At the crack of dawn every day, Sahadevan, a life convict, walks out from his cell to the remission office inside the sprawling Tiruchi Central Prison. Opening a fresh chapter from Mahatma Gandhi’s book “My Experiments With Truth,” Sahadevan begins to read it aloud holding a microphone kept in the room.
The clear voice of Sahadevan reading the contents of the chapter reverberates in all the blocks within the jail where public address system has been installed. Many prisoners who come out make it point to hear the fresh chapter being read out every day by Sahadevan . The reading lasts for about 20 after which Sahadevan and other inmates carry on with their assigned tasks.
Sentenced to life in a murder case, Sahadevan has been carrying out this task since Independence Day this year.
This is the latest “reformation initiative” targeted at prisoners by the authorities at the Tiruchi Central Prison. Prison Superintendent A. Murugesan conceived the idea in an effort to usher in a positive change in the mind of the inmates .
Sahadevan’s reading session starts around 6.15 a.m. Public address systems have been installed in various blocks to enable inmates hear the contents of the book.
Sahadevan, who has completed degree through open university, was handpicked for the job as he was found to have a pristine voice to put across the ideals of the Mahatma, Mr. Murugesan added.
A life convict, Sahadevan has been dutifully carrying out this task since Independence Day
this year
