LUCKNOW: Remember the movie “Sanju” in which the Sanjay Dutt character turns radio jockey (RJ) at the jail he is incarcerated in? Ajay Chouhan, a jail inmate serving a life term, has now done a Sanju by donning the cap of an RJ in Mainpuri jail which introduced a jail radio using the public announcement system a month ago.
As soon as Chauhan takes to the microphone every afternoon greeting 1200 inmates like a professional RJ with “Namaskar, main apka dost Ajay Chauhan jail radio Mainpuri main apka swagat karta hun (I am Ajay Chauhan, your friend. I welcome you to Mainpuri jail radio),” hordes of cheering prisoners leave
everything and listen to him on air belting out their favourite Bollywood numbers in an hour-long programme that keeps them glued to the radio.
Besides blending oldies with new hits to cater to prisoners of all ages, Chauhan packs the programme with performances of the inmates apart from jail news. The initiative, launched on June 1, is a huge hit among inmates. “The excitement for the radio is so high that for the programme aired in the afternoon, inmates start preparations from the morning,” says a jail administration source.
Even the prison officials are actively involved. They sit with RJ Chauhan with the list of requested songs and make a sequence. The programme is aired from the administrative building on the jail premises and features jail news, health issues and legal rights of inmates all interspersed with song requests.
“Initially, inmates did not show much interest but now suggestions and requests for songs reach the 100 mark sometimes,” said jail superintendent Hari Om Sharma. He added that requests received every day are played in the next day’s programme.
After the initiative was launched, a marked change in the behaviour of inmates was noted, said jail officials. This encouraged the jail administration to diversify and now they have started a talent hunt programme as well. “Inmates participate in the radio programme showcasing their skills like singing, poem recitation and playing instruments every Saturday,” said a jail official.
In order to inculcate a sense of cleanliness and discipline among the inmates, jail officials have also introduced a grading system for the barracks based on cleanliness, discipline and teamwork. The marks obtained by every barrack are announced on radio on a weekly basis. “This has brought in healthy competition among the inmates who make efforts to ensure that their barrack gets a good grade,”
said Sharma.
Director General of UP prison administration and reform Anand Kumar said, “These initiatives go a long way in giving jail inmates a positive orientation towards life besides creating good vibes within the jail,” he said. Such has been the success of the Mainpuri jail radio that the prison department is planning to repeat the same experiment in other jails across the state, he added.