KOCHI: “My mind was screaming like a turbulent ocean. Hope was fading as I spent years confined to a solitary cell. It was a dark room and the only relief was the small rays of blessing that used to stream through the dark roof on rare occasions. No one was ready to understand my feelings, sympathise or calm down my tempestuous mind...”
As he recollected the days in prison, Jayanandan’s voice choked, his hands shook and tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I would like to thank my daughters for standing with me during the toughest phase of my life,” he said.
As the daughters of a murder convict, they had to fight the scorn and contempt of society. The social stigma and a range of financial, emotional and practical barriers posed challenges in pursuing education. Yet they loved him.
“In an age where children abandon their parents at temples and old age homes, my daughters shared a heartwarming bond. When the world was dark all around, their love offered a ray of hope that brightened my mind. My wife Indira also suffered a lot, much more than the pain endured in jail,” he said.
Jayanandan, a murder convict who has spent 17 years in prison, was speaking to the media during the release of his book ‘Pulari Viriyum Munpe (Before Dawn Breaks) in Kochi on Saturday. Jayanandan attended the function after the Kerala High Court granted him two days’ escort parole.
Releasing the book, Justice Narayana Kurup said that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. “From his incarceration in jail for several years, it appears that Jayanandan has transformed, which induced (INSPIRED) him to write the book. Even though his crimes were brutal and heinous, I hope this book will be read by many people. Crime is one side and the book is another side,” he said.
Jayanandan said Anup Surendranath, then an assistant professor with the National Law University in Delhi, met him in jail and spent a considerable time talking to him. Anup, who works to help the disadvantaged in India get justice, assured him of all support to prove his innocence. Anup told Jayanandan that the best thing to do in prison was to turn to reading.
“After a few days, (T P) Senkumar sir took charge as the new jail DGP. He provided all facilities for reading,” said Jayanandan, even as he broke down attempting to narrate those memories. The words trailed off and his fingers began to tremble. But he regained his composure and continued. “Senkumar sir came to the cell and consoled me. He gave me a new spectacle.” During the 17 years of imprisonment, Jayanandan has written novels and stories.
Explaining the circumstances that led him to write the book, he recounted the day -- while being escorted to a court -- he saw an old man walking by holding on to a woman’s hand at a place called Nalumanikkattu. He realised the man was blind. “Then, I was in prison on death row. I wanted to give him my eyes...” Jayanandan burst into tears without being able to finish the words. He said he will continue the habit of reading until the end of his life. The income from book sales will be given to the needy, he added.
Accused in 5 murder cases, convicted in 2
Jayanandan was an accused in 23 criminal cases, five of which were murder cases. He was acquitted in three murder cases and convicted in two. The High Court had commuted the death sentence awarded to him in the Puthenvelikkara murder case to a life sentence which the Supreme Court upheld.