Residents of Thirukuvalai, the native of DMK president M. Karunanidhi, and Tiruvarur, the constituency he last represented in the Assembly, bid a tearful adieu to the ‘son of the soil’ on Wednesday.
Grief hung in the air as a group of women from the neighbourhood gathered in front of Karunanidhi’s ancestral house at Thirukuvalai to sing a dirge, mourning his death. While men looked sombre with their moist eyes affixed to the television set relaying scenes from Rajaji Hall in Chennai, wailing women mourners broke into a shrill oppari every now and then.
The house-cum-library where a number of cadre also had their heads tonsured was the centre-stage of mourning in Nagapattinam district with an array of giant cut-outs showing the late leader in various moods.
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Silent procession
Party cadre were also ready with banners suiting the changing situations. A banner with inscriptions requesting the Central and State governments to allot space on the Marina beach for the burial of the late leader’s body was replaced with another profusely thanking the judiciary as soon as the location was approved by the High Court.
A silent procession taken out in the evening by a large number of people of all ages cutting across party affiliations culminated at the ancestral house-cum-library. A similar procession was taken out earlier in the day by the residents of the nearby Ettukudi and surrounding villages. All of them paid homage to the late leader in front of a huge portrait.
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Fishermen in Nagapattinam district kept away from sea as a mark of respect for the leader.
Shops and commercial establishments in the entire delta belt comprising Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts remained closed. Marketplaces and bus stands in Tiruvarur wore a deserted look. The same was the case in Thanjavur district too. Autorickshaws and taxis also kept off the roads.
Mourning meets titled Veera Vanakkam were held in some places including Needamangalam.