Tinka Tinka Foundation (TTF),a public charitable trust, registered on May 31,2016 in New Delhi has been a positive catalyst in steering prison reforms in India onto a new direction With its resourceful utilisation of the healing power of music as a tool of social communication and innate transformation.The brainchild of Dr. Vartika Nanda, TTF has been acting as a bridge between jail inmates and the society,capturing social attention through its musical endeavours focussed on channelizing the latent talents and skills of prisoners.It provides them a medium of expression to hone their passions and demonstrate them to the world outside through the window of rhythm and lyrics in synchronisation. For this, Tinka Jail Radios, established in jails and Tinka Tinka Jail Radio podcasts- play the crucial role. Inmates participate in these activities through Tinka Jail Paathshala. 

Objective

The motto of TTF is to create  rainbows in jails, providing hope and support to the dark and monotonous lives of  inmates. Prison Radios turned out to be one of the most effective initiatives by the foundation. Radio and music are indispensable, and henceforth, providing a platform for musical artistry to take place parallelly.  This has been a sustained effort as part of recreating life in prisons. 

Efforts

More than a dozen songs have been released from different jails since the inception of prison radio in 2019.  Sheru from Central Jail, Ambala and Kashish from District Jail, Panipat are all set to bring out their musical albums. Sheru and Kashish became stars overnight with their songs reaching the international platforms. Sheru’s song on corona awareness was highly appreciated by the Union Health Minister and this prompted judicial officers visiting and applauding Sheru for his work in 2021. The song was released on Tinka’s YouTube channel on 22 May, 2021 and was heard by a wider audience, both inside and outside the jail.  More than 90 episodes of Tinka Jail Radio podcasts have been released till June, 2024.

Tinka Tinka Tihar (2013) was the first song that laid the foundation to music in jail. Tinka Tinka Tihar was published as a book and later a song was written with the same title. 

“The tagline of Tinka Tinka Foundation (TTF) is to create rainbows in jails. Musical creations in prisons are a significant segment of Tinka Jail Paathshala, allowing inmates to rewrite their lives and fill it with musical vibes. Tinka jail radios in Haryana and Uttarakhand have made major contributions towards prison reforms with music as a vital tool. Radio and music are indispensable, and henceforth, providing a platform for musical artistry to take place parallelly. We celebrate music every day, Tinka Jail Podcasts are an essential part of this journey.”

 Dr. Vartika Nanda, prison reformer & founder, Tinka Tinka Foundation

Tinka Prison Radio is working on the Tinka Model of Prison Radio, helping inmates bring out their creative and academic talents. Jail Music is one of them.  This journey has touched and impacted several jails since then. 

Research paper titled, Karnal Jail Radio: Tinka Radio ka bandion per prabhav aur unkee pasand ke gaane: Gyan Garima Sindhu: July-September, 2022: Volume 75, Pages 6- 12 ISSN: 2321-0443 under UGC Care List Journal was published with credits given to them. This research was conducted under TINKA PRISON RESEARCH CELL (TPRC)