No, absolutely.

• No jail is full of nice people, but Arthur Road in particular . . .

No, no. My father was a Gandhian himself. He believed in what Gandhiji said. And we all have been raised like that. Anju, Priya, and me. Definitely, it made a big difference.

• Sanjay, knowing where you are and where we are, it’s a tough journey. I know you can’t talk too much about your tenure in jail in the merit of the case. But just tell me a little bit about your 18 months in jail. Some things that remain imprinted on your memory.

Well, to be honest with you, it was quite a shock to me initially. But then, gradually, I started reading a lot. And I started praying a lot. I read the Ramayana, I read the Gita. And I have read a lot of books in jail. And I have been just meeting interesting people. I mean just sitting and eating food, things like that. But I used to pray a lot. Hell of a lot!

• But is that how you discovered the spirituality in you? Because you were never this religious before.

No, I have been a religious person from before. Always go to mandir. I also have a mandir at home. But I never sat down and got to read.

• And you are from a mixed religion family. Yes. But I never got to read the Ramayana and everything, though my father used to tell me. But (now) I (have) read all those books and I think it’s just brilliant.

... contd.