A world of knowledge opens for prisoners

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Inside the imposing walls of the Poojappura Central Prison, there exists a small but vibrant knowledge trove which is a big relief for hundreds of inmates. It was this library with 12,000-odd books that provided a respite for even CPM leader M V Jayarajan, who spent nine days in jail, during which time he read 12 books, as he said soon after being released the other day.
Inside the prison corridor, once you pass the well-maintained garden, gun- wielding men in khaki and prisoners clad in white shirt and dhoti, comes the new building that is in sharp contrast to the other buildings that are 125 years old.
The library, housed inside this new building, is run by the prisoners themselves who maintain  a record of all the books and a ledger to  track the books borrowed by the prisoners. Ask the murder convicts Sabarinath and Gopi, who are facing life-term, as to what are the books borrowed by Jayarajan,  and within minutes, they are ready with the details, with a promptness that even a librarian would envy. “Experience in Jail, Criminology & Penology, Kerala Prisons Manual, books by AKG, EMS, Fidel Castro,” the list goes on.
For Sabarinath, who passed his BCA when he was convicted three years ago, books are something that keeps him engaged; he likes to suggest titles to other inmates in a bid to help them acquire a reading habit. But someone whom he did not have to help was German national Ulrich Weiz, who is undergoing a five-year term in a case of narcotic abuse. “Everyone was taken aback when Weiz  found some German books from the collection here. He also reads a lot of English literature.”
Many of the inmates became good readers after coming to the jail. There are also convicts who were introduced to the letters for the first time here. “Some of the inmates - especially those imprisoned for life term- have read more than 700 books,” says jail superintendent B Pradeep.