We often take our lives and what we have for granted. A short visit to Delhi Central Prisons, better known as Tihar Jail, a couple of days ago helped me change that perspective a little bit.
New Delhi alt rockers menwhopause, known to be a generally eccentric bunch (as evidenced by this interview), were slated to play a show for the inmates of the prison. The initial plan gradually evolved from just a performance to a three week-long workshop with the inmates of Central Jail #3, utilizing the in-prison facilities to make music.
Sarabjit Singh Chadha of menwhopause outisde Delhi Central Prison #7
Lunch time at Delhi Central Prison #7, Tihar Jail, New Delhi
In my opinion, more than creating music for the sake of music, the band connected with a lot of the inmates at a very personal level. During my first visit to the prison with Randeep Singh, Anup Kutty and Sarabjit Singh Chadha of menwhopause on December 20, it took less than 30 minutes to see the camaraderie the band had developed with the inmates. I sat quietly in a corner of the music room for most of the session, which served as a mini-rehearsal for the performance the next day, barring the time I spoke to some of the inmates. From a feeling of disbelief, to fear laced with nervousness, the graph of emotions finally ended at compassion, having seen them play songs with immense dedication.
Randeep Singh of menwhopause during setup
IP Singh of menwhopause with inmate Dinesh, tuning his guitar
Randeep Singh, bassist of the New Delhi quartet, single-handedly spearheaded the workshops in the jail, helping the inmates nurture their musical skills, and putting together several musicians to form a band. He was often accompanied by Anup Kutty, lead guitarist or Sarabjit Singh Chadha, vocalist of the band during these visits. The inmates put together a band, which they decided to call The Flying Souls, and even wrote two original compositions. The first one, ‘Hey Ram’, was an alternative rock song which explored the ideas of faith, belief and God, while ‘What Is My Name?’ was a bluesy-rap song about inner strength. I couldn’t miss the irony of the situation when the inmates sang ‘Free’ from menwhopause’s debut album, Home.
Inmates Amit Saxena and Bhagirath covering menwhopause's 'Free'
Inmate Sunny playing the congo during the performance
What was really overwhelming was to see the inmates come forth, talk willingly and express themselves. Among the inmates who formed The Flying Souls, some have been in prison for over nine years, whereas some have been around for a couple of months. Interestingly, the band also organized a band manager who handled timings, equipment and other nitty gritties. The support of the jail authorities must also be made note of, having allowed such activity to take place – in fact, even urging the band members of menwhopause to visit frequently to keep the music alive.
Inmate band Flying Souls playing to a massive crowd of 700 inmates
Inmates of jail #7 enjoying the show
There are several ideas I wish to explore, and talk about in the subsequent posts about this experience, hoping to bring to light the situations inside the prison, the misconceptions we have about jail, the lives people live, the performance by The Flying Souls backed by menwhopause, and the reactions of the audience, among other things. There were possibly some moments during the performance which, as a regular gig attendee, would have bored me, but to see the joy on the faces of every single person in the audience erased any such feelings. At the end of the day, it was music for the sake of healing, connecting and more importantly, humanity.
Inmates of jail #7 showing off some dance skills
Bandmates of Flying Souls and menwhopause after the show
More from menwhopause’s Tihar Jail sessions soon, including video. Stay tuned.
All photos are from the performance on December 21. Also, a leaf from my personal diary.
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