Unlike many leaders, M. Karunanidhi was willing to take the most embarrassing questions in his stride during press conferences. He was extremely witty, and would pepper his comments with Tamil idioms and phrases unheard of in recent times. Sometimes, he would include references from ancient Tamil literature. Listening to him speak or intervene during debates in the Tamil Nadu Assembly was a rewarding experience for reporters. Many of his comments are still fresh in my memory.
Despite his close proximity to many national leaders, Karunanidhi chose to remain in Tamil Nadu; he was content with State politics. Once, he was sitting in the front row at a function to mark the release of the digitised album of the film Parasakthi, for which he had penned the dialogues. The organiser of the function, former Minister Parithi Ilavmvazhuthi, requested him to move to a seat in the centre of the row. “I don’t want to come to the centre. I will remain in the state,” he said.
When Congressman C. Gnanasekaran complained that the tubelights in Vellore municipality were not functioning, Karunanidhi said: “The honourable member should realise that fluorescent tubelights will take some time to burn.”
Another time, when asked whether he had any problem ( sikkal ) in allotting the Nagapattinam Lok Sabha constituency to the Communist Party of India (“ Nagapattinam thoguthiayai CPI-ikku koduppathil sikkal irukkirathaa? ”), he quipped, “ Nagapattinathukku pakkathil thaan Sikkal irukkirathu (Next to Nagapattinam is Sikkal.)” Sikkal is a town near Nagapattinam.
When BJP MP L. Ganesan once said that his party would enter into a “siddhantha por” (ideological war) with the DMK, Karunanidhi retorted that the BJP was indeed a “bore” in Tamil Nadu.
Journalist and writer Sa. Viswanathan, known as Saavi, once complained that the spectacles on the statue of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai were missing. Karunanidhi wondered whether the writer had looked at the statue closely. Saavi said that he had. “Did Anna hold a book in his hand?” Karunanidhi asked. “No,” said Saavi. “What is the need for spectacles if he is not reading anything?” Karunanidhi smiled.
And sometimes, when provoked, Karunanidhi would also respond controversially. That was how he compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to the Dravidar Kazhagam and invited criticism.
Journalists will definitely miss his wit, knowledge, and easy way with reporters.
