Music bands of inmates on anvil in Bihar prisons

The prisoners have been known to participate in menial activities during stay in jails, but the authorities in Bihar prisons have set out on a novel programme to draw inmates' interest in music with a long-term plan to set up music bands of the prisoners.
Various music instruments have been purchased in some jails and orders placed for other jails to provide training to the inmates in musical instruments so that they could set up music bands of their own and take part in inter-jail competitions, Inspector General (IG) Prison, Anand Kishore told PTI.
It has been proposed to organise music classes for the interested inmates in all 21 jails in Bihar, he said, adding that such programmes have already started in a few jails, including the Beur central jail on the outskirts of the state capital.

Reputed musicians like Acharya Gajendra Mishra, Sanjay Kumar and Virendra Kumar have been hired to provide music training in various instruments to about 45 inmates at the Beur central Jail, IG said.
The chosen inmates at the Beur jail have been learning musical instruments like Spanish Guitar, Harmonium, Tabla, Drum Congo, Electronic Tanpura, Scale Changer, Synthesiser Keyboard, Naal and Jhaal, he said.
The trained inmates will not only take part in musical programmes in their own jails for entertainment of fellow prisoners, but may also take part in the inter-jail competitions in future, IG added.