Cell Membrane

Dressed in a faded T-shirt and her hair braided back, 44-year-old Stella seems most content as she cajoles children in a sparsely furnished room. Even though the caption underneath her image reveals that the Zambian has been under trial for six years, the smile on her face appears genuine and it is hard to imagine her behind the bars. But, then, the same holds true for most Tihar inmates who find a place in the photographs of The Indian Express principal photographer Renuka Puri inset, which are on display at the exhibition 8220;In the Shadows of Walls8221; at The Ashok till today.

8220;Bollywood presents a very sad picture of life in prison. I wanted to show that the stereotypical notion is incorrect,8221; says Puri, as she points to the photograph The Bar Dancer that has bar dancer Meena practising for an Independence Day function at the Tihar Jail. Across the hall are several black-and-white photographs taken by Puri over the past four years. There is no formal categorisation, but each cluster of photographs focuses on a particular aspect 8212; from children living in Tihar to inmates deep in prayers. If The Photobook has the room of a British inmate with walls pasted with pictures of Princess Diana along with pages from glossy magazines, in The Eyes that know the darkness and can8217;t forget, Puri zooms in on a five-year-old clutching the prison bars. The colour may be missing from the prints, but Puri assures that the grim life inside the prison has its colourful moments.