Couple Tired of Pickleball Noise Asks What Gandhi Would Do

The Canadian city of Chilliwack has just three pickleball courts. For Rajnish and Harpreet Dhawan, the problem is that the closest of them is about 30 feet from their house. The Dhawans hear the sound of ball striking paddle 11 hours every day, in every room of their home. They hear it even when no one is playing. The couple blames auditory hallucinations, heart flutters, and insomnia on the constant drumbeat, the Washington Post reports. Frustrated that complaining to city officials for nearly a year hasn't changed the situation, they began a hunger strike, inspired by Mohandas K. Gandhi.

"I come from the country of Gandhi; it's our way of protesting," Rajnish Dhawan said, per Global News. "If he could bring the colonial powers of South Africa and India to accept his demand by hunger strike, I think in the post-colonial world we should be able, too." The couple notified the British Columbia city of their plan, invoking Gandhi. After becoming ill, and with his heart rate increasing, Rajnish ended his strike Tuesday morning about 50 hours into it. The city had taken no action. "I'm not Gandhi," Rajnish said. "I don't have millions of followers."

The Dhawans moved into their house in early 2017, attracted by the adjoining Portage Park. The sounds of other sports or children playing didn't disturb them. But in spring 2019, the city installed pickleball courts. The couple tried to ignore the new noise, but Rajnish Dhawan, an English professor, said he began sleeping poorly and falling behind in his work. So did his wife, a dental hygienist. They started going to therapy. The city says it has taken action, such as limiting hours, which Dhawan said players ignore. Indoor courts are being built, and the ones by the Dhawans' home are to close in November. That sounds like a long way away to Rajnish Dhawan. "You feel as if someone is consistently punching your head," he said. "It's literally like living next to a gun range." (More pickleball stories.)