Unchained melodies
MAKING MUSIC IN CAPTIVITY Inmates in three Haryana jails are being trained in music. They were asked to hold a concert last month in front of a packed auditorium—uncuffed
GURUGRAM: Prisons are not usually associated with music or melody, but bringing a change in that perception are three prisons of Haryana—they have brought music into the lives of their inmates and made fine musicians of a few.
Last month, on August 31, five inmates and one former inmate performed at the packed Air Force auditorium in Subroto Park, New Delhi. Listening to their powerful, trained voices and masterful control over musical instruments, one could hardly believe that they were twitching with nervousness a few seconds before the performance began because this was their first time on stage.
These inmates had been trained in music in jail for the last three years. But the story of how music became a part of inmates’ lives begins much earlier. It all started in 2013, when a few prisoners in Bhondsi jail in Gurugram, out of sheer boredom, started singing raginis. Raginis are a form of Haryanvi folk music wherein tales of valour, bravery, love, harvest and daily life are sung of as part of a theatrical performance. Singing these folk songs would remind the prisoners of their homes and lives before prison. As the prison authorities started noticing and taking an interest in these prisoners and their raginis, they asked jail authorities and NGO officials who interacted with them to give them ghadas (earthen
MONICA DHAWAN, director, IVF pots) and harmoniums. India Vision Foundation (IVF), an NGO, brought them the harmonium and ghada. Soon, raginis in rustic Haryanvi accents echoed within the walls of Bhondsi jail, accompanied by strains of music.
Music worked its magic and soon more inmates joined these ragini sessions. An IVF official says, “These impromptu sessions began taking the shape of a joyful celebration.”
Seeing the enthusiasm among the Bhondsi inmates, and the effect music had on them, music workshops in three jails across Haryana (Bhondsi, Rohtak, and Ambala) were launched. Trained professionals came in to mentor prisoners in vocals and musical instruments. Over 1,200 prisoners in jails across Haryana began learning music in earnest. In 2018, Project Dhun, an ambitious project to tap the potential of jail inmates and turn them into proper musicians was launched by IVF, in collaboration with Sony Entertainment Limited.
Under its aegis, auditions were held and 120 of the 1,200 prisoners were selected to be trained by industry experts and known music gurus. The objective was to sharpen their skills and enable them to find alternative sources of employment.
“The day I met my guru for the first time is etched in my mind,” 30-year-old Rabin, a vocalist and Rohtak inmate, says.
For 29-year-old Tilak Rao from Ambala, it was a childhood dream come true. “I had always wanted to learn music, especially the dholak, but had never thought the dream would come to fruition in a jail.”
Dhun, which means tune, slowly began to change prisoners’ lives. Ashish Puniya, project coordinator at Rohtak jail, says, “There was a gradual change in the behaviour of the prisoners. They had become much more confident and posi
One could see anger, frustration and loneliness lessen in a lot of inmates as they began to spend more time with the music. They started encouraging each other to do better, try harder.