BEHIND BARS AND BEYOND

Description

“”Adversity is the foundation of virtue and success”” – Japanese proverb. It is my sincere attempt to put before my wise readers, the event that happened in my life proving above mentioned Japanese proverb right and most appropriate. For that, I feel a sense of joy.
While I was serving a sentence in the Sabarmati Central prison Iwas, at the age of 50, studying different courses run by different universities and educational institutes in the prison through their study centers located in the prison, in a very adverse, indifferent, dull and inactive environment. When I was successfully completing degrees, diplomas, and certificates courses, I had no idea that I was moving towards setting a world record in education in prison. And I broke the world record in education in prison. My prison experience is very different from other inmates. Breaking the world record in education in prison has also inspired me to write this book and I could not resist my inexplicable desire to share this experience with the world. At last, this inspiring book was born.
The thought and inspiration of writing a book about my achievements in prison came from the then Addition Director General of Police (Prison) Gujarat Shri P. C. Thakur and a prison head of one of the south Indian States who met me in a workshop organized at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, in which I participated as a resource person, after my release from the Ahmadabad Central Prison. They told me that I might write a book about my educational achievements in prison so that prisoners, students, and individuals eager to achieve success and achievement in life get motivated and inspired.
Eight years have passed since then because of my full-time job and I was very busy and occupied with completing more and more educational courses at full speed. Right now I’m retired and the pandemic corona lockdown is on. It provided me a great opportunity to write this book with peace. Now following the advice of my well-wishers, I decided to write a book and started to write. After my release from prison in December 2011, I was serving Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University with my full time as a consultant, I continued to study and achieved another 23 educational achievements taking the total tally of my educational achievements to 54 in just 12 years.
Secondly, many individuals who came in contact with me became aware of the fact of my educational achievements rejoined the study in life, and those who were studying, have joined other courses with their ongoing study. Seeing so much curiosity and enthusiasm of the people in studying, I was compelled to write this book so that more and more people would know about my achievement.
The main purpose of writing this book and putting it before my readers is to inspire, motivate, enthused, and verve to them through this book to achieve and accomplish their goals, aims, and targets even in any adverse and difficult time, situations and circumstances. The desire to be the beacon is the abstract of this book.
-Bhanu Patel

“”Difficulties often prepare the ordinary man for extraordinary achievement.””
– C. S. Louis”

About The Author

Have you ever heard or read about a world record in education in the most adverse environment of the prison? Probably the answer would be ‘No’. I must admit that I was fortunate to accomplish such an achievement in the prison and outside the prison. I am very curious to share with you and reveal to you all the aspects and secrets of my achievement that led to the world record in education in prison.
‘Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records’ a maxim by famous maxim writer ‘William Arthur Ward’ which has been proved appropriate by my achievement. Because I accomplished this achievement in the most adverse and indifferent prison environment. The goal was very tough and difficult because education and prison are very contradictory and conflicting in nature. Generally, studying in a prison environment is a very difficult task. It’s like swimming in the opposite direction of the flow.
Have I also revealed what kind of environment is there in prison? From outside, only projections and guesses can be made about it. Most prisoners in prison suffer from negative factors such as anxiety, frustration, worry, fear, depression, despair, anger, feelings of retaliation, etc. Sometimes they may lose their mental stability and mental balance. Incarceration makes life difficult for prisoners inside the prison and outside the prison after their release. In such a prison’s negative environment, it is very difficult to form a circle of mental peace, mental balance, and positive attitude for noble and sacred activities like education which needs a special role of the sound mind. At the age of fifty, I began to study again in life in an adverse and negative environment of prison.
Even though both my place of study (prison) and my age (50+) did not match with the activities of study, I completed 31 educational courses in this adverse environment of the prison, At the same time, performing the duty of managing study centers located inside the prison premises and set a world record in education. This book has been written with my sublime desire to share my immense pleasure and contentment of my unique, unparalleled achievement and how I accomplished it. After being released from prison, I continued my study while doing a full-time job at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University and completed 23 more educational courses taking the tally of my educational courses to 54. I completed them with good grades and in just 12 years. Being a prisoner is destiny; but establishing a world record as a prisoner in education in prison is a testament to the ability to shapeone’s personality with strong morale, self-confidence, and inner strength.
This book is based on my prison experience or my prison journey and in my prison experience, education was at the center. I chose the medium of this book to convey my message to my readers revealing how I accomplished this gigantic task. Hopefully, this life story will prove to be inspiring to you and will encourage you with great vigor and passion to achieve your unique, unimaginable achievements and to conquer the highest peaks in life.

With best wishes.
-Bhanu Patel

“Prison is a laboratory of turning difficulties and adversities into success.”
– Bhanu Patel