Sound and the fury: essential elements ofelection campaign

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It was hours before the scheduled poll campaign in Mylapore, and Balasubramaniam R. of RKV Electricals was seen hurrying to a tiny corner shop to fetch a dozen water bottles for his staff. Back at the venue, his team was already at work, some mounting loudspeakers and connecting wires, the others testing the microphones. Many of them had assembled at the venue the night before the campaign began.

“As we get multiple bookings during election time, it is stressful. From the moment political leaders arrive at the venue to the moment they leave, we provide the entire audio set-up with the help of a private generator,” says Mr. Balasubramaniam, adding that the wedding season is more profitable for him than the poll campaigns.

“If it is a small election campaign, we still have the same manpower and energy [as for bigger events], but it is only for about three hours. For other events – weddings, festivals – the speakers stay at the venue for at least two to four days,” he says.

But unlike other events, campaigns come with a different pressure: the message has to reach random passers-by and grab attention on noisy streets, and the candidates don’t get to address the same audience twice, which makes ‘sound’ the core medium of the campaign. “If the speech is interrupted even for a second, we will be at fault. Mistakes do occur, which is why we keep two-three backup systems always ready,” he says.

Activists have long indicated that sound exceeding safe levels can become a public health hazard.

Mr. Balasubramaniam said they had shifted to high-end line array systems for campaigns, and constantly monitor the decibel levels to keep them within the permissible level. But there is another worry for these people: “We have to stay cautious on all fronts as there have been instances where our payments did not match what they initially agreed upon. Considering all this, we need to be extremely careful,” he adds.