Anburaj's Prison Transformation: From Veerappan's Gang to Theater Director
In 1997, Anburaj, a former associate of Sandalwood Veerappan's gang, was apprehended for abducting forest officers and subsequently received a life sentence. He was freed in 2016, thanks to his good behavior and the celebrations for India's 70th anniversary. In 'The Workshop,' a piece by Madheswaran Malai, he recounts the torture he endured at the hands of the Special Task Force, including electric shocks and sexual assault. While incarcerated, Anburaj married Rekha, who was sentenced to life for fatally shooting a trafficker in self-defense at the age of seventeen, though her age was contested. He attributes his evolution into an actor and playwright to Kannada drama and literature, while also criticizing India's justice system and highlighting the unpaid compensation for Veerappan victims. This article, derived from an interview on Jeyamohan's blog, was published in the Spring 2019 edition of ArtReview Asia.
Key facts
- Anburaj was a member of Veerappan's gang, active in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala from 1952 to 2004.
- He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997 for kidnapping forest officers and released in 2016.
- Anburaj married Rekha in prison, who was convicted as an adult for murder in self-defense at age seventeen.
- He endured torture in 'The Workshop' in Madheswaran Malai, run by the Special Task Force.
- Anburaj transformed into a theater director and playwright through Kannada drama and world literature in prison.
- The article references Mario Vargas Llosa's novel The Neighborhood (2018) and Mohamed Choukri's For Bread Alone (1973).
- It was translated from Tamil by Srividhya Subash and published in ArtReview Asia's Spring 2019 issue.
- The author plans to write a novel based on Anburaj's experiences after reading an interview on Jeyamohan's blog.
Entities
Artists
- Enrique Cárdenas
- Mario Vargas Llosa
- Rekha
- Anburaj
- Veerappan
- Chako
- Venkatesh
- Mohamed Choukri
- Jean Genet
- Ganesh Nayak
- Jeyamohan
- Srividhya Subash
- Charu Nivedita
Institutions
- ArtReview Asia
- Special Task Force
- Kollegal Court
- Salem Court
- High Court
- Supreme Court
- Sadashiva Commission
Locations
- Madras
- India
- Peru
- Bangalore
- Mumbai
- Karnataka
- Tamil Nadu
- Kerala
- Madheswaran Malai
- Salem
- Mysore
- Morocco