Enough has been said and written about the legion of DMK cadre who have been staying put in front of the Kauvery Hospital for the past few days waiting to see their leader M. Karunanidhi being discharged with a clean bill of health. But away from the media glare, in the quite neighbourhood of Gopalapuram, home to Mr. Karunanidhi for several decades now, there are hundreds of others who are fervently praying for the quick recovery of the five-time Chief Minister.
The father-son duo that irons clothes on the pavement in Gopalapuram Fourth Street, just a few houses away from Mr. Karunanidhi’s residence ‘Anjugam’ (named after his mother), is among those longing for his well-being.
Balaraman and his son have been pressing clothes in the neighbourhood for more than a decade now. “We press clothes brought from Thalaivar’s (Karunanidhi) house but we have not visited him in his house. We used to wish him when his car drives past us and he would reciprocate with a smile and a wave of his hand (until he became ill in late 2016),” said Mr. Balaraman on Tuesday.
Nithya, a staff in Mr. Karunanidhi’s house, would bring the clothes for pressing. “Even two days before his hospitalisation, we got his clothes for pressing. I have pressed his shirts, veshtis and also the yellow shawl,” says Mr. Balaraman, who is in his late 60s.
His son Barani proudly shows the pressing box he is using and says: “Actually, this is one of the boxes he (Karunanidhi) gifted us for Pongal. Every Pongal, Thalaivar sends a shirt bit, pant bit, sweets and ₹1,000 cash!”
The father and son team says it is earnestly hoping that the Thalaivar would return home in three days.
Model neighbours
N. Ganesh, a postman attached to the Gopalapuram Post Office, is equally proud of his association with the DMK patriarch’s family. On Tuesday, he parked his bicycle before ‘Anjugam’ and walked in with a few letters addressed to the DMK stalwart. He took the side gate and handed them over to the police on duty.
“ Though I have never seen him [Mr. Karunanidhi] in person, I hope he comes back healthy. I have heard a lot about his work as Chief Minister,” Mr. Ganesh quips.
Despite Anjugam’s star occupant, people from the house have never disturbed the neighbours, says V. Vigneswara Balaji, who lives in the house diagonally opposite to Mr. Karunanidhi’s.
“His [Mr. Karunanidhi’s] daughter-in-law [Tamilarasu’s wife] is quite friendly and she visits and socialises sometimes. There has never been an instance when they have tried to throw their weight around. We really hope that he returns home with good health,” he says.
‘Anjugam’ — few feet away from Sri Venugopalaswamy Temple — has also become a site for ardent cadre and Mr. Karunanidhi’s admirers to take their selfies. The things they want inside their frames are the plaques with the words ‘M. Karunanidhi’, ‘Anjugam’ and the DMK flag that flies atop the house.
