Writing was his declaration of freedom even as he remained confined within the four walls of a massive central prison. Once a busy orthopaedic surgeon -- Chennai’s best-known hip replacement surgeon and the secretary of the Indian Orthopaedic Association -- Dr L. Prakash had never tried his hand with a pen. But that was before he was debarred from medical practice in 2001 and imprisoned for life in a case of making and selling pornographic CDs of his female patients.

Prakash’s wife and daughter left him the day he was arrested, he says, and he has not heard from them since. Though he was permitted to mingle with other prisoners in Chennai’s sprawling Puzhal jail complex, most of them refused to associate with him – the charges against him made him a persona non grata even in prison. Struggling to fight off loneliness and boredom, he turned to writing. ``As I was debarred from the medical profession, there was no scope even for extending medical aid to jail inmates. Then I took the decision to become a full- time writer. Recollections of a well-lived life of about 46 years gave me enough materials to start writing,’’ he said when Media Voice met him in jail. The life of a prisoner-writer was not easy. The millionaire doctor had to plead for permission to write, for abulk supply of white paper, and for a kerosene lamp, which he needed in his initial days in jail when his cell didn’t have electricity. But Prakash persisted in his new vocation, and has produced a body of work that would be envy of writers with better views outside their windows.

In his eight years in jail, Prakash has produced 102 books in various genres -- fiction, nonfiction, mythology, self-help, comedy, romance and even a version of the Mahabharatha in four volumes. His oeuvre includes at least five volumes of erotica. A dozen of his works, including the Mahabharatha, have already been published, and the rest are scheduled to reach readers within a year, Prakash says. The man who was once described by mainstream media as Chennai’s sex doctor is now also planning to write a set of children’s books.

Prakash’s publisher, Tamil pulp fiction doyen G. Asokan of Chennai’s Banana Books, is pleased with readers' response to Prakash’s books, which he writes in English. Tamil translations of three of Prakash’s novels are also selling well, according to Asokan. ``He is a man of exceptional caliber,” Asokan says. “We have nothing to say on his claim of innocence in the pornography case. But his works have good literary value and they are now in greater demand.

These days, Prakash writes for about 14 hours a day. By his count, he has written about 420 million words. According to him, completing the four volumes of the Mahabharatha version was the most challenging task he undertook in prison. The meagre jail library was devoid of any reference volume on Indian mythology, leaving Prakash with just his memory to depend on. "My parents were experts in Sanskrit and they interpreted stories of that sacred text to me when I was a small kid,” Prakash says. “Drawing on those old memories, I wrote that book. I am proud of that work." Prakash is now putting the finishing touches on a similar retelling of the Ramayana. He has also written a book on Vedic wisdom.

"The events in my life have made me an atheist, but nobody can ignore the cultural and historical importance of Mahabharatha and Ramayana," he says. Prakash claims he has enough material to write fiction and non-fiction for the rest of his life. But where does he get the themes and inspiration for his stories?

"You seem quite unaware of jail life," he says. “To me, it is a blessing in disguise, as it helped me invent the writer in me. A jail has a large number of mass murderers, rapists, thieves, terrorists, traitors and corrupt elements. Circumstances may have forced most of them to commit their crimes. They are sharing their stories with me, and they give me the resources for my writing, apart from my own personal experiences." Before plunging into fiction, Prakash was the unlikely author of seven self-help books. Those volumes contain tips on changing your lifestyle, ensuring victory in life, gaining a photographic memory and following guerilla warfare techniques for living in ‘a jungle called society.’ Delhibased Pustak Mahal is now bringing out this series.

Prakash insists that prison life is a blessing in disguise. "A prison can only restrict the movement of your body," he says. “But nothing can curtail the freedom of your mind, which travels very fast, unmindful of the barriers around. In the initial days, I was a little depressed. But once I turned to writing, I have started regaining my freedom."

Prakash claims he is innocent in the internet pornography case and says he has been sentenced for offences for which he was not tried. But he doesn’t hide his affinity for subjects like sex and erotica. "Mine was the first case charged after the enacting of the Information Technology Act in 2000. The general concepts of Victorian morality and public attitude against pornography were too strong that time. They too played a role in getting me maximum punishment. But now society has changed a lot," he says.

His appeal against his convictions in now in the Supreme Court. "I will not go back to the medical profession even if the court acquits me," Prakash says. “If I am exonerated of the charges, I will go to a place close to Maya Bandar in Middle Andaman. I have a 100-acre estate there between dense forests and the sea and the nearest human presence is about five km away. I will stay there with a few servants and write books for the rest of life,’’ Prakash says. His goal is to beat the world record for the most number of books by a writer – he plans to have 450 books to his name before he dies.

By Nisha Shaji