An Aural Extravaganza

Today I thought about the menagerie of sounds that one hears on an average day in Pakistan. There is the ice-cream cart that plays an electronic version of ‘fur-de-lise’ on repeat, I wonder how it doesn’t drive the poor man bonkers. There are the cats and dogs. Nobody owns them (indeed, the average Pakistani is terrified of dogs), they’re just there, wailing at all times of the day and night. Then there is the cockerel, which seems to have forgotten that he’s only supposed to crow when the sun comes up, he appears to like doing it on the hour, every hour. In addition, there is the call to prayer, or the ‘azaan’, issued five times a day from minarets up and down the country. Finally, there is the noble tradition of Pakistanis using their car horns at least once a minute. It’s something of a national pastime. I used to think people were must be extremely angry when they were honking at me, until I realised they do all the time. As I write this, ironically my surroundings are eerily silent. It’s late, I should get to bed…