Police Station In Pune Has Officers Jamming To Classic Songs After Work Hours: Know Why

Police officers take up the responsibility of keeping crime and criminals off the streets and ensuring people live a peaceful and stress-free life. They do so by taking the stress upon themselves and working around the clock to ensure people remain protected at all times. In a move to create a stress-free environment for the personnel as well, Pune's Lashkar Police Station has now set up a "music room" as a way for them to destress.

Old Melodies Ring Out In Police Station

Police stations are among the last places people expect songs to be hummed at. They are usually seen to be buzzing around filing cases, complaints, and dealing with criminals. However, the police station located in Pune city's Cantonment area is perhaps the first in Maharashtra to have a dedicated music room for its officers.

The room, equipped with a karaoke system, speakers, and sound mixers, provides a getaway for the officer after a hard day's work. Now the officers can often be seen relaxing in the room and singing hit classics of Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, and Mohammad Rafi, among others. As the pandemic started subsiding, many highlighted the impact it had on the mental health of frontline workers. In a measure to address this, the police station initiated a musical therapy session with the help of Dr Santosh Borade, a music therapist.

Borade encouraged the staff to sing or croon whenever time permitted and stressed the healing effect music tends to have. Based on his suggestion, the station installed a small speaker and mic. Senior inspector Ashok Kadam stated that the decision helped them to a great extent in keeping their stress at bay. Since the station is always under the alert to protect and maintain law and order, the staff required a mode of relaxation, he added.

Cops Turned Artists

A report by Deccan Herald stated that once the station got the mic and speakers, the singing bug bit the officers. Over time they procured several high-end equipment, such as a karaoke system, mixers, and singing mics, with the help of a local gurdwara. Kadam says that now they have over 15 personnel, including officials, constables, and the peon, who sings on a regular basis in the music room after 7 pm. On some days, the music room even sees local music enthusiasts joining in for jam sessions.

Word about the initiative spread across the town within no time, and many senior officials, including the police commissioner and joint police commissioner, joined in to encourage the staff. Sub-inspector Vinayak Gujar always loved singing but kept it aside as a hobby because of the job demands. With the music room, he got an opportunity to return to his interests and practice singing every day after his duty hours.

Another positive thing besides being a stressbuster is that it has helped the staff member bond better. Since it's a time when the staff collectively join to relax, they have got the time to unravel and understand each other. Kadam conveys that the personnel who generally also don't share their personal concerns were seen opening up to senior officials and also began giving their inputs during investigations. Overall the music room enabled better productivity at the station, increased the work output, and also put the staff in a better mood as they got a chance to relax. Many among the officers and constables now make it a point to sing after they finish the day's work and have mastered a few personal songs. Even the locals have begun thinking of the officers more like artists and less as a cop now.

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