Chennai: He used to be a man of many words – spoken and written. His quick wit and elephantine memory during a conversation would leave his guests awestruck by his brilliance. After spending even five minutes with Karunanidhi, any political visitor would walk away with memories to cherish.
And so for his admirers it was all the more difficult to digest the video that went viral showing the visit of Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao to the DMK veteran at his Gopalapuram residence. The orchestrated show evoked sympathy towards the former Chief Minister as he sat there helpless and unaware even as those around him tried to make the best out of the house visit.
If the DMK leadership wanted to convey to the cadres that Thalaivar Kalaignar, after all those critical months in and out of hospital, is now showing gradual improvement, then there could be some satisfaction as the man lifted his right hand to wave to the guest.
Videos of the waving of hand and the suggestion of a smile have been put out now and then, in recent times, to enthuse the party cadres who have been doting on the Dravidian granddad. The 93-year-old DMK leader has been virtually incommunicado after suffering memory loss and undergoing a tracheostomy that deprived him of his speaking ability.
So when Rao visited him, Karunanidhi could hardly recognise him in spite of repeated introductions by Stalin and T.R. Baalu. In fact it seemed that the AP CM’s presence hardly made a blip on Karunanidhi’s mind.
Even when Rao handed over a bouquet or wished him Namaste, Karunanidhi appeared lost in his own world unable to register the visitor’s presence.
Though his father was not responding the way one would wish to see, Stalin kept prodding him — appearing to be more like a parent caring for a child than a son dealing with an ailing old man, Stalin kept prodding his father: “Do you know who has come to see you? Andhra Pradesh CM has come. What shall we offer him: coffee or tender coconut? I am taking him home for lunch; shall I?”
As there was not much of response from Karunanidhi and CM Rao sat through embarrassing silence, not knowing what to talk, Baalu helpfully suggested that thalaivar was more alert during the evenings, implying that the morning visit was ill-timed.
