A Visit to the Central Jail, Nashik

Part II: Sensation

Like mentioned at the beginning in part one, am juxtaposing the events and commotion it caused in my head at that time.

Meeting room: The emotion of interacting with your people at the mercy of others is something, we, who belong to the other side of the fence won’t be able to empathize at all. Confronting this lifestyle calls for a high level of acceptance and courage. But the one convicted goes through this for his proved crime. It’s a horrendous anguish for the one who comes to visit him. To not touch your loved one, to see him through blurred glass, to talk only for 20 minutes, to see his deterioration by every meeting, to encounter the humiliation for being associated with him are few of the obvious inevitable repercussions that innocent has to wrestle with all the time…

Work Stations: Prima facie, the use of man power instead of machines seems to be a very backward management approach, but after knowing their logic behind the same, makes it the best way. To keep the time and minds of 2500 prisoners occupied in it self is a crucial assignment. The implementation and effectiveness of this logic-based Strategy is impeccable. The production techniques go through research and development with an approach of utilising maximum man power and generating more demand for it. It is very impressive the way their training is conducted; top class house keeping is maintained; ‘store to ware-house’ circulation is established; inspection techniques for the quality assurance is determined and sales is generated for their payments. Rightfully it makes an impression of one observing a large scale industry. The most formidable aspect according to me is to set up a productive organisation with the people who are sentenced by the court as harmful to society!

The Food: The given quantity is sumptuous in all possible ways. But there is no say for the menu. They have to accept whatever is given. The coupons and the allowance limit highlighted very sad facts of today’s lifestyles. People have very bad food habits, they throw tantrums at the table, and they waste food. There is no limit to their expenses (applicable to the youngsters who spend at their parents cost.), 1500/- is spent at one entertainment centre! There is a certain amount of responsibility that goes when we have all these things, a sense of accountability when we have parents to support us, a limit to our behaviour and egos when we have all the freedom around. Sad but true, this is really missing in our society today.

The Show: The performance was a tight slap to all the supposed singers who have an air about themselves. In a hall with open windows for ventilation, a stage with an obsolete sound system, 3 musical instruments collected from discarded materials and singers condemned for life sentence created a magic that, an a/c studio designed with acoustics, installed with the most modern sound systems and all the possible musical instruments with the glamorous singers, can create once in a blue moon. I was stunned to see the prisoners’ drive to enhance themselves with these leisure activities while coping up with the depression of being cut-out from the outside world. It was then it struck me that the time most of us spend claiming to be busy could be utilised for self enhancement by indulging in our hobbies…

The life in cells: To live life at someone else’s will, is the worst form of demoralisation. The reason why lions of the outside world lead a life of a mouse can only be the helplessness that comes with the boundaries. We all are too fortunate to be on the other side of this world. It was after the visit that I realised the emergency to kill the sympathy seeking syndrome in our world. My mind was screaming out loud in response to some evident symptoms of sympathy seeking: “I never get what I want.”- Be happy about what you have, is not snatched from you; “The mistake I make and the sufferings I have to face are just not fair!”- Did you choose to make a mistake to demand for a choice for its repercussions? At least you don’t have to pay for what you never did; “Life has been cruel to me”- Not at all, you are one amongst the most fortunate to get what you have today; “I need a break from the turbulence in my life”- Don’t wear it on your sleeve. At least you have the option to take a break; “I am trapped in my own house”- Freedom is an understatement to what you have. You are rather surrounded by your loved ones. And the list can go on and on. I seriously fear Sympathy Seeking Syndrome reaching the list of fatal psychological disorders in the near future.

A visit that lasted for a few hours made me numb for a while, because even I was in that premises. We had guards around us everywhere we went. They had continuous attention and they never let us alone even once. It was obviously for security purpose but was enough for me to feel what it must be to live without privacy. My oh-so-claimed-strong-mind failed to stop it from affecting me, there must be something incomprehensible in the management system to make such circumstances successful!!!