New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) There are cakes and savouries, clothes, carved wooden products, handmade paper products - you name it, and you have it. Products made by the inmates of Tihar jail are some of the most sought after items at the ongoing India International Trade Fair here.
Filling up the shelves at the Delhi pavilion at the fair, the Tihar jail products meet a variety of customer needs and fancies, and come at affordable prices. Of course, most visitors come to this stall merely out of curiosity.

Rajesh Misra, a businessman, for instance, said: “I was a little disappointed with the Delhi pavilion since it looked more like a poster exhibition with details of different infrastructure projects by the government decorating the walls”.

“However, just when I decided to leave the pavilion for one of the more exciting state pavilions, the Tihar jail stall here caught my attention. I was surprised at the number of products the stall had, and all made by the inmates!” Misra told IANS.

Priced at Rs.50 onwards, the stall has different sized, carved wooden pieces like key ring holders, photo frames and decorative items. It also has kurtas made by the inmates, as well as a section dedicated to savouries.

Rajashree Das, a house wife who had come to the fair, said: “It’s a very interesting concept of skill training for jail inmates so that once out, they can lead a fulfilling life”.

“I was just having a small conversation with someone at the stall and it’s great to know that the bakery inside the jail has an International Standardization Organisation (ISO) certificate too,” she said.

Tihar, the biggest jail in South Asia, houses over 11,000 convicts, and runs several vocational training programmes, including a baking school. The vocational programmes provide financial support for the inmates.

Jayshree Sharma, another customer at the trade fair, said she tried a packet of savoury snacks from the stall the day before and had come back for some more.

“The first day I came to the fair I was surprised to see the Tihar jai stall. Honestly, I didn’t know they had a bakery in there! Just out of curiosity I decided to try a packet, and have come back for more,” Sharma said.

Besides the stall in the Delhi pavilion - whose theme is the 2010 Commonwealth Games and has posters of Shera, the Games mascot, painted all over - there is also a tiny stall of Tihar jail products which is managed by Srijan, an NGO.

A prisoners rehabilitation project, Srijan provides vocational training to the inmates so that after release they have the skill to start something new. Profits earned from the sale of the products are used for expansion of the project and also deposited into the accounts of the working inmates.

Anjit Kumar, one of the NGO members handling the project, said: “Instead of dwelling on their past, the project aims to help the inmates re-build themselves and gain some skill so that once out, they have something to fall back on and don’t resort to unlawful means”.

The stall has handmade paper products like photo frames, jewellery boxes, bags and greeting cards - all priced in the range between Rs.50-Rs.150.

The trade fair annually starts Nov 14 at Pragati Maidan, and continues till Nov 27. It will be open to the public Nov 19.