Amma- Reasons why we will miss you

Much has been spoken about J. Jayalalithaa. There is that sense of gloom that has enveloped the state of Tamil Nadu. I was taken a little by surprise by the amount of goodwill that she has generated over the last few years. That she had done a lot for the welfare of the poor was beyond any doubt. She was perhaps the only political leader who could stand her ground against the likes of Karunanidhi and make him bite the dust in electoral battles.

However that is not the reason for writing this blog. On the 5th of December I was in Madurai, having gone there as a part of an NGO initiative. 5th morning we got the news that Amma had suffered a massive cardiac arrest. Clearly all was not well at home in Chennai. Slowly news started tickling in how she was fighting a brave battle. By evening hopes for her revival had started dwindling with PM Modi also tweeting that he feared the worst for Tamil Nadu, while praying for peace and calm.

We had no other option but to cancel the remaining part of our program, and maybe reschedule it again for a much later date. The troublesome part however remained. How do i get out of Madurai and return back to Chennai. Train tickets were made available. Friends decided to drop me back at the station. Now Madurai in Tamil Nadu is known to be a sensitive area and violence prone. While riding back in a car back to the station I made a few observations:

• All shutters were down.
• Madurai resembled a ghost town with hardly any crowd on the roads.
• The roads wore a desolate look and an uneasy calm prevailed.
• The Police had made elaborate arrangements for the safety and the security of the passengers so that they were not inconvenienced in any which ways.
• Public were gathered around in smaller groups perhaps awaiting the inevitable news.

I hoped and prayed that the train would come in time. Spot on, there was no delay and the train left as per schedule, with no changes. There were no hicupps along the way, no unnecessary stoppages at any station. In the meantime at around 11.30 pm I got a news alert stating that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was no more. I got up early at around 5 am next morning as the train halted at Mambalam station. It was business as usual for the auto drivers. A Friend picked me up near the Doraiswamy subway, while I waited, I noticed that everything was silent but peaceful. Reached Home safely. Switched on the Idiot Box and all the Tamil Channels wore a somber look including the likes of Sun TV. This was my first surprise.

As the day moved on the dawn realized on me. Amma had indeed left behind a legacy that the citizens of Tamil Nadu will treasure for a lifetime and the reasons for it became very clear:

• Her Political Opponents including her arch rivals the DMK paid her glowing tributes. People cutting across party lines queued up at Rajaji Hall to pay homage to Amma where her mortal remains lay in state.
• As far as the eye could see there were inconsolable people, some beating their chests, some shedding tears of sorrow as though their own Amma had left them.
• In spite of all the sorrow people poured their heart out in a very orderly fashion. No instance of any violence was reported from anywhere across the state
• The Armed Forces and The Police had worked in unison to ensure that peace prevailed in the state and particularly in Chennai, so that the people came and offered their last homage to a very dear departed leader in a orderly and peaceful fashion.
• I realized that here was a leader who had worked on peace and discipline in a silent revolutionary manner that when the time came for her to depart, the city stood and paid glowing tributes in a befitting manner- a peaceful way. She had indeed built Tamil Nadu into a safe haven for its citizens.

May your soul rest in peace Amma. You will be missed.