A sound is a sensation felt by the organs of hearing. Sounds are heard by all living creatures who have been given the facility of hearing. Sound travels in waves, in water and around 1200 km per hour in the air.
Any object that moves faster than sound is supersonic. The sound emitted by any supersonic object is heard after it has passed a point. Lightning and thunder occur simultaneously. We hear the sound of thunder after the damage has been caused by lightning.
However, the wonders of modern technology have made sound also to travel at the speed of light and electricity. Through the ionosphere, we can now hear the niyamai, (beautiful) exclamations of our own cricketers from behind the wickets in South Africa while watching a live telecast of a cricket match at Matale.
Sounds bring joy, sorrow, nostalgia, fear and hope. Noise is also a form of sound, a disturbing sound that sends sensations irritating to one’s ear.
Of all the sounds known to man and beast, the most exhilarating is the cry of the new born babe. Its cry brings tears of joy and maternal love in the form of milk to the mother. “Hear me, hear me, “I have joined your cry”. There can be no music without sound. The lyrics of our nightingales and the sound of music is nectar to the world.
Some sounds are common to all mankind. Examples are the bark of a dog, the trumpeting of an elephant, the welcoming ‘whine’ of a lovable canine, the ‘meow’ of a feline brushing against you and the ‘hiss’ of a snake in the grass. Reptiles hiss while in the grass giving a signal, but not those in the highest point in the evolutionary ladder - no hisses before they strike!
Then come the sounds of love: the sound of pirith, the pealing of church bells, the bells and nagasalam in the sanctum of the kovil and the voices of the imam calling the faithful to prayer from the minaret. Sounds that bring humans closer to those in whom they believe.
Sounds, at times, bring fear and fascination: the siren – a precursor of approaching disturbing tidings, like a fire engine, a speedy journey of an ambulance, a police car rushing to a scene of crime.
The sound of creatures cause concern: the cry of a gecko, the flapping of the ears of a canine before one embarks on something, the sound of the crow’s voice when visitors are expected, koha’s, the approach of the Sinhala New Year and the sound of the telephone when brings tidings of joy or sadness.
The sound of the alarm clock wakes you. It also tells you of an appointment.
All these are welcome sounds. Of course the drum is, was and will be the emitter of sounds to all mankind. It was the telephone of yesteryear. Then comes our own rabana. It brings a message of good wishes ayubowan.
The bugle brings sounds that belong to the world. The solemn last post when flags are brought down in the evening when the day is done.
Then again the poignant sound of the bugle. The last farewell to a fallen comrade.
Lastly, the sound of eternal silence. Amid the whimpering sound of mourners around, you are soundly asleep in death.
Whether it be good or bad, sound has made our world one big family, with a myriad of sounds that has encompassed us.