Gujaratis invent the 'adult naughty corner' — jail on wheels for drunkards

A drunk man, only half conscious, legs splayed out and his hands clutching to the top of the cage he’s been locked in — a regular, everyday sight, if you’re a villager residing in Motipura in Gujarat. This is the locals’ rather inventive, and rather obvious if you ask me, (considering the number of times we have all wished we could lock up the inebriated uncle trying to slow dance with nubile young things at weddings) technique at restraining boisterous drunks. They simply grab the slurring offender, pop him into Gujarat’s jail on wheels, and keep him there until he’s to summon sobriety and cough up 1,200 rupees as bail.

The wheels are so the disruptor of peace can be rolled out to the outskirts of the village, left to his own devices while the residents can get their forty winks. As if the noble cause of fighting for sleep isn’t enough, the bail money from Gujarat’s jail on wheels is also used rather conscientiously — for socio-religious activities, claim the minds behind ‘Motipura Jail’. Gujarat may have tightened liquor laws but the 150 women widowed due to alcohol-related illnesses, out of the town’s 3,500 strong population led the citizens to take up their own cause. The sarpanch has vouched for the move’s success, citing drinking has considerably reduced. Considering a youth committee of about 40 people go around checking homes for drunks, short of padlocking doors, there is no escape.

Gujarat’s jail on wheels has me wondering, why don’t I invest in one for my own home? It’ll serve the dual purpose of restraining the drunk guy who refuses to leave my house party (there’s always that one guy), and serving as my hideout when I lock myself in, cover myself up with a blanket and attach a sign that says, ‘not drunk, just hates people, will bite if provoked.”