Government Mental Health Centre (GMHC), Thrissur (14th April, 2009) The telephone facilities were available and all wards of GMHC were connected by intercom. A public call (coin box) booth was available in the OPD for use of patients and relatives. Relatives were free to communicate with inmates and bystanders through incoming calls. Government Mental Health Centre (GMHC), Kozhikode (12th to 15th April, 2009) The hospital had both telephone and intercom facilities. Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Cuttack (4th and 5th July, 2011) There was one landline telephone installed in the room of the Superintendent and the Superintendent had no stenographer to receive telephone calls or note down the messages. Superintendent was required to go out of his room quite often to perform his official jobs and in his absence there was no arrangement for receiving calls and recording message and sending response. There was no PABX in the hospital. Mental Hospital (MH), Varanasi (5th July, 2010) There was only one telephone in the office of the Director and there was no PCO. The PCO was not installed inside the hospital due to apprehensions that a public call booth inside the hospital premises might encourage outsiders to enter the hospital to make telephone calls and that might not be desirable from security point of view. Institute of Psychiatry (IOP), Kolkata (27th November, 2010) There was one telephone in the office of the Superintendent and another for use of subordinate office staff. There was no arrangement to receive calls from family members/relatives of the inpatients or to pass on the required information about the well being of the patients to their relatives. iii) Recreational and Cultural Activities The recreation activities are an important means to bring about improvement in the psychological and emotional status of mentally ill persons. It brings inmates together, promotes social solidarity, rapport and bonhomie among them and encourages one to share the joy and sorrow, laughter and tears of another. Recreational and cultural activities include television in the room, dance, drama, music and other cultural activities to bring out the histrionic talent of the inmates, yoga, meditation, pranayama, picnic, indoor and outdoor games and sports. Steps taken by different mental health centres to promote daily activity programme for indoor patients, improve recreational facilities and promote privacy of the patients are given below: Care and Treatment in Mental Health Institutions– Some Glimpses in the Recent Period 101