CHENNAI: To be or not to be? This question daunted a young convict whose feathers were clipped for 18 years. Incarcerated for nearly one-fourth of a lifetime for joining hands with a notorious sandalwood smuggler who he met in a forest near his village, in Pudhukadu in Anthiyur block of Erode, UA Anburaj was nearly consigned to the fate, like most other convicts.
The erstwhile accomplice to the infamous bandit 'Sandhana Kadaththal' Veerappan, who even conceptualised his 'escape' from the Mysuru jail where he was lodged, finally ended up at a strange place.
The 44-year-old found his purpose as a theatre artist and a member of the Tamil Nadu Pazhangudi Makkal Sangam that works for the welfare of the tribal people. Anburaj's compassion for the underprivileged stems from his early life toils when he would go to school for the mid-day meal and even that was snapped when a Special Task Force, which was formed to capture Veerappan set up camp in the school when he was studying Class V.
As a young lad, Anburaj witnessed the dead bodies of seven people killed by the Force. Besides, a loin-cloth clad village elderly - Sevi thatha - who would narrate stories and songs to children, stopped engaging with anyone after he was beaten up and embarrassed by the STF. Anburaj was unbeknown to the reasons behind what he saw and was angry with the STF.
He joined Veerappan's gang when he was 17 years old which his family came to know about a year later when a photo of him was published in a magazine. Years passed, and in the gang's most critical time, Veerappan asked Anburaj to surrender in 1998. Anburaj appealed to the court that his crimes were committed when he was only 17. But at that time the Juvenile Justice Act accommodated only the actions of those below 16 years (later amended to 18 in 2000).
Lodged in Salem jail, Anburaj was a part of several prisoner protests demanding jail infrastructure including toilets. Six years passed, and Anburaj was moved to a Mysuru jail for his cases in Karnataka and was given life sentence. “The first book I read in jail was Pattampoochi which is a translation of 'Pappilon' by Henry Charriere in which the hero tries to escape from the prison. I was also hoping to escape prison,” he said.
While measuring up a prison wall to execute his `escape’ plan is when he met Hulugappa Kattimani, a theatre artist, who asked him to amass a few prisoners. As Anburaj gathered 47 convicts, they prepared for several plays including Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which changed his view on escaping.
The then-Karnataka CM JH Patel once watched them perform and asked officials to hold a press meet. When a reporter asked Shillan, a member of the troupe, if he ever felt the need to escape using drama as a cover, he replied that he was worried about who would perform his role if he ran away. It evoked a roar of laughter.
“Nobody wanted to quit performing. We were dedicated to the art. I decided that I would try to get released based on my good behaviour, instead,” Anburaj said. In 2011, he married a fellow prisoner Revathi, who was also part of the drama troupe.
He was released from the Karnataka jail in 2016, for good conduct. Going back to his village, he came in contact with VP Gunasekaran and joined the Sangam to help the tribal people, especially working with the children to help them get admission to schools and also fill the gaps in their education during the pandemic.
During his jail-term, Anburaj read a variety of books including those by Tamil authors - Jayakanthan, Sundararamasamy, Ashokamithran and G Nagarajan. He pursued MBA and a diploma in journalism in jail and was even made the editor of Rangavani, a newspaper in Mysuru for a month.
Now, through his tribal foundation, he also organises workshops to teach tribals to add value to their products and make furniture form forest weed – Lantanas. He is also working to document the music and dance of the tribals that are fading from the Tamil culture.
“While the anger against the STF personnel made him join Veerappan, he has learnt how to channelise his energy for good causes after spending several years in jail. He still engages with prisoners and acts in Sangalpa's dramas. Prisons should move in the direction of reforming prisoners,” said VP Gunasekaran, President of Tamil Nadu Pazhankudi Makkal Sangam.