Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, inmates at Tihar jail were in for a surprise when former Director General of the prison Vimla Mehra sat down with them in an attempt to heal them with sound.
In a first and impromptu programme, Ms. Mehra conducted a sound healing session with 10 inmates in Central Jail number 4 at Tihar School of Art. The session was also attended by Jail Superintendent Rajesh Chauhan.
Inside a small room, 10 inmates who were interested in the session lay on their back with their arms resting at the sides and eyes closed as the former DG pulled out the equipment — singing bowls, rimming sticks, wind chimes and tingsha bells — from her jute bag.
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“Are you ready for meditation? You’ll hear sounds like you are listening to soothing music. Imagine you are in a jungle… there’s fresh air… chirping of birds… you are breathing freely,” she said to the inmates who appeared to be in a state of trance.
For the next 15 minutes, she used different combinations of the equipment which emanated “healing” sounds. The inmates were then asked to slowly open their eyes and wake up to the environment around them.
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“Ma’am , neend aa gayi thi [Ma’am, I fell asleep],” said an inmate after the session was over. Two others nodded in agreement.
Outside the room, in absence of any officers, Ravi Shankar Sharma (40), an undertrial who was arrested on charges of gang rape, said: “It was food for my soul. I had heard about sound healing but never had this kind of experience.”
Another inmate, Ramesh Sethi, who had heard of sound healing for the first time, said: “I am feeling a lot at peace.”
Ms. Mehra, who started learning sound healing soon after her retirement, said she is planning to turn the session into a regular programme with the help of the jail authorities. “Sound healing regulates the flow of energy in your body. The sounds tend to affect particular organs and prevents illness. I have been close to Tihar and wish to help the inmates in whatever way I can,” she said.
Ms. Mehra was Tihar DG from 2012 to 2014 and also the first woman Special Commissioner of Delhi Police.