Within hours of her release from Mysuru jail for good conduct on Republic Day, Shirin Taj (44) was back knocking on the prison door, pleading with the authorities to readmit her. And, thereby hangs the tale of a woman, once imprisoned and stigmatised, now disowned by the family and nowhere to go.
Like most of the 42 convicts, who were released from Mysuru jail on Tuesday, Ms. Taj went back to what she thought was her home in Srirangapatna on Wednesday evening after 14 years. But, everything had changed beyond recognition.
Her family was no longer staying in the house she used to live in. She was devastated to learn that her three children thought she had died after their father Azghar Pasha was murdered. Ms. Taj was convicted for the murder. “My children are now staying with my in-laws, who had told them that I am dead,” said Ms. Taj. She is yet to pick up the courage to meet them at the in-law’s house.
Though she met her brother for a brief while, he did not offer her shelter. Her elder sister, she discovered, had died while she was in prison. A dejected Ms. Taj, who was given space to sleep overnight by some Good Samaritans, took the early morning bus from Srirangapatna to Mysuru jail on Wednesday as she had nowhere to go. The flummoxed jail authorities sent her to Shakti Dhama, a home for destitute women at the foot of the Chamundi Hills. She went there armed with a “character certificate” from the police.
Speaking to The Hindu at Shakti Dhama, Ms. Taj said she was looking forward to meeting her children soon and telling them her story. “I want to tell them that their mother is still alive,” she said. Her eldest son Allah Baksh was barely seven while her daughter Nazima Banu was five and youngest son Afsar Pasha three when she went to prison. All of them were going to school. “Now, I learnt that the two boys are working while my daughter is married,” she said.
Ms. Taj had not stepped out of the jail on parole nor had met any friends or relatives. She said she used to roll agarbathis and beedis before being sent to jail and would be able to eke out a living by doing the same.
Society’s rejection
Retired professor of University of Mysore H.N. Nanjaraj Urs, who is also a member of Mysuru Jail Advisory Board, regretted the society’s rejection of convicts, who had served their prison term.
Though she has been temporarily put up at Shakti Dhama, the Home’s superintendent Narayan Shastri said Ms. Taj can stay as long as she wishes and even undergo tailoring and beautician’s courses to make a living.
“You seem to have forgotten how to laugh. Our wish is to see you smile again,” Mr. Shastri told Ms. Taj.
