A Good Start into the New Year
January 1, 2010

The 1st of January started as a cold misty morning, as ten Yoga students gathered with Usha to make a New Year’s call to the local jail. All of the students from the Yoga Hall had donated biscuits and sweets to be brought to the women inmates of Haridwar Jail.

On arrival we were ushered through large gates, stamped and then brought to meet the assistant governor. He explained to us how over the last seven years that he, his superior, colleagues and inmates had worked to provide a holistic approach to reform. A genuine man, committed to improving change, he explained the importance of “Jail” within society and society to jail for reform and re-integration. The jail had created its own self sufficient farm providing food for the 1000 inmates, an Ayurvedic garden for use both internally and externally and all of their own fabrics and clothes were made in the jail. It provided a learning centre for inmates to train in new skills. All of the work was done by the inmates who were in turn paid for their labour with wages been sent to their families outside.

We were specifically there to visit the women’s section. There are 28 female prisoners and three children. The children stay with their mothers until the age of six and attend the local school outside the prison. The children once they reach the age of six leave the prison and go to the family. We gave out the biscuits to the women and gifts to the children who were as delighted as all of us were to be there and meet them.

It was a real eye opener to see how positively and successfully a jail could be run, as opposed to a place of doom it was providing a positive place for reform. A great way to bring in the first day of the new year and Thank you to Usha, and all the staff and inmates of Haridwar Jail.