She lived her life on her own terms and had never been concerned about others opinion with regard to her. Until one day, when a lady constable led her towards the Laal Gate on entering which she would immediately lose her freedom and now on be governed by the rules of the jail.
Jigna Vora, a noted crime reporter who as per her own admission in this book took pride in seeing her name in the bylines of the stories she had broken, was arrested on charges of instigating a murder of stalwart in investigative reporting, Jyotirmoy Dey popularly known in the media fraternity as J. Dey.
She now feared reading the newspapers where her name appeared not anymore in the bylines but in the news reports pertaining to the case. Undoubtedly, she was on the other side of the fence now and could do very little seeing her own friends within the media circle trying to prove her guilty of the crime she very well knew had not committed.
Behind Bars in Byculla, clearly encompasses several aspects of professional rivalry, within the police force as much as in the media. For the author who had to go through a lot of physical as well as mental trauma, it was a battle against all odds in rediscovering oneself into a much stronger human being.
Reading this book is like an open-heart conversation between the author and the readers. It also takes us into the day-to-day happening that takes place behind the guarded walls of Byculla Jail.
Some of the personal experiences shared by Jigna are so chilling that as a woman you cannot help but genuinely feel sorry for all what the author had to go thorough. Incidents narrated in the book with regard to some high profile inmates make it an interesting read. After reviewing the book I can only say that none should take their freedom for granted, once behind bars you realise how precious it is. Go for this one, as it is one hell of a learning experience for each on one of us.
