In Custody

This is the story of the hundreds of women inmates lodged in Tihar Jail, Delhi, the largest prison in Southeast Asia. Over the years, the jail has earned itself the reputation of being one of the leading reformist prisons in this part of the world, though the author and photographer learn that this does not take away the pain and desolation of a life in confinement. They visited the women at Tihar several times over a period of one year, interacting with them at various levels and eventually winning their confidence, trust and friendship. Candid photographs capture the lives of these inmates, telling the story of hope in despair. Rather than sympathizing with their cases or praising prison authorities efforts, this book is about the women, their individual and collective strength and the spirit of survival they continue to display even in their darkest hours.

Amba Batra Bakshi was born in New Delhi in 1980 and did her schooling from Modern School, Delhi, and Lawrence School, Sanawar. She graduated in journalism from Lady Shri Ram College, and went on to do her masters at City University, UK, and in 2007, pursued advance narrative non-fiction writing at Harvard. She has been a news reporter since 2000 and has worked with the Indian Express, Asian Age and Guardian. In 2004, she received an award from the Press Institute of India for a series of stories on the lack of night shelters in the winter, for homeless women in the capital. She currently lives in New Delhi with her husband and eight-month-old son.

Renuka Puri was born in 1969 in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh. After studying in the village school, she completed high school from Haryana and then joined the Arts College, Chandigarh to pursue graphic design. She worked in an ad agency before taking to photography, a better medium, she feels, for expressing herself and a more satisfying career. After freelancing for a few magazines and the U.P. Tourism Department, she joined the Indian Express in 1997. Having captured a number of interesting subjects from fashion shows to political developments, she was chosen by Fuji films, in 2005, as one of the super six women photographers, and her work was displayed around the country. She continues to work for the Indian Express as principal photographer and lives in Delhi with her husband and ten-year-old son.