A special show for Yerawada prisoners

Date to remember: Ustad Zakir Hussain acknowledge prisoners and policemen at Yerwada jail before his performance.

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain on Friday interacted with prisoners at the Yerawada central jail in Pune and also played the tabla for them as part of the prisons department’s rehabilitation programme for prisoners.

Officials said the event was part of the ‘Preranapath’ initiative undertaken by the department to help rehabilitate prisoners, so they could make a fresh start after being released.

The Ustad reached the prison at around noon and began his performance at 12.30 p.m. in front of a rapt audience. An officer, Tejashree Powar, who is herself a tabla player, also got an opportunity to perform alongside him.

‘Second chance’

Special Inspector General of Police (Prisons) C.H. Wakade said, “After the performance, Mr. Hussain mingled with the prisoners and spoke with them for a while. He told them that life after prison was a second chance, and that they should not hold any inferiority complex in their mind when they step out of the jail. The whole objective behind ‘Preranapath’ is to convince the prisoners that they should freely mingle with society with their heads held high.”

Collaboration with NGO

Mr. Wakade said the event was the brainchild of Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) Dr. Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, who organised it in collaboration with the Bhoi Foundation, a Pune-based NGO.

As part of the initiative, the department tries to bring celebrities to interact with the prisoners once in every two months on an average.