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Lighting up the dark, one prison at a time
A new initiative in Delhi’s Tihar Jail rewards the creative efforts of jail inmates and officials
Behind the prison walls, the lives of inmates often don’t get to see the light of the day. But even these walls can’t hold back the creativity of prisoners from shining in the outside world. To give a platform to the creativity of jail inmates, prison reformer Dr Vartika Nanda ideated the Tinka Tinka India Awards — the first-of-itskind prison awards. The 3rd edition of these awards was held in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, recently.
“I started these awards to look at the positive side of life. When inmates come out of prison without having been reformed, they might be even more dangerous,” says Nanda, a recipient of the Stri Shakti Award for her work towards transforming jail inmates’ lives. Her book Tinka Tinka Tihar, with poems by jail inmates, has made it to the Limca Book of Records
Tihar is where the journey of these awards began. “Any awards recognising the good work [of inmates and officers] are welcome. They proposed to organise the prize distribution within the jail complex, which makes it all the more meaningful,” says Ajay Kashyap, Director General (Prisons).
In its third year, the ceremony was webstreamed live for 16,000
Generally, people don’t like talking to, or about inmates. But there are people who actually want to reform. Those who are outside should support them VARTIKA NANDA, PRISON REFORMER
prison inmates. A majority of the entries received were from Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Telangana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, across categories such as painting, gardening, education, and administrative work.
“Awardees are given mementos and certificates of appreciation. Each year, we get interesting entries by inmates. In 2017, a dominant theme reflected in artworks was demonetisation,” adds Nanda.
A prominent theme in paintings received this time was the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Baish Singh Sahu, 73, from Chattisgarh’s Bilaspur Jail, bagged the first prize for his artwork on reformation. Vinay Kumar from Tihar Jail received the first prize for depicting drug eradication through theatre.
The awards also recognise jail officials’ contribution to prison reforms. Akula Narsimha and Bachu Saidaiah from Telangana were honoured for improving sanitation, and planting over 2,000 saplings, respectively.
“They are unsung heroes. We look at their portrayal in films, and think that jailers are bad,” explains Nanda.