Bizarre - IVth instalment

11. PRISON IS MY HOME AND INMATES MY KIN – JAIL IYER ENJOYS BEING BEHIND BARS

For about 40 years Chandrasekhar was in the Chennai prison. He was arrested for the first time for a crime when he was a kid. When the time came to release him, Iyer felt that prison life suited him better than life outside, with no relatives, friends, no education and no vocational training. Every time he was released he would make shoddy attempts to impersonate people and would be caught and sent back to prison.

Thanks to his long years of incarceration, Iyer has forged a fantastic spy network among the prison inmates. Fiercely loyal to the prison establishment, he has earned a reputation for being reliable informant. He was always the first to inform jail officers if any of the inmates are planning any jail break or other crimes within the prison. Iyer was so trustworthy that prison administration used to send him, with other staff to market to purchase vegetables for the prison. Iyer was also the most preferred orderly for top prison officials posted to Chennai Central Prison.

Iyer also mastered the provisions of Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Jail Manual. Aware of every bit of information that could be useful to inmates, he has given other inmates advice on how their cases should be handled and which lawyers to engage. When he was transferred to another jail, Iyer got a Court order to return back to his original prison.

After his release his whereabouts are not known.

My Comments: South Indian Brahmins ( Iyers) are by nature studious, hard working, honest, ritual oriented, who give a lot of importance to kinship. They are goal oriented. Rarely one comes across an Iyer who is a thief or pick-pocket or a goonda. This Iyer must be an exception. But I immensely like him. He has endeared himself both with prison authorities and jail-mates, despite his being an informer to the jail authorities on any plan of inmates for jail break. That this Iyer has become an icon must be due to the attribute of goal oriented I have mentioned above about Iyers. Readers who share my views join me in wishing this person luck and joyous life.


12. BILL BOARDS WITH ‘EYES’ TO FIND TARGET PRACTICE AUDIENCE

A new high Japanese electronic display can instantly identify people's sex or age range and target them with advertisements to suit them.

The 50 inch plasma display will appear at an annual festival in Tokyo run by Fuki Television network.

If the device finds viewers are predominantly female in the 20s, it will show cute miscellaneous items sold by Fuji Television for young women. Changing advertising products in accordance with the viewer would bring advertising closer to the purchaser, according to the Company.

My comments: All of us are fascinated with new innovations. It is only after some time that we find the negative outcomes. But there can be no two opinion that the Japanese are on the top in inventing such gadgets and that is the reason for their being the second richest country, after US of A.


13. THE CRAFTY BURGLAR, WHO TOOK TO BURGLARY TO SUPPORT HIS WIFE’S LUXURIOUS LIFE STYLE.

62 year old Balaraman, is a nimble fingered carpenter. He had atleast 60 burglaries to his credit. He is almost a permanent resident of Central Prison in Chennai where he has spent over 30 years.

More than the number of burglaries, Balaraman stands out for his style. He is not the kind who breaks into a house and snatches what he can. Lazy some may call it, but Balaraman likes to spend five to six hours inside the house being burgled. He does not call it quits, even after the job is done. He raids the kitchen for food.

Balaraman did the burglaries to enable his wife to a have luxurious lifestyle. And as a carpenter Balaraman could not earn enough to meet the wishes of his wife. According to Balaraman after doing two or three burglaries, which would enable his wife in style for some time, he is ready to enter prison.

Balaraman is an excellent carpenter and his talent has been used by prison officials when he was in prison.

My comments: We see such characters only in films. I wish I could meet this fellow in flesh and blood. Could there be any other woman in the earth who is luckier than this gutsy guy’s wife. Here is a character who is willing to go to jail time and again just to make his wife live comfortably ( and happily, I suppose). He has elegance and style. He is not every day burglar who would make haste in removing himself from the scene of crime. Here is a fellow with an attitude. After the burglary he settles down for a meal in the house which he has burgled. I think this guy is an excellent material for a psychological study


13. SPANISH PARLIAMENT TO GRANT SOME HUMAN RIGHTS TO APES

The Spanish Parliament has proposed to take the unprecedented step in according limited human rights to apes. ' The ape will not be arbitrarily deprived of its liberty and hence will not be confined to jail. No more use of apes in circuses, TV ads and experiments.’

Some argue against this proposal: It is a little surprising that Spain known for its bloody bullfights, would become the first country in the world to take such a measure. Then again, what rights do animals have in the wild.

On the other side many feel that apes / gorillas cannot be grouped absolutely with other animals. These creatures are in many respects a specie between human beings and animals and hence they need to be treated more benignly than other animals.

My comments: Man who is the descendant of monkeys/apes, progressed in the management of his life and requirement of food. Then learnt to speak and write. Then he made technological progress. The monkeys and apes are still there where they were when human beings took a different path. Then human beings grouped monkeys/ apes with other animals because they had not progressed and were living like animals. In other words, man had the amnesia of development and forgot his ancestors. Then as research of animals progressed, it was noted that monkeys/apes have certain characteristics which are different from other animals. The latest development is just one step for human beings to revisit his origin and show some kindness to our forefathers or to atone for the sin committed by human beings to their ancestors.





14. FREE ENTERPRISE OF THIEVES

Some time back in Bangladesh thieves had grouped themselves into an Association, one of the functions of which is to offer training courses to new entrants, particularly in picking pockets. The Association was able to enroll within a short time of its formation more than 10,000 members. How could India lag behind Bangladesh. Sometime back Delhi police arrested 11 members of a pick pocket gang, which had specialised in picking mobiles from parked vehicles. The gang was running in corporate style with members ( professionals ) working only on week days and getting wages for their weekly off. They also got paid holidays when they felt like taking a break. Even the work was highly organized and specialized. There was a fixed formula for 'profit sharing.'.

My comments: . Pickpockets and other thieves do wrong. But they now have the gumption to admit that they are doing so. Is that the case with other people who pilfer money from the government, form the people, etc., Common people have an aversion for politicians. Common people are exasperated with babus. Common people dread policemen. The avarice level of businessmen is a known fact. Doctors and lawyers squeeze their clients, irrespective of the fact whether the clients can afford. Collectively they do more harm to common man than the pick pockets. But all of the above groups have their respective associations. Then why not the pick pockets. Yes, their effort of forming an Association is not without merit.