By Pavani Chandhok

10 inmates lodged in District Jail, Karnal jointly composed and sung the theme song of Karnal Jail. It was released today on the occasion of Broadcasting Day in the jail radio room. The lines of the song are- Toofano se rooke na, honsala na ye kam, Udaano kea age humari , lage aasman bhi ye kam,

Team consists of both men and women

5 men and 5 women inmates of the jail were auditioned, selected and trained as radio jockeys by prison reformer Vartika Nanda. None of them had any background of radio or music before coming to the jail. During the process of training, these inmates were acquainted with varied forms of communication including writing lyrics. These inmates have been constantly encouraged by the Superintendent of the Jail Amit Bhadu and Deputy Superintendent Shailakshi Bhardwaj. Shailakshi has led this team of singers. The theme song of District Jail Karnal has been released by Tinka Tinka Foundation on podcast on YouTube platform today.

Music and Experiments in Prison

There are a total of 19 jails in Haryana, out of which the jail radio has already started in 7 jails. 47 inmates have been trained during the process. The first phase included three prisons of Haryana, District Jail Panipat, District Jail Faridabad and Central Jail Ambala. Phase two of the training programme had Central Jail I Hisar, District Jails of Karnal, Rohtak and Gurugram. Tinka Model of Prison Reforms shall cover all the jails of Haryana gradually. Haryana’s first prison radio was inaugurated by Ranjit Singh, Jail Minister Haryana, Rajeev Arora, IAS, ACS, Home and K. Selvaraj, IPS, Director General of Prisons, Haryana in District Jail, Panipat.

Jail, Radio and the music

Tinka Tinka has released three songs in a span of two months. Sheru from Central Jail Ambala, Jitender from District Jail Rohtak and Kashish from District Jail Panipat have already showcased their talent on YouTube channels of the Foundation and have received wide acknowledgement.

While releasing the Karnal Jail Radio theme song, Dr. Vartika Nanda said, “ Tagline of Tinka Tinka is – ‘Creating rainbows in prisons’. This is what we are trying to implement. Jail radio has converted these jails into broadcasting houses.”

Shailakshi Bhardwaj, DSP, District Jail, Karnal, said – “Jail radio has transformed the environment of the jail. It is now filled with happiness and enthusiasm. Now inmates do not come with complaints but with their creativity. I find it difficult to believe that this is the same prison space that used to be. “

About Dr. Vartika Nanda

Dr. Vartika Nanda is a prison reformer. Tinka Tinka is her series on Indian jails. In 2019, she started radio in District Jail, Agra, located in the oldest jail building in the country. She has been honoured with the Stree Shakti Award from President of India in 2014. Her work on prisons has twice found a place in the Limca Book of Records. Currently, she heads the Department of Journalism in Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.

YOUTUBE Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE187L3eJqA