Andaman Islands 2

If you have seen the movie Kalapani starred by Mohanlal and Prabhu, then there is no need to describe more about Cellular Jail. The movie directed by quintessential director Priyadarshan succeeded in drawing a clear picture of the mindless torture the thirst for freedom was handed down by the alien invaders.


The hard core freedom fighters were sent away from the mainland to the island only to serve the rest of their life in miserable conditions in Andaman's Cellular jails. The torture methods, cruelty of the authorities and the endless suffering of the human beings are honestly depicted in the movie at the back drop of a romance by the hero back in the main land. This romance is shown as a flashback.

As we enter the Cellular Jail after taking the entry ticket, there await guides. Guides are a better option while we go around inside the jail, because this is not just a building of intereset, but a building that saw monumental sufferings by hundreds of patriotic citizens of our country. Every wall of the structure has to tell a story- a story of pain and distress. The guides were mostly Hindi speaking. I could see many tourists from Tamilnadu struggling to find a Tamil or English speaking guide. The guide charged me Rs 100 that time for taking us around. 

We were first taken to the place where the model of the jail is kept. The cellular jail, constructed in 1906 , had 7 wings with a watch tower in the middle. Each wing is 3 storied and there were 693 cells in total. At present only 3 wings are seen as the other 4 were demolished by invading Japanese forces and then by the Government of Independent India.

The front side of each wall faces to the back of the other wing. Each cell had a single ventilator at around 3 meters height. This peculiar construction was done in order to avoid any kind of communication between the prisoners.  The isolation was absolute

The guide then took us to the hall where the remnants of the devices used by the Colonial Masters and their servants to torture the prisoners were kept. This included whips, clothes made of jute and chains of different kinds that were used to confine the prisoners in pricarious postures. Prisoners were forced to work in the scorching sun wearing the jute clothes. Whip is of course the time tested organ for subjugation. This is still a favourite tool in the autocratic and feudalist set ups.

We then moved to the jail. We had a long walk along the corridoor of the prison. All along the corridoor, we could see the small sized cells. Each cell has a size  of 4.5meters x 2.7 meters. Only one prisoner was kept in one cell and they were abosolutely isolated from each other. The information about Veer Sarvarkar's brother's presence in the jail was known to him only after several years. Look, how the dictators fear rebellion. This is a telling example of how the heavy hands work all over the world. They can never survive without the use of brute force and cruelty of unimaginable proportions

 
Sarvarkar's cell is specially marked and every visitor does not miss a feeling of this cell. We can enter this cell. There is a picture of the freedom fighter inside the cell. His cell is at the end of one of the wings. Looking from his cell, he could see the gallows. This gallows were in the open yard of the prison. Here a number of prisoners were hanged right in front of other detainees. The babus were giving a strong message to one and all, though it never worked with the spirited souls. Killing and dragging the bodies were all done in full view of the freedom fighters. The gallows and the noose are exhibited in the prison.

 
There is a picture exhibition in one hall and there are so many other bigger rooms in the courtyard of the prison. These halls were the places were the prisoners were used to do hard jobs including extracting oil from coconuts. The servants of the Raj used whips to keep them going even if they were unable to carry on with it further.

On top of the Jail, at the backdrop of Ross Island

On top of the prison, visitors can have a panoramic view of the sea and the beautiful islands near by Port Blair. Prominant among them is Ross Island. This island was the place used by the masters to live. They wallowed in all comforts there. There is nothing left out in the Ross Island now. All the biuldings used by the Britishers in the Ross Island are gone. Only damaged parts of walls can be seen there at present.

The locking system of a cell.

In the evenings, a Light and Sound show is presented to the visitors inside the Jail compound. In the open courtyand, a story as told by a banyan tree which was witness to all the atrocities carried out by the aliens on the Freedom Fighteres of India is presented to the visitors. 
                                                                                 
                                                           

As the banyan tree unveils the story, lights glow at dirrerent parts of the jail. Once inside the prison cell, then inside Sarvarkar's cell, then inside the work area where the jailors were forced to work, then in the gallows and so on. The narration is heart rending.


Have a look at more photos here. Do not miss the captions: https://picasaweb.google.com/ppnatesan/CellularJail?authkey=Gv1sRgCNzCzaTN99K5Uw&feat=email#


 No one can leave the Jail without a heavy heart. Hundreds of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for a free India were just ordinary people like us. We are all heavily indebted to them. They embraced hell to gift us a heaven. Remember, heaven is existing on this earth itself -only fools think otherwise.

One thing was disturbing my mind while walking out of the Jail. Colonial masters were heartless. They tried to supress dissent using brutal force. At the same time, it remains an irony that the very same people had taught us the generous phrases like "excuse me" and "I am sorry"....