Freedom is a song

Saxena sings for Flying Souls,a music band made up of 10 inmates of Tihar’s jail number three. The band recently held a concert with Delhi-based band Menwhopause inside Tihar,and performs at various functions within the jail premises.

“Music and I go a long way,” says Saxena,recounting the singing competitions he won in college and the impromptu performances at birthday parties and family weddings. But he only began to appreciate it after his imprisonment. He whiled away the day reading the Bhagvad Gita,joining a computer course and maintaining inventory records in the canteen,but the nights tormented him. “I would sing old Kishore Kumar numbers till I fell asleep. My two cellmates would tell me I was improving,” he says.

Saxena says he applied for music reality show Indian Idol,when he was on interim bail. He cleared the first round of audition,but couldn’t appear for the next,since his bail ran out and the court rejected his extension plea. “I was filled with despair,he says.

And then the proverbial silver lining appeared. Tihar authorities introduced cultural activities for inmates,which included painting,puppet-making and music lessons. Music rooms in each of the 10 jails were kitted with guitars,tablas,drum and congo kits,keyboards,and mikes. At the initiative of Manoj Dwivedi,the then superintendent of jail number three,musicians were (and still are) regularly invited to teach interested inmates the basics of music. Some 200 inmates applied for initial lessons and 40 were shortlisted. Only four inmates stayed back after the initial excitement had worn off — Saxena,Amit Jha,Sandeep Singh and Dinesh Chand. They decided to form a band of their own and called themselves Flying Souls,because their “bodies are imprisoned,but their souls are free”.

Jha,Singh and Chand are convicts,unlike Saxena. Jha,26,from Nabtol village in Darbhanga,Bihar,was charged with kidnapping and sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment in 2007. When he came to Delhi to join an IAS coaching centre,he fell in love and eloped with his student,a Gujjar girl. Her family filed an abduction case against Jha. “In my village,everyone liked me because I was jovial and studious. Now I am ostracised for falling in love with someone of a lower caste,” he says.

His only exposure to music had been the occasional bhajans rendered in his village temple,but now mastering Mohd Rafi numbers keep him occupied. Before the introduction of music rooms,he would read the Gita,attend yoga classes,and prepare for the IAS entrance test (which he took from jail). “But all that was drudgery. Music has liberated me,” he says.

Chand,the guitarist,is one of the quieter members of the band. In prison for the last 11 years,the 30-year-old from Pithoragarh,Uttarakhand,was arrested the day he was to be interviewed for the position of sub-inspector in Delhi Police.“I didn’t know my friends were dealing in charas,”’ says Chand,who is serving a 14-year term for drug abuse. His decade in Tihar was spent playing sports and in working with NGOs counselling drug addicts. “Music has helped me at an emotional level,” he says.

Singh,a vocalist who is serving a life sentence for abduction,is the most gregarious of the lot,and responsible for scouting for new talent. Along with Saxena,he has managed to rein in six new members,mostly undertrials over the last few months — Harnam Singh,25,a trained tabla player who performed at gurudwaras in Delhi,arrested in a murder case; Sunny Malik,25,a guitarist with public performances to his credit,caught in a drug dealing case; Vikramjeet Singh,from Dehradun,charged with kidnapping,is a vocalist; 27-year-old Bhagirath is the drummer. Chandrashekhar Sharma,44,a former government officer,with a Master’s degree in music,is the seniormost member,who plays the keyboards and is referred to as “guru”. A regular performer at ITDC hotels,he says an “embarrassing” case landed him in Tihar; Anil Kumar,a murder convict,plays the dholak,while John Michael,an African-American,chips in occasionally with rap.

The members are largely self-taught. Barring the initial lessons with musicians,their only study material are the instruments,a DVD player, and 25 DVDs,mostly of Lata Mangeshkar,Kishore Kumar and Rafi songs. They learn from each other and hold individual practice sessions from 7.30 am before jamming as a band from 11.30 am till they retire to their cells at 7 pm. “We don’t have sleepless nights anymore. The jamming tires us and we sleep well,” says Singh.

Currently,they are busy mastering,what they call,their “anthem”: we are flying souls. All the members have contributed to its lyrics: “Humko jaana hai apne shikhar tak/Humko pahunchna hai lakshya par/ Jo chod aaye thay usko paana hai/Aagay jaana hai raah par/We are flying souls”. The song was composed in just two days. Earlier,they had come up with the number Hey Ram,before their concert with Menwhopause. The alternative rock band has promised to come back with their recording equipment this month. “We want to record this song. Music has given us a focus. It feels like we are working in office,meeting a deadline,” says Saxena. Their repertoire also includes Bollywood oldies like Gulabi ankhein and Badan pe sitare.

The bonding between the band members extends beyond music. “We meet each other’s families when they visit,share the food they bring,crack jokes,and wipe off each other’s tears,” says Vikramjeet.

Music,they say,has salvaged some of their reputation. “The media always portrays the accused as villains. Now that our music is making news,we are finally being seen as people with interest in arts and academics,too,” says Singh,whose Rs 6-lakh-per-anum offer at the recent campus placement in Tihar has generated interest among relatives who disowned him after his conviction.

While music unites them in captivity,it’s not their career choice once free. Most want to start a business,or take up a job. Singh,Saxena and Jha,who got placed at the Tihar job fair,plan to avail those affairs. Bhagirath wants to teach poor children to play the drum,Malik plans to form a band with his two brothers. Jha hopes to bring out an album of Kishore songs in his voice,besides studying for a law degree. But what about the band? “We will always remain friends,perhaps even regroup to form a band after we’ve established ourselves financially,” says Saxena.