58.
A CELLULAR JAIL IN MUNNAR
Rama
( That’s my wife ) and I planned a grand tour of hill stations in South India
in the month of September 2015. We would
first drive up to Kodaikanal, “An Island
in the Sky” as my dear friend Anil
Choudhry poetically describes this quaint little town in the upper Pulnee Hills
of Tamilnadu : Spend three nights in Kodai and move on to Munnar up in the
Western Ghats of the same hill and forest range in the neighbouring state of
Kerala. Stay two nights in Munnar and
head back to the pot holes of Bangalore after a brief one night comfort halt in
Yercaud, a minor hill station in the Shevaroys near Salem, Tamilnadu.
The
trip was meticulously planned with bookings in Club Mahindra resorts in Kodai
and Munnar and at Sterling Resorts in Yercaud.
What we had not bargained for was our two nights of incarceration in the
cellular jail of Munnar at Club Mahindra – Mount Serene.
Club
Mahindra’s Mount Serene in Munnar is a faithful replica of the Cellular jail in
Port Blair, Andamans which we had visited about three years ago. Sheer greed and mindless pursuit of profit must
have been the only motive to create this horror : the close similarity between
the Cellular Jail and Mount Serene is extremely striking.
THE
ORIGINAL CELLULAR JAIL FAITHFUL REPLICA OF CELLULAR JAIL
IN
PORT BLAIR – ANDAMANS MOUNT SERENE, CLUB MAHINDRA MUNNAR
The
view from the cell we were incarcerated in was nothing much to write home about
: The front door opens out into a long corridor, the passageway that connects
the cells of the one wing. Beyond the
corridor is the view of a similar set of cells in the adjoining wing. The backside opens out to sit out facing a
blank rock face at arms length. And on the ground below a stagnant puddle of
dirty water with numerous cigarette butts. Cigarettes smuggled in for a previous occupant
by a kindly guard in a zone where smoking is a capital offence.
The
accommodation is a little larger than in the original cellular jail in Port
Blair where revered freedom fighters like Veer Savarakar and others were left
to languish for years together. A saving
grace was the attached toilet which is slightly more modern in comparison to
the original which was simply a hole in the floor.
Escape
from this Class A confined space to the outside world is a Herculean task since
it is more than a kilometer and a half via an extremely steep, winding, narrow
path designed to challenge a mountain goat.
There is heavy security at every turn of the road and this Eagles Nest
may be accessed only using the shuttle transport provided by the management of
this facility.
Communication
with the outside world is disabled at this height since cell phones do not work. Wifi was said to be available in the common
mess and the toilet near the inmates reception area, both locations deliberately
chosen to discourage even feeble attempts at contact with the outside
world.
And
Oh ! the ultimate shame and ignominy, the kick in the stomach came at the time
of signing the release papers from the facility after paying the dues. The uniformed man behind the desk simply said
credit cards not accepted. We know your
kind. “ It will be cash on the
Barrelhead Son “
Ah
! at last a glimmer of hope for this Godforsaken facility. These closing words brought a smile to my face
as I recalled one of my all time favourite songs with that identical title by the
Louvin Brothers Ira and Charlie :
Dr.
Ananth S Kodavasal September
24, 2015
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