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Pondicherry prison inmates badly miss latest films

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

We are permitted to show only films under Copy Right Act: prison official

ACT OF BONDING: Members of the Brahmakumaris sect tying rakhis on the wrists of inmates of the Pondicherry Central Prison on Saturday. — Photo: T. Singaravelou

PONDICHERRY: Despite the fact that they are in the Pondicherry Central Prison and waiting for their cases to be disposed of, the undertrials have not lost their sense of humour.

On Saturday morning when some members of the Brahmakumaris sect visited them, they asked them to use their good offices to screen new films like `Anniyan.'

"When I was outside I used to watch at least three new films a week. Now I get to watch only one film in a week and that too old ones. They are showing Bhagyaraj's films," lamented an inmate, who is a Rajni fan. Others also echoed his demand.

But the Jail Superintendent Rajendiran said they were permitted to show only films that came under the Copy Right Act. Though a happy lot that loves to horse around, when they saw the two sisters from the Brahmakumaris sect — Renuka and Sudha — tying rakhis, applying tilak on their foreheads and distributing sweets, the youngsters became serious once again. Standing in neat lines they came forward as the sisters got ready the rakhis.

Some of them remembered that these women tied rakhis last year too.

The rakhis contained words like `love', `peace', `good conduct' and `happiness' and the sisters asked them to try and imbibe at least one of these qualities.

Another undertrial, who was in a saffron dhoti, said he was under a vow to go on a padayatra to Velankanni church and that he would be out on bail for the sake of fulfilling it. He continues his `viratam' while inside prison also. There were a few complaints from prisoners too, one youngster said he had been out only for six days when the police caught him again under some guise. "I didn't do any wrong this time but they brought me here," he said. One heart-rending case was that of a tempo driver of Lawspet area who is still in jail, thanks to a technical problem. His wife is no more and his only daughter is living with his sister. He had engaged an advocate but since he was unable to pay fees, his case has been put in cold storage. Though the Government provided him an advocate under free legal aid, he is unable to proceed with the case since the first advocate has not handed over the case files. The prison has a strength of 264 prisoners of whom 111 are convicts and 153 undertrials.

C. Subramanian, Chief Superintendent of Jails, said recently a blind orchestra performed in the prison to entertain the inmates.

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