A not-so-criminal evening

When I visited Visapur, I had no idea what was in store for me! My girlfriend and I were in Ahmednagar a few days ago and were supposed to leave for Bhopal the following day. However, as she was not well, we had to extend our stay by a day. Not knowing what to do in the time gained, she suggested we go visit her relatives in Visapur.

Located about 41 km to the south-west of Ahmednagar, this small hamlet of 550 homes would rather be easily overlooked by a tourist visiting Maharashtra or India. In fact there is nothing at all that would be of any interest to anyone. The village is quiet and is inhabited by a mere 2500 people who prefer to live a low key life against the hustle and bustle of the nearby metropolitan Pune. The roads were narrow allowing just one vehicle to pass at a time. The fields were barren as it was mid-summer and the sun was spitting fire all over. We reached a particular spot called Visapur phata on the Nagar-Baramati road and waited there as Dinesh (my girlfriend's distant cousin) was supposed to receive us there. In the few minutes that we spent on the crossroads, I took a look around. A small stall that sold tea and wadapav (Indian burger) on the corner, some old folks waiting for the state transport bus, a village urchin whistling his way with a bicycle-tyre, a malnourished dog cuddled up under the sparse shadow of a bush and a black SUV that had just approached! 'He's here, let's go', my thoughts were interrupted by Mau's call who went ahead to greet him. We got into the SUV and let me be honest on this, the breeze of cool air that brushed against my face the moment I got into the vehicle was nothing short of heaven! It might be a common thing for others, but for a traveller who is backpacking across India in the scorching heat of May mostly through unreserved bogies of the Indian railways and state transport buses, it was sheer bliss. One look from Mau and it was enough to understand that the feeling was mutual.

So we drove for maybe half an hour which seemed like 30 seconds in that air conditioned SUV (refer Newton's theory of relativity), had a sumptuous meal of chapati, rice, dal, cauliflower, chutney, pickles, papad, curd and Maharashtra's special aamras (smashed mango pulp) and lied on the sofa watching TV. That is when Dinesh came up with the idea of visiting the nearby jail. Yes, you read it right. Jail.

Turns out that he had some good relationship with the jail authorities and he insisted we take an awareness session of Swachh Bharat for the prisoners. Mau and I had been taking such sessions in schools, colleges, etc but taking a session in a jail was something we had never thought of, rather we had not seen an actual jail from the inside before that day! But Dinesh insisted saying that the jail superintendent is a progressive man and has been encouraging sessions of yoga, mental health, etc for the prisoners.

So at 4 p.m. we were standing at the entrance waiting for the sipahi (soldier), who had taken our message inside, to return with an approval. He came back in a few minutes saying we can proceed.

As I entered the premises, I noticed the old structure keenly. Probably built in the British era, it had a huge stone inscription installed with the names of the political prisoners of the Indian freedom struggle who had served sentences there. While talking to Mr. Patil, the jailor, I gathered some interesting facts about that place and also about jails in general. It was an open jail where the prisoners do not live in dark cells, but in barracks or dormitories. There were three dormitories each of the capacity of about a hundred occupants. We requested Mr. Patil if we could take a walk inside, and he agreed. It was a long bamboo shed with with a walkway in middle and mattresses lined up on both sides. Now, I was a little scared to enter. You might have seen a hundred movies and TV series which involved prisoners, criminals and jail sequences, but walking through that barrack although with an officer and two armed guards, was a little scary. The faces I saw in there were of murderers, rapists, extortionists and armed robbers. I was already terrified in my head and intimidated by their presence. My mind was partially recording things kept in the barrack and partially thinking of what am I going to say to them in the session. I saw some clothes hung on a string near every mat, a bucket and a mug, a steel plate which they probably used for receiving meals, some books and a harmonium and tabla too. Some prisoners were sitting, some sleeping, some reading newspapers, some, chanting shlokas mentally, but one guy grabbed my attention who was reading from a pretty fat book and making some notes. Mr. Patil told me that he was appearing for LLB! I was informed that the prisoners here get a fair chance of studying if they wish to and also of giving examinations. They can also bag good jobs after they get out of here and the government also makes a special mention in their criminal records that they have been released early on account of good behaviour. The prisoners who come here are the ones who have impressed their previous jail authorities with their good behaviour and continuous improvement. Very few prisoners in India make their way to an open jail where their remaining penance as of that day is reduced to half. For example, if a prisoner who has 5 years sentence pending is shifted to an open jail for good behaviour, he has to serve only 2.5 years there. Also the living conditions are better than a closed jail. They get to work in farms and are also paid fifty rupees per day as wages. The harvest is used as food for the jail and also provided to other jails across Maharashtra. They are allowed two calls of ten minutes each every month when they can talk to their families or friends but they have to do it in the presence of a sipahi who escorts them from their dormitory to the telephone kept near the superintendent's office. They are exposed to the outside world every now and then, there are sessions on yoga, music, activities and games of team bonding, etc that are carried out here. They have quarterly gatherings, cultural programs and performances within themselves. Basically, here they are prepared for the outside world so that they can lead a civilised life hereon.

The session went well. Mau and I spoke about the importance of keeping our surroundings clean, reducing the usage of plastics and the alternative options we can use. There were a couple of questions from them, which we promptly answered and I was kind of satisfied that they came up with those. We wrapped the session with our pledge and bid them good bye with a promise that they would ponder upon what was discussed and implement it when they re-enter society. While we were walking back on the verandah, I asked Mr Patil a question that was pestering me since the minute I entered the jail, "Since the atmosphere here is so lenient, don't they try and run away? I mean though they are going to be released from here in a couple of months, even a month's or a week's penance less would be a lucrative thing!"

"They don't even think of it in their wildest dreams! The reason being, if they run from here and are caught again, they have to start their sentence right from the beginning." Mr Patil said.

"That makes sense!" I smiled.