SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Sabotage: So CAMPUS much blood, • MES Indian School bags championship trophy at so little point Qafco flower show P | 4 P | 8-9 COMMUNITY • Cirque Elioze iD to perform for the first time in Qatar A handful of fed-up residents in one of the world’s noisiest cities, Mumbai, have taken P | 5 on a daunting challenge: persuading Indian BOOKS drivers to stop honking their car horns. • 10 best selling books • A travel through time for saving the future P | 7 HEALTH • Mild head injuries linked to risk of death years later P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • A lightning quick, five-star smartphone ‘HORN NOT OK’ P | 12 Learn Arabic • Learn commonly used Arabic words PLEASE and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 COVER STORY New gadgets hope to hush Mumbai’s incessant honking handful of fed-up residents in one of the world’s noisiest cities have taken on a daunting challenge: A persuading Indian drivers to stop honking their car horns. Non-stop beeping has become the domi- nant soundtrack to Mumbai as clattering rickshaws, public buses, clapped-out taxis, weaving motorbikes and private cars fight for space on the traffic-clogged roads. Now two separate teams in the city have come up with devices aimed at instilling some peace: one by forcing overzealous horn- users to open their wallets, and another by simply attacking drivers’ consciences. “People blow their horns just for no sake,” said Jayraj Salgaonkar, who with a group of engineers has developed the ‘Oren horn usage meter’ (the name ‘Oren’ derives from local pronunciation of the word ‘horn’). The meter does not prevent the horn from working but instead allows for a limited amount of honking, after which it causes the vehicle’s tail-lights to flash and alert the traffic police, who could then issue a fine. The driver gets green, amber and red- light warnings over his honk allowance and can top up his meter “like a pre-paid phone card”, said Salgaonkar. He is in talks with local authorities to get the device mandated city-wide. “I have invested money and time and emotion,” he said, relating his years of exas- peration with the city’s cacophony. “People take pride in honking their horn. There’s an ego trip over having a car. Until you make people pay for their usage of the horn, it’s not going to work,” said the pub- lisher turned honk activist, who is hoping that the potential revenues brought by the system will help persuade authorities to adopt it. The second invention, also vying for offi- cial sanction, less publicly castigates the honkers. ‘Project Bleep’ involves a little red button on the dashboard that beeps and flashes with a frowning face, “to make the driver conscious that he just honked and make him deliberate why he did it,” said Mayur Tekchandaney, one of its creators. PLUS | SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 3 Mumbai residents are not alone in their quest for a quieter life. In the capital New Delhi, a group of campaigners takes to the streets several times a month, plastering cars with “Do Not Honk!” stickers. ‘Licence to honk’ In southern Bangalore, residents last year launched an “I Won’t Honk Campaign”, backed by Indian crick- eter Rahul Dravid, which aimed to get drivers pledging not to use their horns unless completely necessary. But given the ingrained habit of honking, it seems such campaigns or gadgets are unlikely to work unless they are made compulsory. “Most people say there is excess honking but they think it’s the other drivers,” said Ram Prasad at Final Mile, a behavioural research group in Mumbai which has examined the honking phenomenon. Prasad also warned that introducing traffic police fines may only encourage bribing, giving drivers the feeling that “they have only extra licence to blow and honk”. “Any device that gives subtle feed- back, people will be more willing to take,” he said. AFP “Mostly it’s habitual. The driver suffered very severely even in intensive doesn’t realise he’s doing it.” care units because of the noise (out- After testing the device on 30 driv- side),” said Sumaira Abdulali, founder ers over six months, Tekchandaney of the Awaaz Foundation which cam- Sound levels in busy parts and his team at Mumbai design firm paigns against noise pollution. of Mumbai continuously Briefcase found an average 61 percent She said sound levels in busy parts of reduction in honking. Mumbai continuously exceed 85 deci- exceed 85 decibels, breaking “The benefit is to other people on bels, breaking the limits recommended the limits recommended the road, society in general. It cre- by health experts and contributing to by health experts and ates a nuisance for the driver,” said high blood pressure, hearing loss and Tekchandaney. heart disease. contributing to high blood “A lot of people in Mumbai are suf- pressure, hearing loss and Honking a health worry fering these things and the medical heart disease. Their goal may sound ambitious in a costs are quite high. Cutting down country where honking is so pervasive noise would cost much less,” she said. that foreign car makers, such as Audi and Volkswagen, fit their Indian vehi- cles with stronger, longer-life horns. Nationwide, the messages “Horn OK Please” or “Blow Horn” are colourfully painted on the back of most trucks and lorries, encouraging drivers to make their presence audibly known as they overtake. And the noise is only set to increase as more vehicles pile into densely- packed Mumbai, where the middle- class is growing and whose shoddy infrastructure and crowded trains do little to encourage the use of public transport. There are now about 900,000 cars, 10,000 buses and two million two- wheelers plying the roads of the finan- cial capital with a population of some 12 million, according to local transport expert Ashok Datar. Their horns are not just an annoy- ance, say anti-noise crusaders, who warn that honking is taking a worry- ing toll on the health of Indian city- dwellers — especially when combined with construction projects, roadworks and various religious festivals, which are often celebrated with ear-splitting firecrackers. “In hospitals I know people who have 4 PLUS | SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 CAMPUS NU-Q students walked the purple carpet in the HBKU Student Center ballroom as part of the annual Student Media Awards ceremony. The event highlighted 13 outstanding projects from four categories—communication, journal- ism, liberal arts and independent media. Awards included Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Critical Analysis, Best Cinematography, Best Poem, Best News Video Package Ibrahim Yousuf Fakhroo (seventh left), Director of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cecile El and Best Article, among others. The awards were hosted Beleidi (fifth left ) British embassy charge d’affaires, Mike Weston (sixth left), Senior Headmaster, by the NU-Q Student Union with the support of NU-Q’s Film and other officials during the opening of the Spring Fair at Sherborne School yesterday. Society and Society of Professional Journalists. MES bags championship trophy at Qafco flower show ES Indian School won the overall champion- Section) and “K” (for environment) categories “It is indeed a proud moment to witness the Mship trophy at the Qafco Flower Show 2014, respectively. Both the talent of the day exhibits incomparable creativity and imagination of the hosted by the Qatar Fertilizer Company, (Qafco) were prepared under the guidance of K Santhosh, budding artists of MES Indian School. Certainly and held at Al Banush Club, Meesaied, recently. teacher, Department of Fine Arts. this achievement will be imprinted in the annals of The school won the Talent of the Day in Junior The competitions were open to schools, institu- the school,” remarked, Principal, Sasidharan A.P. and Senior Category and the best exhibit among tions and professionals and MES bagged 17 tro- P J Beilbey, Head, Department of Fine Arts and the schools. The school also won the first, sec- phies, cash prices and certificates in many of the Sriklakshmi Babu, Teacher, Department of Home ond and third positions in the “J” (for schools) categories. As many as 46 students participated Science coordinated the MES team. and prizes and cash awards in the “E” (for Junior from all the sections of the school. The Peninsula Birla Public School orientation programme The Management Committee of Birla Public School with the teaching staff of the school during an orientation programme for the year 2014-’15. COMMUNITY / MARKETPLACE PLUS | SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 5 Doha Knanaya Cirque Elioze iD to perform church mourns for the first time in Qatar Patriarch t Peter’s Knanaya Church, Doha, has condoled the passing away of irque Eloize, the sister company SMoran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, of world-renowned Canadian the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. Cacrobatic troupe Cirque Du The 80-year-old Patriarch died in Soleil is performing for the very first Germany a week ago after a prolonged time in Doha this April. A press con- illness. He was laid to rest on Friday at ference for Cirque Eloize iD’s series of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Cathedral in performances in Doha took place at the Damascus, Syria. Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel. The condolence meeting was held at Cirque Éloize iD artists performed the church after the Holy Mass on Friday some electrifying stunts on the hotel and was attended by members of the helipad, 50 stories above the streets of parish as well as various spiritual organi- Doha.