A life convict puts pen to paper for a novel

Convicted murderer Jayanandan releases novel from prison, inspiring hope for redemption with the help of family & Project 39A.

It was far from a usual book release function with the Ernakulam Press Club bursting at the seams on Saturday morning. After all, author was no ordinary man but a convict serving life term.

Jayanandan, alias ‘Ripper’ Jayanandan, was accused of five murders, convicted in two, and languishing behind the bars for over 17 years after a death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment

The Kerala High Court had given him a two-day escort parole for releasing his book Pulari Viriyum Munpe.

Narayana Kurup, former acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, released the book by handing over a copy to his daughter Keerthi Jayanandan’s father-in-law K.P. Rajagopal

More than once, addressing the media, his voice quivered and he choked on half-sobs before bursting into tears. “The initial years of imprisonment was unbearable as I felt like a stormy sea and wanted to yell my guts out. I am unable to speak much even now (while outside the prison) as I still feel imprisoned like a man who feels his hand long after losing it,” he says.

Jayanandan says things started to improve after Anoop Surendran of Project 39A, an initiative of National Law University, Delhi, for improving the condition of prisoners and those on death row, and the then State Police Chief T.P. Senkumar encouraged the ninth standard dropout to turn to reading.

“I kept reading many famed works in my special cell. Henri Charrière’s autobiography inspired me to turn a writer though the biggest inspiration was the support of the family,” says Jayanandan adding that seeing a visually challenged person while being taken to court inspired the novel.