A dozen Muslim inmates will also observe the fast: jail authorities

A dozen Muslim women are among Tihar’s female inmates who will be observing fast on the occasion of Karva Chauth on Friday. Jail authorities said those inmates either have Hindu spouses or are “fascinated” by these rituals.
“These Muslim women will go through the entire ritual with their Hindu friends. A few Hindu women prisoners have also been known to give company to their Muslim friends during the Ramzan fasts,” Anju Mangla, Superintendent of Central Jail Number 6 that lodges women prisoners, told The Hindu .
However, only few of the fasting women will be able to actually sight the moon. This is because, as per rules, the inmates are supposed to be locked up in their cells before 6 p.m. “Few women will be able to see the moon from inside their cells. The rest will break their fasts by seeing the moon on news channels,” said the superintendent.
The jail authorities have also planned a “special menu” comprising poori, aloo-matar ki sabzi and a sweet dish for the occasion.
Since the dinner at Tihar is served at 5.30 p.m. – much before the women break their fasts - the women inmates will be feeding a portion of the special dishes to their husbands and keeping the rest with themselves for consumption later in the night, said jail authorities. The special menu on Friday is only for the women’s jail. Jail officials have also arranged for preparation of sweet and salty maththi, feni and other items required for sargi (the ritual). They will be provided plastic bangles for the occasion because glass items are banned inside Tihar.
“In the evening, the women will assemble in an open area where an elderly inmate will recite katha,” said the superintendent. The woman who volunteers for these duties is Manju, 52, who along with her husband, is in Tihar for murder.
Through out Thursday, there was much activity and excitement in the prison as inmates applied mehandi for each other and lined up outside the beauty parlour.