Lakhs bid a tearful adieu to Jayalalithaa

CHENNAI: The Rajaji Hall bordering the Omandurar estate in Chennai has a flight of wide stairs that turned chairs from AIADMK legislators who sat in silence, a few feet lower from the body of their late leader propped up slightly to enable teeming supporters and the general public to get a glimpse.
At the late chief minister's head sat Sasikala Natarajan, her longtime aide and possibly the holder of the keys in the party henceforth. By her side were her family , J Jayalalithaa's disowned foster son VN Sudhakaran, Sasikala's sister-in-law Ilavarasi and others.

For the teeming hundreds pushing and shoving to catch a view of their leader, this closeness to Jayalalithaa's body was not lost, neither was the power the headside seat can wield in Tamil Nadu's politics. “When MGR died, Amma held on that space. Now, I see Sasikala holding it with ease...In fact, without the hardship and humiliation Amma had faced,“ S Jayakanthan, a party worker from Coimbatore, said.

He had travelled through the night after the news broke late last night. Tired and thirsty , Jayakanthan, among thousands of common folk, had to walk longer than the `VIPs' who could take an easier route that allowed cars closer to Rajaji Hall. Jayakanthan's route had the police at strategic points letting out guttural yells at people, urging to move on. Still, the rush of people made many stop quite far off from their leader. The city corporation sent out tamarind rice and water packets in a small van, which was stalled and emptied out before it could reach Rajaji Hall.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived past noon. He spoke to Sasikala briefly and greeted the MLAs who gravitated towards him, trying to reach his hand as he walked by . Multiple party workers felt bad the funeral was to be held so quickly after her death. “When MGR died, people had a lot of time.The arrangements were also better. Here, I feel it is being done in a hurried manner, “ said V Navaneetham from Salem.

Another party worker said: “ All I want is that Sasikala should take forward the legacy of MGR and Jayalalithaa. Welfare was a key factor in their governments. We just want to feel like it is Amma still ruling us. That's all,“ he said.

Crowd kept gathering at MGR Samadhi near Marina beach, where the mortal remains were to be buried. Despite the exhaustion from travelling long distances, people continued their wait. Help from a local Muslim religious group called Abbasi Sabil ­ who kept distributing free water packets ­ came as a relief to many including the cops who have been struggling to keep the grieving supporters at bay .

“We have brought two lorries of water packets. We don't know if that might be enough, we just wanted to help people in this difficult situation, particularly the police personnel for their great service,“ said a member of the group. While slogans in praise of Amma were echoing from everywhere, a group of migrant labour Amma ers also joined in shouting ` jaisa koi nahi' (no one like Amma).