrible sensory assault and I simply can't think of any solution as you said hope has exited the chat. It's not just a big city thing either. Constructive feedback or suggestions desperately welcomed," commented another.
