Ludhiana: “Maaye tera putt ladla, ajj faseya peya ae vich jail… Aayi na tu mulakaat te, haal putt da hona nai tethon dekh.” A son in prison pleads with his mother not to visit him, fearing she will not be able to bear seeing what he has become.Another prisoner, looking back at the people he once stood by, asks a more painful question: “Mera kaun, paraya kaun (who is mine and who is a stranger)?”These are among the raw voices emerging from Guldasta, an initiative of Ludhiana central jail that encourages inmates to put their emotions, regrets and experiences into poems and songs. What began inside one prison is now set to expand across Punjab’s 26 jails.Additional director general of police (prisons) RK Jaiswal has approved the expansion of the project, with Chandigarh-based Welba Foundation given permission to initiate it across the state. The prisons department also plans to hold a Punjab Jail Literature Festival at Central Jail, Hoshiarpur, in the coming months, giving inmates a platform to showcase their literary and artistic talent.TOI had reported exclusively on Guldasta in July, when a book carrying 26 poems and songs written by five Ludhiana Central Jail inmates was released with the support of Welba Foundation. Their work was divided into themes including regret and remorse, parental love, romance, religion, and pride and patriotism, with the compositions translated from Punjabi into English.The poems range from apologies to parents and appeals for divine mercy to reflections on crime against women, violence among youth and the consequences of one’s actions. Their titles include Maa Tera Putt Ladla, Phas Gya Jail Vich, Baapu Fikar Na Kari and Tod De Zanjeeran Wale Bann Dateya.For Yogesh Kumar, a convict in a theft case, prison has meant an agonising wait for bail and his mother. In his poem, Maa Tera Putt Ladla, he writes: “Maaye tera putt ladla, ajj faseya peya ae vich jail (mother, your cherished son lies trapped in jail). Vichon-vichi jave sukda, pata nai kad honi ae bail (he withers from within, not knowing when he will get bail) Aayi na tu mulakaat te, haal putt da hona nai tethon dekh (Do not come to visit me, you will not be able to bear seeing your son’s condition,” he writes.Kamalpreet Singh alias Kamal Chauhan, an undertrial in a theft case, turns instead to hope and familial responsibility in ‘Baapu Fikar Na Kari and Baapu Chukni Garibi Tere Sir Ton’, imagining himself becoming the pillar who will help his father overcome poverty.For Gurpreet Singh Lucky, an undertrial in a murder case, prison has brought a harsher realisation. His poem ‘Mera Kaun, Paraya Kaun?’ reflects on relatives and friends who disappeared when he needed them most: “Sama maada ki aaya mere te, paasa vatt gaye rishtedar mere, jinna naal main hun tak khada si, haal puchde nai hun yaar mere… Jad dekhi jail, aayi samjh mainu, kaun apna kaun begana ni (when hard times came upon me, my relatives turned away. Those I had stood by never even asked about me. Only when I saw the prison did I understand who was mine and who was a stranger),” he writes.The five inmates whose writings featured in the book are Gurinder Singh alias Rozi Dhootan Wala, an undertrial in a drug-peddling case; Yogesh Kumar, a convict in a theft case; Kamalpreet Singh alias Kamal Chauhan, an undertrial in a theft case; Kuldeep Singh Meena, a convict under the NDPS Act with seven other FIRs; and Gurpreet Singh Lucky, an undertrial in a murder case.Dr Parikshit Bansal, director of Welba Foundation, said the idea was to give inmates a constructive way to process their emotions. “Our focus is on the reformation of jail inmates. Earlier, we had released songs of Ludhiana jail inmates on YouTube and later came up with the initiative of making inmates write their feelings. Venting out is a proven psychological method that promotes healing and reformation. I am overwhelmed that the ADGP (prisons) has decided to expand this project across Punjab jails,” he said.Jaiswal said the initiative was part of the department’s efforts to engage inmates in constructive activities. “This is just one effort to engage inmates in constructive and creative things, for which the department has decided to expand the project Guldasta. Further, the literature fest would also help bring out the talent of inmates,” he said.
