Tinka Jail Radio and its unique musical journey in 2021

The year 2021 has been memorable for jails across the country. This year, Tinka Tinka Foundation took robust steps forward in tying inmates together with the tune of radio and music, as described in its motto to 'create rainbows behind the bars'. 

As an essential component of its much-acclaimed Tinka Model of Prison Reforms, the organization, founded by Dr. Vartika Nanda, pioneered the prison radio campaign in 7 of 19 jails in the state of Haryana, as well as in the barracks of Dehradun. As a part of these initiatives, at least 47 talented and well-deserving inmates received special training under Dr. Vartika Nanda's supervision in Haryana since December 2020, following the successful establishment of the radio initiative in District Jail, Agra in the year 2019.

Five musical compositions from the jails of Haryana and one from Uttarakhand were released this year by Tinka Tinka as an outcome of its prison radio movement fostering musical experiments in jails across India. These compositions include the song of Sheru, an inmate of Central Jail Ambala, which received appreciation by the former Union Health Minister on his various social media platforms. A song on Corona sung by inmate-turned-RJ Jitendra of District Jail, Rohtak, was also shared by the former Union Health Minister. A song sung and composed by RJ Kashish of Panipat Jail was released on Nelson Mandela Day. Tinka Tinka also facilitated 10 inmates of District Jail, Karnal, to release the prison's theme song. Its 26th episode, released on the festival of Janmashtami, featured a special Ragini, a Haryanvi folk song, sung by three inmates of Central Jail (I), Hisar. Finally, Tinka Tinka also helped 14 inmates from District Jail, Dehradun, curate and release the jail's theme song.

Released and broadcast across Tinka Tinka's social media platforms, including Google Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube channel, the songs in collective signify the spirit of courage and determination flowing within the prison imagination. The YouTube Channel, Tinka Tinka Prison Reforms, is the only channel in India that solely focuses on prison reforms and brings in authentic voices from prisons in each episode. These episodic podcasts are conceptualized, scripted and directed by Dr. Vartika Nanda.

Tinka Tinka Foundation is the brainchild of prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda who is credited for establishing prison radio stations in Haryana. These radio stations are carving space for a new cultural life by offering inmates the vocal medium to share their emotions, thoughts and musical expressions with the society.  In 2019, Dr. Nanda established radio in District Jail, Agra, located in the oldest jail building in the country. These radio stations were given special support by Shri Rajiv Arora, ACS Home, and Shri K Selvaraj, then DG Prisons in their establishment. Shri Akil Mohammad, DG Prisons, has also extended his unconditional support to  this journey.

Media Research Cell

 

Media Research Cell: Six months of growth and learning

 

Media Research Cell, Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College for Women is proud to celebrate six months filled with growth, learning and exuberance under the aegis of Teacher-in-Charge, Dr. Vartika Nanda.

 

Established in July 2021, the Cell has been conceived as a part of the Department’s Peer Mentorship Programme to offer a team of meritorious students a conducive platform to exchange knowledge on relevant subjects in the field of media. It is aimed at helping member-students learn the art of media research and associated skills, and prepare them as ready-professionals for the future.

 

Engagement with the Cell is a part of the internal assessment of the current batch of students, and their participation will be counted as a part of their overall contribution to the growth and development of the Department.

 

Following have been the recent activities undertaken by the Cell:

 

1. The students of the Department, as a part of the Cell, conducted a survey with college-going students in the age group of 18-25 in Delhi-NCR to gauge the impact of media during the second-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the survey were recorded in an article (http://vartikananda.blogspot.com/2021/09/college-students-in-delhi-feel-media.html?m=1). The survey laid the foundation for the active expansion of the Cell along the lines of primary and secondary research focused on media and backed by data.

 

2. So far, the Cell has been successful in releasing two original newsletters on the various themes pertaining to the curriculum. The first newsletter, released in the month of August 2021 titled 'The Interview Journal', (https://flipbookpdf.net/web/site/a876c1fd69883c0e079efdf984ee82eb7f7d1f58202111.pdf.html) focused on the essence of interviews, its skills and the latest developments around the same as its theme. The second newsletter, titled 'A World Without Journalism', released as a bi-monthly for September and October 2021, (https://www.flipbookpdf.net/web/site/fe836748c7b42ec30fa8aa845803fefa5f4a4b2f202111.pdf.html#page/1) highlighted the many challenges being faced by the media industry as its central focus. This newsletter also featured a movie review, a special section on the latest media developments, as well as a crossword puzzle for the readers related to the theme. The third newsletter is also under progress.

 

3. The Cell has now invited books and other scholarly material from authors across the media industry for review from student-members as well as the members of the faculty. This is aimed at enabling the students of the Department to receive experience in reading, reviewing and gaining an on-hands academic knowledge of the industry. This initiative is also aimed at ensuring that the Department is filled with ready academic material at its disposal at all times.

 

4. Currently, the Cell has 7 students for its core research function and an additional 14 students of the Department in its auxiliary Design Team. This has ensured that the full potential and skillset of the students can be tapped at various levels. The Cell is co-headed by Samridhi Chugh and Shivangi Chopra, two students of the Batch of 2022 for the current academic year.

 

Other than the above mentioned developments, the student-members of the Cell have been actively engaged in media-related research, article-writing, blog-making, graphic designing and video making, and presentation-making, among its wide array of activities.

 

_______

 

Written and edited by

 

Samridhi Chugh

Batch of 2022

B.A. (Hons.) Journalism

Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi

Batch of 2024

 

Month: December, 2021

Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi

 

On the first day of new batch for the academic session 2021-24, faculty and student union talked about why students choose “Journalism” as their major for graduation. An introductory session in which students and teachers got to know each other very well, took place. There was also a discussion about importance and significance of Journalism and ethics in today's modern and contemporary times. The class was made clear about the syllabus of paper - Introduction to Journalism (UNIT 1-Understanding News, UNIT 2-Different forms of print-A historical Perspective, UNIT 3-Understanding the structure and construction of news, UNIT 4-Different mediums-a comparison, UNIT 5-Role of Media in a democracy). Three class representatives were chosen from the class- Namrata Verma, Anusha Malhotra and Disha Manoj Kumar to ensure better coordination and communication between the faculty and students.

In the following week a detailed discussion about news, it's definition, importance along with the topics like hard news vs soft news and relevance of media in current times took place. Following the regular syllabus, various discussions and interactions also took place for the importance of research work by two of the seniors. Methods of presenting ideas, thoughts and presentations in the class, the key components being the accuracy, precision, comprehension and innovation. Students, by doing their own research, talked about various ingredients of news through an impactful presentation using examples and illustrations. Teacher and the seniors also discussed the outline and framework of working in teams and the importance of participation of the whole class in various activities throughout the academic session.

अंबाला सेंट्रल जेल: अब महिला कैदी भी बनेंगी रेडियो जॉकी

 

दिसंबर 20, 2021

अंबाला सेंट्रल जेल में प्रस्तुत करेंगी जेल रेडियो पर कार्यक्रम

छह महिला कैदियों को दी जाएगी रेडियो जॉकी की ट्रेनिंग

अंबाला, () : अंबाला सेंट्रल जेल में कैदियों द्वारा इस साल शुरू किए गए जेल रेडियो को जेल में बंद कैदियों द्वारा बेहद पसंद किया जा रहा है। अब जेल में बन्द महिला कैदियों ने भी इसी तरह के कार्यक्रम उनके द्वारा शुरु करने और रेडियो जॉकी बनने की इच्छा जताई है। महिला कैदियों की मांग पर अब जेल रेडियो महिला ब्लॉक में भी शुरू करने का प्रस्ताव है। यह जानकारी देते हुए अंबाला सेंट्रल जेल के अधीक्षक लखबीर सिंह ने बताया कि इस सिलसिले में पहले चरण में छह महिला कैदियों को तिनका तिनका फाउंडेशन की संस्थापक और दिल्ली के लेडी श्रीराम कॉलेज में पत्रकारिता विभाग की प्रमुख डॉ. वर्तिका नंदा द्वारा ट्रेनिंग देने की रूपरेखा तैयार की जा रही है, जिसे नए वर्ष पर शुरू किया जाएगा।

उन्होंने बताया कि इसी कड़ी में पुरुष कैदियों को दूसरे चरण का प्रशिक्षण देने हेतु छह ओर कैदियों के चयन हेतु ट्रायल लिए जा रहे है। उन्होंने बताया कि सेंट्रल जेल अंबाला में चल रहे जेल रेडियो के कार्यक्रम को कैदियों द्वारा बेहद पसंद किया जा रहा है। अब कोविड की तीसरी लहर को ध्यान में रखते हुए एहतियात व सुरक्षा की दृष्टि से कैदियों को ये ट्रेनिंग ऑनलाइन प्लेटफार्म के माध्यम से प्रदान की जायेगी। उन्होंने बताया कि इस समय जेल रेडियो पर कैदियों द्वारा अपनी कला व हुनर का प्रदर्शन बखूबी किया जा रहा है। जेल रेडियो में कैदियों द्वारा सुबह एक घंटे धार्मिक संगीत कार्यक्रम प्रस्तुत किया जाता है और शाम के समय दो घंटे अन्य कार्यक्रमों का सफलतापूर्वक प्रस्तुतिकरण किया जा रहा है। जेल रेडियो पर चल रहे कार्यक्रमों में ''आप की फरमाइश'' इस समय सबसे ज्यादा पसंदीदा कार्यक्रम है।

उन्होंने बताया कि जेल रेडियो में लीगल ऐड अवेयरनेस कार्यक्रम भी जिला विधिक सेवा के सहयोग से निरंतर चलाए जा रहे हैं। कैदियों के मानसिक स्वास्थ्य को लेकर डॉ राजिंदर राय, जिला मानसिक स्वास्थ्य अधिकारी के मार्गदर्शन में चलाये जा रहे कार्यक्रम को भी कैदियों द्वारा बेहद पसंद किया जा रहा है।

Welcome to Kurukshetra Jail radio

19th December, 2021

Press Release

Soon a new voice to join: Welcome to Kurukshetra Jail radio

Inmates lodged in District Jail, Kurukshetra will soon attain a new identity as Radio Jockeys for the soon-to-be-launched prison radio. The process of selection for the team has begun, making Haryana one of the few states in India with prison radio in more than half of their jails. Inmates with the skill to communicate and sing are being chosen separately for creating programmes and also music for the jail radio. The auditions and training will be conducted by Dr. Vartika Nanda, prison reformer and the Founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation, which is working for the upliftment of inmates. Prison Radio in Haryana is the brainchild of Vartika Nanda.  

History of Kurukshetra Jail

District Jail, Kurukshetra is built on a land area of 15 acres. This jail was inaugurated by the Haryana Jail Minister on 5th January,1995. Currently, this jail has nearly 670 inmates, out of which 32 are women.

Support and encouragement by Jail Officers

According to Shri Mohammad Akil, Director General of Prisons, Haryana, “ Prison radio has yielded positive results in all the jails of Haryana wherever we have launched it. The objective is to give inmates a constructive engagement and enhance their skills, also helping the reformation process. “Shri S N Jagat, Superintendent of the Jail has confirmed that the audition of inmates will start soon and subsequently the training program so that inmates get a new tool of communication in the coming year.

Prison Radio has come in phases

There are a total of 19 jails in Haryana, out of which radio has already been launched in District jails Faridabad and Panipat and also in Central jail Ambala under Phase I of the project. In the second phases, prison radio has started in District Jails Karnal , Rohtak ,  Gurugram and Central Jail (I) Hisar. District Jail Kurukshetra was selected in phase III along with District Jails Sirsa, Sonipat, Jind and Yamunanagar. 

About Tinka Tinka Foundation

Haryana Jail Radio is conceptualized by Dr. Vartika Nanda, founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation. Previously, the Foundation had started Jail Radio in District Jail, Agra in 2019.  The growth of prison radios in Haryana are part of an ongoing study on the Tinka Tinka Model of Prison Reforms. Dr. Vartika Nanda heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.

Recently Haryana Prison Radio came in national news with the release of the song sung by Sheru, an inmate lodged In Ambala Central Jail. Based on the theme of Covid-19, this song was shared by former Union Health Minister, on his social media platforms.

 Hashtags #vartikananda #tinkatinka #jail #prison #haryanajailradio #prisonradio 

Prison Radio in the Jails of Uttarakhand

September 23, 2021

Inmates of Dehradun's Sudhowala Jail to become Radio Jockeys, Auditions are over, Training starts from today

●     Auditions completed in Dehradun's Sudhowala Jail to prepare inmates as radio jockeys

●     About 20 inmates of the jail had submitted the application, including 5 women inmates.

●     A soundproof studio is being prepared in the jail

●     The selection and training of inmates will be the responsibility of Dr. Vartika Nanda, the founder of Tinka Tinka 

14 inmates from Dehradun jail are all set to work as radio jockeys for the upcoming jail radio. This is part of the initiative to bring Jail Radio in the jails of Uttarakhand.

District Jail Dehradun was chosen as the first to start the radio station. the capital of Uttarakhand

Purpose and the Process

to connect the inmates with positive work and to reduce their stress. Inmates

Inmates in Sudhowala Jail in Dehradun, were informed about this in the month of July and encouraged to submit their names to become radio jockeys. After this, the first stage was initiated in the jail and then the process of audition was materialized.  

Jail reformer Dr. Vartika Nanda has been given the responsibility of bringing radio to the jail. She is also credited with bringing radio to the jails of Haryana in 2021 and the oldest jail of the country, District Jail Agra, in 2019. She is the founder of Tinka Tinka. She heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.

Soundproof Studio in Jail

Several male and female inmates lodged in the jail have applied for the role of radio jockeys. Tinka Tinka will provide professional radio jockey training to the applicants who pass the audition and will also be given a certificate. A soundproof studio is being set up in the jail. This radio will be based on the Tinka Model of Prison Reforms. Jail Radio will cater to both the information and entertainment needs of the prison. This will give an opportunity to the talented inmates to showcase their talent through various programs. This radio will also give information about the daily official activities in the jail. Apart from this, songs of choice, information about going to court, information about the activities of the jail administration, familial meetings and other topics, will also be provided and focused on.

Inspired by Haryana jails

Uttarakhand Jail Radio is divided into three phases that will include 10 jails. District Jail Dehradun, District Jail Haridwar and Sub-Jail Haldwani have been selected for the first phase. This selection was done by the then Inspector General of Prisons, Shri AP Anshuman.

According to Dehradun jail Superintendent Shri Dadhiram and Jailor Shri Pawan Kothari, the main objective of making inmates radio jockeys is to encourage them for a new life by giving them a platform to air their talents.

About Dr. Vartika Nanda

Vartika Nanda is a prison reformer. Tinka Tinka is her series of prison reforms. She started the radio in 2019, at District Jail, Agra, the oldest jail building in the country. She has been honoured with the Stree Shakti Award from the then President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee in 2014. Her works on prisons have 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.

The state's first prison radio in Haryana was inaugurated by the Jail Minister Ranjit Singh at the District Jail of Panipat on January 16, 2021. There are a total of 19 jails in Haryana, out of which 3 are Central Jails. So far, the radio has been introduced in 7 jails and 47 inmates have been given training as radio jockeys. These include 10 women and one transgender.

Tinka Tinka India Awards 2020

Honouring Jails on Human Rights Day ~17 detainees and prison officers selected this year~ 

• 17 inmates and jail officers and staff awarded 
• Uttar Pradesh received the highest number of awards 
• Amitabh Bachchan awarded for Jail Sanitisation; one award was given posthumously. 
• The theme for this year was Corona in Jail. 
• Awards were released by Shri K. Selvaraj (IPS) DG, Haryana Prisons, Shri Ajay Kashyap (IPS) Former DG, Tihar Prisons, Shri Anand Kumar DGP and IG Prisons, UP 
• The jury included Shri Ajay Kashyap (IPS), Shri OP Singh (IPS) and Dr. Vartika Nanda (Founder, Tinka Tinka) 

On the eve of Human Rights Day, Tinka Tinka India Awards were announced. This was the 6th year of celebration of exclusive awards for inmates and staff. The inmates joined live for the first time and shared their thoughts in the presence of senior jail officials. 

This year, there were 3 categories: Painting, Special Mention and Prison Administration. 7 inmates received awards in the Painting category while 6 were chosen for their special contribution to prison life. 4 awards were given to prison staff, including one given posthumously. 

Narendra Nath Sarkar (42), lodged in Tihar Jail Delhi, bagged the first prize in the painting category. Rajju Kaul(74), incarcerated in Mirzapur Jail in UP, received the second prize while Firoz Rai, lodged in Darjeeling District Correctional Home, West Bengal, got the 3rd prize. Consolation prize has gone to Vaishali Kaushal (21) lodged in Mandoli Jail, Tihar and Madhvan boarded in Coimbatore Jail Tamil Nadu. 

Special Prize in this category is shared by Rafiq Ahmed and Parveez from District Jail, Bijnor. 6 inmates received awards in the Special Mention category. 53-year-old Ajay Chauhan from District Jail Mainpuri was chosen for his extraordinary work on Prison Jail Radio, helping inmates fight depression during Covid-19. 40-year-old Amitabh Bachchan, incarcerated in District Jail, Firozabad, was selected for his extraordinary work as Health Warrior. A convict, Amitabh Bachchan, had been sanitizing the jail since the beginning of Covid-19. 37-year-old Chirag Kishorbhai Rana, housed as convict in Central Jail, Ahmedabad, was chosen for helping inmates through the psychological cell in jail. Rana has been in prison for the last 11 years and has completed and learned more than 35 courses. Ashok Kumar, lodged in Model Jail Chandigarh, made the maximum number of masks during Covid-19. 33-year-old Madhavi Das is a convict and is considered to be the health warrior of the jail. She is incarcerated in Central Jail, Bilaspur. 24-year-old Rajat Sanjay, lodged in District Jail, Agra, had been chosen for his extraordinary work in jail radio. Jail Staffers had been chosen for their remarkable work in the jail. 

This year this category was dedicated to the memory of Late Raj Kumar Tripathi, who lost his life while doing his duty as Deputy Superintendent in District Jail, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. DIG Prison Yogesh Desai from Maharashtra, Shamsher Singh, Head Warden from Faridabad District Jail, and Gayitri Bhaskar from Mandoli Jail also received this recognition. 

The Chief Guests of this ceremony were Shri K. Selvaraj (IPS) DG, Haryana Prisons, Shri Ajay Kashyap (IPS) Former DG, Tihar Prisons, and Shri Anand Kumar ADG, UP Prisons. The awards were released through a video conference organized in District Jail, Faridabad. 

**

तिनका तिनका इंडिया अवॉर्ड्स- 2020: मानवाधिकार दिवस पर जेलों को सम्मान

इस साल चुने गए 17 बंदी और जेल अधिकारी, एक विशेष पुरस्कार मरणोपरांत  

नई दिल्ली। देश में हर वर्ष मानवाधिकार दिवस पर बंदियों और जेलकर्मियों को सम्मानित करने वाली संस्था तिनका तिनका फाउंडेशन 9 दिसंबर को पुरस्कारों की घोषणा करेगी। इस वर्ष अवॉर्ड्स की थीम ‘कोरोना के दौर में जेल’ है। महामारी के दौर में भी इस वर्ष हर श्रेणी में भारी मात्रा में नामांकन आए। इस वर्ष आए करीब 300 नामांकन में 33 महिलाएं भी शामिल थीं। इस वर्ष नतीजे काफी दिलचस्प रहे हैं। इस साल तीन श्रेणियां रहीं- पेंटिंग, विशेष प्रतिभा और जेल प्रशासकों के लिए पुरस्कार।

विजेता बदियो औऱ जेल अधिकारियों के नामों की घोषणा मानवाधिकार दिवस की पूर्व संध्या यानी 9 दिसंबर को की जाएगी। इन पुरस्कारों को श्री के. सेल्वाराज, आईपीएस, महानिदेशक, हरियाणा कारागार और श्री अजय कश्यप, आईपीएस, पूर्व महानिदेशक दिल्ली जेल रिलीज करेंगे।

इस साल निर्णायक मण्डल में श्री अजय कश्यप (आईपीएस), पूर्व महानिदेशक दिल्ली जेल, श्री ओ.पी. सिंह (आईपीएस) पूर्व महानिदेशक, उत्तर प्रदेश पुलिस और डॉ. वर्तिका नन्दा, संस्थापक, तिनका तिनका शामिल रहे। 2019 में निर्णायक मंडल में श्री जावेद अहमद, आईपीएस, महानिदेशक, एनआईसीएफएस और श्री राम फल यादव, आईपीएस, महानिदेशक, नेशनल क्राइम रिकॉर्ड ब्यूरो शामिल थे। इन्हें जिला जेल, लखनऊ में श्री आनन्द कुमार,  पुलिस महानिदेशकमहानिरीक्षक,  कारागार, उत्तर प्रदेश, श्री सुलखान सिंह, पूर्व पुलिस महानिदेशक,  उतर प्रदेश और वर्तिका नन्दा,  संस्थापक, तिनका तिनका ने दिया था।

वर्तिका नन्दा का कहना है कि तिनका तिनका पुरस्कारों का यह छठा साल है और इनका मकसद जेलों में सृजन करने वाले बंदियों और विशेष काम कर रहे जेल अधिकारियों का सम्मान करना और उन्हें मुख्यधारा में एक पहचान देना है। हर साल यह समारोह देश की किसी जेल में किया जाता है।

वर्तिका नन्दा भारत की स्थापित जेल सुधारक हैं। तिनका तिनका भारतीय जेलों पर उनकी श्रृंखला है। वे 2014 में भारत के राष्ट्रपति से स्त्री शक्ति पुरस्कार से सम्मानित हो चुकी हैं। जेलों पर उनके काम को दो बार लिम्का बुक ऑफ रिकॉर्ड्स में भी जगह मिली है।  तिनका तिनका डासना औऱ तिनका तिनका मध्य प्रदेश- जेलों की जिंदगी का दस्तावेज देती उनकी लिखी किताबें हैं।

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