Quick Take | For you ears only
Chances are that you have suffered sodcasting. The neologism stands for playing audio loudly, without earphones, on a mobile phone in public—a disturbing habit that has spread like a rash. On Thursday, the civil aviation ministry threw the rulebook at an MP who had asked whether there was a way to discipline those who play music loudly on a plane. The government referred to the Civil Aviation Requirement rules proscribing disruptive behaviour aboard an aircraft, thereby passing the ball to airlines. This is not about fliers only—bus, train and metro travellers often have to endure passengers testing the hearing of the whole carriage. Indian Railway also has a rule limiting loudness. What we need are for suffering citizens to make a noise. An innovative campaign appealing for public decency would not fall on deaf ears.