In the 42 years , that I have known Dr M Karunanidhi there are many things that have got etched in mind about a man whose politics drove Tamilnadu for over six decades. Many of my school mates and me would watch Dr M Karunanidhi  with intense curiosity . I began watching him since 1976 . The fact that the DAV school and the Gopalapuram residence of Kalaignar were a mere stone’s throw away added to the close view of the Kalaignar.

The police bandobast , checkposts , moving in and moving out of the convoys from his residence and the occasional gathering of political activists at his residence gave me the first sense of what being in power meant. It was Emergency then  and political activity was at peak.  The excitement it triggered would attract many of us to just hang around his house in free time to see the powerful politician from a distance.  Understanding politics was a very far off thing, understanding the Dravidian ideology that he preached was also something that most of us didn’t understand initially. The anti – Hindi stance never got diverted to anti- North Indian sentiment. This is something that gave a sense of belonging to Madras ( Chennai now). The influence he wielded  in the political arena was visible from the fact that leaders from various states would visit him very often to seek his advice. Not much of what was happening made sense then, but as the routine continued and the years passed by, political understanding started sinking in. Even without being in power , his influence was palpable. More Like our school timetable , we soon learnt the Time table that Kalaignar karunanidhi followed and continued to follow for decades . The routine most often was morning drive from his Gopalapuram residence to the DMK headquarters on Anna Salai ( Mont Road) where he  wrote the daily column for his newspaper Murasoli .  Finishing the same and getting updates on the party from functionaries he would return from the party office to have lunch.

The lunch siesta was an important part of his daily routine , party cadres followed the same with discipline and never disturbed him even in midst of the biggest political storms that he weathered .  Following the siesta , the routine drive back to the party office mostly coincided with the school break .

Mere catching a glimpse of him with an occasional smile or wave to the school kids was what many of us waited for. This routine of getting glimpse and trying to understand his style of politics continued till 1982for me . With every development , some more understanding of the many faces of the legendary leader sunk in. The colourful offset posters of the parties and the occasional movie posters for which Kalaignar had lent his script would adorn the walls of Gopalapuram . Despite never having spoken to him in the six years , the charisma of the man , his philosophy and ideology grew on me. The most impressive element about his personality that caught our fancy was his support to the Tamil and Eelam cause. His championing the Eelam cause drew a lot of us to make efforts to understand what the Eelam struggle was all about. I still vividly recall how the Richie Rich and Dennis the Menace stickers on the school notebook covers got replaced by the Velupulli Prabhakarn’s military fatigue stickers and posters that one could buy outside the Wellington theatre on Mount Road. The flirting with Eelam cause and Karunanidhi’s ideology continued for me till 1982  the when I passed out of  the school and moved to Delhi. While he championed the Eelam cause , he never let his support to the cause breach Indian interests.

It was exactly a week after the death of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that I returned to Chennai in 1991. The difference this time was that while Kalaignar was still the centre of political activity , but the shadow of the death of the former Prime Minister had subdued the sentiments. His role in encouraging LTTE had become a question mark , luckily though for him the Jain Commission absolved him of any such allegations. Discussions on the Tamil cause were now in hushed tones and whispers. The death cost the DMK the ensuing election and saw the emergence of J Jayalalithaa in the political centrestage. The period that ensued was the most challenging one for Karunanidhi as the supremacy that he enjoyed was suddenly challenged by ‘Amma’. He weathered the five year political onslaught on him and his family. The Gopalapuram house usually wore a deserted look , the visitors were fewer , and the exit of Vai Ko ( V Gopalaswamy) from the DMK weakened the will of the man who ruled Tamil hearts.  Not the one to give up easily , karunanidhi used the period to focus on his ‘Murasoli’ newspaper . The launch of the Sun TV network came as a boon for Kalaaignar , as apart from his editorial in ‘Murasoli’ the cadre could rely on the prime time Sun TV news bulletin at 8 pm where his daily byte became a big communication tool. The man whose knowledge of the power of mass media , films and television made him reach his cadre on a daily basis.

This energy brought him back to power , as the transition  in 1996 saw Karunanidhi , bounce back to power. The return to power brought him to political limelight. The  instability at the centre saw the Kalaignar emerge as a key force. One who never spoke anything but tamil in public , the job of the likes of me was indeed challenging to get him to speak a few words. The endless wait at Gopalapuram residence or the Anna Arivalyam for a sound byte for news became a routine . In the period of 1998-1999 when political instability wasat peak , every word of the kalaignar would see the party leaders in action. His trusted aide  and relative Murasoli Maran kept the Tamilnadu interests protected.

His advisors , and some supporters however disagreed with him in the spree of cases that his government filed against former chief minister J Jayalaithaa , but the conflict dominated the political arena in the state as over 43 cases were filed against Jayalalithaa  by the DMK government.  The move didn’t help Karunanidhi politically , as the 2001 election saw the return of  Jayalalithaa on a sympathy wave , which many had failed to see coming.

What followed there after was a dark chapter in Tamilnadu politics. I still vividly recall the moment news of the midnight arrest of Karunanidhi broke in , staying close to the house it gave me an opportunity to see the developments of the night first hand. While Kalaignar , T R Balu and others were picked up in the middle of the night , his son Stalin and many others managed to stay out till next day. The midnight arrest in which many media persons covering the arrest drama were also picked up the police , created an outrage across the nation. Arresting a man of the state of Karunanidhi  was an ill advised move , but the resilience that he put up  pepped the cadre to continue the political fight.

Karunanidhi , the man who saw the political swings of unmatched proportion will be remembered for building the DMK and helping it grow in strength. While political opponents  may not have succeeded in pulling him down , it was the tussles in his family, which continued to be a source of worry for him. Thee fear of what after him , haunted him for the last severl decades as the conflicts between his sone , Stalin and Azhagiri or later between Marans ad Stalin , or Stalin and Kanimozhi were challenges he faced at home.

The effort to end the succession path by making M K Stalin , his heir apparent resolved the conflict to some extent.  One thing that many of us journalists remember vividly is his one-liners and the ability to duck tough questions . Even while the fact that he mocked my Tamil diction on a few occasions, the persistence continued. His deftness in handling media is something that will be recalled for a while . His contribution to the Tamil language and the  Tamil literature can never be forgotten .

Gopalapuram  will not be the same, as the fact and the hangers on will not be able to catch of the Grand Old man with the Yellow shawl hereon

(The author is Vijay Grover , Consulting Editor Policy Pulse and Former Editor -South of NewsX and Zee News)