Tihar Jail adds a dash of herbal on Holi
22 March 2013 6:53 AM IST
With Holi just a few days away, top Indian corporates, schools, colleges, five star hotels and NGO's have started flocking to Tihar Jail to procure herbal 'gulal' and other colours produced by convicts in the prison factory in a quality-controlled environment.
'Companies such as Wipro Infotech, Maruti Suzuki, Birla Soft, LG Life Sciences, Tech-Mahindra, Ranbaxy, Royal Bank of Scotland, and five-star hotels such as Taj Palace Hotel, ITC Maurya Sheraton, Hyatt Regency, Le Meridian and Shangri-la-Eros along with Delhi University students, have already procured more than 500 cans of herbal Holi colours till now,' said a senior Tihar prisons official.
'It is important to use herbal and eco-friendly colours during Holi, not just because they are skin-friendly, but also because they do not negatively impact the environment and cause global warming, the way chemical colours do,' said a jail superintendent.
According to sources, a group of 80 woman inmates at Tihar’s Jail number 6 are engaged in the work of using herbal raw materials such as flowers to make dry colours (gulal) which are sold in the markets of the national capital.
'We use arrowroot powder and flower petals, along with food-grade colour and natural fragrances to make colours that are skin-friendly and even edible,' said an NGO worker, who has been working with the inmates for over the past 15 years on the project.
'Made from maize starch, these gulals are available in seven radiant colours and seven stress-busting herbal aromas,' he said. Red is available in a 'fresh rose' aroma, while orange is available in 'kesar-haldi', pink in 'lily of the valley', green in 'lemon grass', sky blue in 'fresh mint', yellow in 'lal chandan' and magenta in 'lavender' aromas.
'All the colours are hand-made. They do not contain any heavy metals and are extremely skin-friendly. A total of over 80 inmates were trained by NGO workers on how to make these colours. Six prisoners, who were released recently, and were earlier engaged in making these colours, are now earning their living by selling them,' said a source.
Complete hygiene is maintained amongst inmates while the colours are being manufactured. 'The production of the colours in the women’s ward of prison number 6 is an attempt to provide inmates with a source of meaningful employment. The colours are not produced through the year, and manufacturing ends a few days before Holi,’ says Sunil Gupta, public relations officer, Tihar Jail.
Inmates who are given training in making the colours are commissioned to produce 10,000 packets of 100 grams each of purely herbal dry colour, which are put up for sale. The proceeds from the sale of the products are put in the Prisoners Welfare Fund.
Packaging of the colours are done at par with the international standards. The colours are sold in the TDI mall in Rajouri Garden and Delhi Haat and also available at counters outside the Jail campus.
'Companies such as Wipro Infotech, Maruti Suzuki, Birla Soft, LG Life Sciences, Tech-Mahindra, Ranbaxy, Royal Bank of Scotland, and five-star hotels such as Taj Palace Hotel, ITC Maurya Sheraton, Hyatt Regency, Le Meridian and Shangri-la-Eros along with Delhi University students, have already procured more than 500 cans of herbal Holi colours till now,' said a senior Tihar prisons official.
'It is important to use herbal and eco-friendly colours during Holi, not just because they are skin-friendly, but also because they do not negatively impact the environment and cause global warming, the way chemical colours do,' said a jail superintendent.
According to sources, a group of 80 woman inmates at Tihar’s Jail number 6 are engaged in the work of using herbal raw materials such as flowers to make dry colours (gulal) which are sold in the markets of the national capital.
'We use arrowroot powder and flower petals, along with food-grade colour and natural fragrances to make colours that are skin-friendly and even edible,' said an NGO worker, who has been working with the inmates for over the past 15 years on the project.
'Made from maize starch, these gulals are available in seven radiant colours and seven stress-busting herbal aromas,' he said. Red is available in a 'fresh rose' aroma, while orange is available in 'kesar-haldi', pink in 'lily of the valley', green in 'lemon grass', sky blue in 'fresh mint', yellow in 'lal chandan' and magenta in 'lavender' aromas.
'All the colours are hand-made. They do not contain any heavy metals and are extremely skin-friendly. A total of over 80 inmates were trained by NGO workers on how to make these colours. Six prisoners, who were released recently, and were earlier engaged in making these colours, are now earning their living by selling them,' said a source.
Complete hygiene is maintained amongst inmates while the colours are being manufactured. 'The production of the colours in the women’s ward of prison number 6 is an attempt to provide inmates with a source of meaningful employment. The colours are not produced through the year, and manufacturing ends a few days before Holi,’ says Sunil Gupta, public relations officer, Tihar Jail.
Inmates who are given training in making the colours are commissioned to produce 10,000 packets of 100 grams each of purely herbal dry colour, which are put up for sale. The proceeds from the sale of the products are put in the Prisoners Welfare Fund.
Packaging of the colours are done at par with the international standards. The colours are sold in the TDI mall in Rajouri Garden and Delhi Haat and also available at counters outside the Jail campus.
Next Story
