India, Sept. 23 -- The devout in the city seem to believe that the Gods love noise. Over the past four days, Navratri celebrations in the national capital have seen a nightmarish repeat of the cacophony of the Kanwar Yatra period, with boomboxes blaring music late into the night, disrupting health-critical sleep for many - the elderly, children, and patients are particularly vulnerable. Science has been clear about the harm of noise pollution for a long time. The health effects of night-time rest deficit due to ambient sounds are immediate and long-term. Research also shows that even when we are fast asleep, noise triggers the amygdala - the region of the brain that controls emotions such as anxiety and stress - and causes the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which, over the years, raises the risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. It is baffling that boomboxes continue to blare music unchecked, despite the curbs prescribed by law and imposed by the courts. The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000 mandate strict ambient daytime and night-time noise caps. But few care. Festivals have made this much worse, with loud, all-day blaring of music becoming more a flexing of religious muscle than a manifestation of faith or worship. Mega sound systems booming through the night are also in violation of the Supreme Court's nationwide ban on the use of loudspeakers after 10 pm - the Delhi government has relaxed this deadline by two hours. The State seems not only unwilling to act against such violations, but also passively encouraging the non-State players involved in this by privileging unwarranted display of faith over public health. While a harassed citizenry is forced to lose sleep, the State seems to be in perennial slumber....