Behind Bars

Renuka8217;s exhibition, 8216;Behind The Shadows Of Walls8217;, opened at The Government Museum and Art Gallery. Her work, spanning the last ten years, focuses on women undertrials lodged at Tihar Jail. So what kind of lives do they have, you wonder. The photographs bring it all alive for you. Their bond with the matrons. The time they spend at prayer. And their children, who are allowed to stay at the jail till the age of five.

This is Renuka8217;s second solo exhibition after Delhi in September. She is headed to Mumbai next, but she had reason to come to Chandigarh first. Renuka did her Bachelor of Fine Arts at The College of Art, Sector 10 here.

There is much to read in Renuka8217;s photographs. There are children playing in the cregrave;che. A deep sadness engulfs you as you wonder why these little ones should be in the dark, dismal environs of a jail. But amidst this darkness, the frames also manage to make you smile. A mother skips a lesson on 8216;positive thinking8217; to feed her four-year-old. Women cry, as they tie Rakhi on the wrists of their brothers. These frames are what you see.

But Renuka knows the real stories behind the frames too. 8220;In order to meet their wives, many men had come on the day of Raksha Bandhan, claiming to be the brothers. It was so sad, and yet their love, which shone through, touched my heart,8221; she says.

Getting permission to photograph the women at the jail wasn8217;t easy, and Renuka says she was lucky to have been allowed inside with her camera. It certainly has been worth it. Amidst all the sorrow, there is the cheer of life. A woman undertrial getting a facial done at the jail parlour. Another getting a manicure.

Life must triumph, as it does, here.

Exhibition is on at Govt. Art Gallery, Sector 10, from 10am to 5pm till December 28