A colourful world of hope inside the Bengaluru Central Prison

This visit to the Bengaluru Central Prison was almost cinematic. After passing through multiple layers of security — frisking, formalities, and a stamped hand marking entry — you step through a modest doorway. Inside are thousands of inmates, both undertrials and convicts. What stands out, however, is a space that feels entirely different from the rest of the prison — a specialised childcare centre for women inmates and their children. It's like an anganwadi — alive with colour and care. Bright, engaging murals line the corridors, and a dedicated classroom for inmates’ children creates a space that is both comforting and stimulating. The artwork, painted by Baadal Nanjundaswamy, transforms the environment into something unexpectedly joyful. This initiative, led by the Karnataka Prison Department in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development, offers a rare glimpse of warmth within institutional walls.

We want children to experience the environment they are entitled to: Karnataka Police department
Explaining the thought behind the initiative, Alok Kumar, Director General of Police, Prisons and Correctional Services, Karnataka, says, “We wanted to ensure that children inside the prison are not completely defined by the gloomy environment they are forced into. Children are allowed to stay with their mothers until the age of six, and during this time, we want them to experience the kind of environment they are entitled to. This initiative is for the children as well as the women inmates. We want to give them a sense of freedom — an opportunity to hold on to hope and aspiration. The response has been overwhelmingly positive; both the children and the women feel the difference.”

Each of the 212 stars represents each of the women inmates housed in the prison at that time: Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy

For Baadal, the project was as emotional as it was artistic. “Like anyone stepping inside a prison for the first time, I was overwhelmed,” he says, recalling his initial visit. It took time to adjust, but over the next 10 days — working nearly eight hours a day — he immersed himself in the space, blending his own ideas with inputs from the department. “I created a series of colourful paintings—alphabets, numbers, animals, nature, mother and child, planets—things that children can relate to and engage with,” he explains. Yet, one piece remains closest to his heart. “As the women exit the prison, there is a painting of a woman reaching for the stars. It’s meant to be a reminder — to keep reaching for their dreams,” he says. The mural carries a powerful detail: 212 stars, each representing a woman inmate housed in the prison at the time — a constellation of hope, mapped across a wall that once held none.

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