When Tihar inmates laughed their heads off

It was an unusual day in Tihar Jail when laughter echoed from the prison, thanks to comedians Bharti Singh, Amit Tandon and Zakir Khan who performed live for the inmates as a part of television channel Comedy Central's "Spread The Cheer" campaign.

The prisoners Thursday assembled in Jail No 4 compound to enjoy the rib tickling performances, and they even expressed a desire to pose with the awaited celebrities for the shutterbugs. The laughter-inducing evening was well appreciated by the inmates.

It started with a felicitation ceremony where the three comedians were given paintings made by Vinod, popularly known as "Painting Pandey", along with jute bags made by the other inmates.

If Zakir and Amit succeeded in making the inmates laugh, Bharti stole the show. She not only shared jokes, but also danced with one of the inmates.

Ensuring happiness and laughter to the otherwise monotonous life, Comedy Central, part of Viacom 18's bouquet of channels, took the campaign to various NGOs, hospitals, drug rehabilitation centres in Mumbai and Bangalore and in Delhi.

"Christmas is the season of giving and we've taken this a step further with our 'Spread the Cheer' Campaign. The idea was to break away from regular TV programming and undertake a campaign that gets India to smile more," said Ferzad Palia, general manager and executive vice president, English Entertainment, Viacom 18.

Alok Verma, director general of Tihar Jail, said that the campaign is a very welcome initiative and that it "resonates with our efforts to keep the inmates occupied and away from the stress of missing their family and friends".

Overall, it was a warm, heartening experience to watch prisoners laughing out loud and enjoying themselves.