A very special get-together

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: "Son, watch your step,’’ yelled out the father at his little son who jumped down a flight of steps. The caring father rushed to his son and took him in his arms and gently walked him down to safety; for he knew what it means to take a wrong step in life. The price of the folly can be too high sometimes. He too was paying such a hefty price, spending his life away from his beloved wife and son, inside the concrete enclosures of the Central Prison. Not just the young father above, but many of the inmates of the prison on Tuesday went through similar situations when they met their loved ones in one of the rare opportunities gifted by the authorities. Probably for the first time ever, the Prisons Department organised a family meet of the inmates of the prison, during which the latter could spend a whole day with their spouses and children. They even got a chance to share a sumptuous ‘sadya’ together. The family meet was organised in connection with the distribution of scholarships to the children of prisoners by the Social Welfare Department. It became a day when a surge of colours drowned the dull monotony that otherwise filled the prison campus, with children, from toddlers to teenagers, clad in colourful clothes gracing the prison. The sadness was subdued by the joy of reunion. Fathers met their children and husbands, wives. Together, they tried to be in a world of their own, where they cared little for prison wardens and media persons, who stood around them.   "90 per cent of us inside the prison are not criminals. We are here because we have erred unknowingly in the past. If only the government had the mercy to grant us a chance to start all over again...,’’ said Prakashan, fondling his 13-year-old daughter on his lap and his wife and son sitting nearby. ‘’The real criminals are outside. They never get punished because nobody dares to give statements against them,’’ he added. Minister for Social Welfare M K Muneer distributed the financial aid to the children in a function presided over by the Director General of Prisons H Gopakumar. Giving away the scholarships, the Minister announced that the present scholarship money of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for school and college children respectively would be doubled as the sum was too insufficient. The Superintendent of Prisons B Pradeep, Chief Welfare Officer K A Kumaran and Jailor Ashok Kumar also attended the ceremony.