India’s longest mural adorns Tihar Jail

The mural painted across the wall consists verses of a poem written by aTihar Jail inmate. Photo: Monica Tiwari

The ongoing street art festival in the Capital will conclude on Wednesday by giving the country its longest mural — the verses of a poem written by a Tihar Jail inmate painted across the prison’s wall.

Spread across 968 m — the entire length of the front wall of Tihar Jail — the mural was given final touches by volunteers on Tuesday, the eve of its formal inauguration by Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung.

The poem chosen for the mural is called

Chardiwari or four walls. A collaboration between street artists and sign painters, the mural, which consists of graffiti works between gigantic words written in Devnagri script, took nearly a fortnight to complete

The poem written by inmate Seema Ranghuvanshi is featured in

Tinka Tinka Tihar , a collection of poems written by four female prisoners in the jail. Chardiwari talks about a person who though confined within the walls of a prison and longing for her loved ones, lives with the hope of meeting them in the future.

Artist and designer Hanif Kureshi, who is the co-founder of the festival, said they chose the poem because they wanted to change the image of the prison, its inmates and debunk stereotypes.