An otherwise unremarkable piece of antique furniture has a special place in the household of former Congress MLA N.R. Rangarajan. The unusually long bench carries a slice of history. Former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj used to occupy the bench whenever he visited the house of R. Ramasamy Thevar, a senior Congress leader from Thambikottai, near Pattukottai, and Mr. Rangarajan’s father.
“Its length perfectly suited the tall leader. The name ‘Kamaraj’ became inseparable from it and everyone called it the ‘Kamaraj’ bench. If he stayed at our house, he would spread his towel and sleep on the bench placed on the veranda. He would refuse to sleep inside,” recalled Mr. Rangarajan, who is now part of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) led by G.K. Vasan and aspires to enter the fray from the Pattukottai Assembly constituency.
The bench still sits on the veranda of the old palatial house. “There was also a photograph of Kamaraj sitting on the bench and talking to former President R. Venkatraman, the then district Congress committee president Krishnasamy Vandaiayar and my father,” Mr. Rangarajan said.
During the cyclone
“Unfortunately, the photo was damaged by the wind during Cyclone Gaja. It was fully soaked and beyond restoration. It was a painful day in my life,” he added.
The frame of the bench is made of teak and the cover is made of jackfruit wood. “This was also damaged during the cyclone. We repaired it and are keeping it as a memory,” he said.
“Since Venkatraman was introduced to Kamaraj by Nadimuthu Pillai, a Congress leader and my relative, he maintained a good relationship with our family,” he said. “He wanted to visit our house in Pattukottai for lunch. Since protocol did not permit it, we formed a citizen committee and organised a lunch at my house,” Mr. Rangarajan added.
