Rakshabandhan celebrations in the continent's largest jail, Tihar, were all about fifteen-minute meetings turned tear fests, sneak-in sessions and opportunities to catch up with long lost friends. MiD DAY brings you the most amazing and amusing of what went on behind the bars

They aren't wrong when they say Indian festivals are as filmy as it gets, and emotions, the last thing you can keep locked up. Inmates of the Tihar Central Jail in the capital exhibited what can be called their most overwhelmed state on Rakshabandhan yesterday, as sisters, friends, and even WAGs turned up all decked up to make their day. Some were meeting their sisters after seven long years, others having their folks fly down from far-off lands. Biwis in burqas also made hay while the sun shone on those who only keep company to solitary confinement otherwise. Still others watched on longingly, with their siblings having lost touch over the endless years. Jail officials worked through the wee hours to have all the arrangements in place, even as toddling visitors created a mess. MiD DAY took a break from the routine celebrations, to a place where jailbirds, for once, felt free of loneliness, even if full of shame, guilt and hope.

What Nancy drew...
...u00a0Was perhaps better than what anyone else did. The twenty-something Kenyan, who flew down all the way from Pune to meet 'special' friend Barry on an occasion that was just a pretext to "catch up," was an interesting visitor.

She knew other Kenyans at jail number 4, too, one of them being Drugs Act accused Francis, one of the most helpful volunteers around. "There are different ways of expressing love. I adopted this one,"u00a0she explained.

Barry has been imprisoned under section 420 of the IPC, and is just two months old in the jail, while Nancy is studying law, and hoping to save her friend someday. The meeting was sprinkled with hugs and pecks, and ended all smiles. "I couldn't be happier," Barry signed off.

Teen saal baadu00a0
Freedom maybe the very essence of Mohammed Mustakim's hometown in Uttar Pradesh, but when he heard that his mother and elder sister were leaving it to visit him after three long years, all he felt was shame.

Mustakim, an under trial lodged inside the jail for committing a robbery, could not manage a wink the previous
night. "I don't know how I will face them," he shuddered.

After hours of waiting, his sister Shrayada walked into the towering gates to snatch the few moments she could, as their helpless mother looked on. "I don't even remember if I came by bus or train," the latter said, eyes moist. However, there were no complaints in store for Mustakim. Only tears and hugs. "I will come out soon, and be with my relatives again," were the only words he managed as they hurried him away to let the next lot in.

After seven ages
Mohammed Fazal's punishment was life imprisonment, but a greater one, he admits, was that he'd to wait seven long years to get to see his sister again. Convicted for murder, Fazal had planned a surprise gift, even if it was just a packet of sweets, which he had bought using the coupons worth Rs 200, earned from jail work. He couldn't believe this was finally happening. "Many of my family members had deserted me after I came to jail, but earlier this year, I got a message from my elder sister, saying she would visit me on Rakshabandhan," he recalled. His sister was mostly speechless, with tears welling up continuously. "It's been the best day in long.
u00a0
She even told me that she would talk to other relatives and get me out of here," signed off Fazal, before retreating.

A murderer's Dubai dream
He is a property worker convicted for murder; she, a moneyed missus of a businessman in Dubai. For Naveen, a six-year-old inmate, it was all but nervousness and "sharmindgi" (shame). "Kaise muh dikhaoonga usey, vo mujhse nau saal chhoti hai (how will I show my face to her; she is nine years younger to me)." Geeta, his 25-year-old sister would turn 26 just the day after, and he had made sure he had saved up enough to buy some in-house gifts. Sharing an ice cream was the most special way, in his mind. "Kaash main uski raksha kar sakta, lekin ab, uski madad ki zaroorat hai (I wish I could protect her, but now, I'm the one who needs her help)," he shrugged remorsefully.

The super sneakers
Love has no rules; nor does its celebration. So, WAGs went to all lengths to make sure they left no stone unturned. For instance, there was Tabassum, a burqa clad biwi who turned up with her one-year-old son to do some fake honours for hubby Danish. She wouldn't give away any more; her eyes were enough to. A certain sister also found a creative way of sneaking in a special rakhi for her convict bro, since the jail authorities do not allow any other rakhis than the ones they provide. "See, I've tied it around my own wrist, so no one will know," she smiled sheepishly. He would, of course, know how determined her feelings are!