CHENNAI: It could have been just another dull day with barely any guests. But, on Tuesday, the Kamaraj Memorial House on Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar saw a sea of visitors celebrating the 112th birth anniversary of former chief minister K Kamaraj.
The register book at the venue showed that the number of guests on Tuesday alone was over five times the usual number on any other given day.
Members of various political parties and Nadar welfare associations gathered for the celebrations that began with the garlanding of Kamaraj’s statue followed by bursting of crackers that disrupted traffic movement on the busy stretch. They also cut a big cake and distributed sweets and lunch.
“Usually we see about 50 visitors a day. But the house was closed for public for the past one week due to PWD work here,” said a worker at the office who handles the visitors book.
Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, Thangabalu, G K Vasan, Kumari Ananthan and former MLA Yesodha visited the memorial, according to the entry in the visitor’s book. A separate register opened on Tuesday showed there were close to 250 visitors as on Tuesday afternoon.
“This is the 18th year, I am visiting the memorial house on our leader Kamaraj’s birthday. I grew up eating the mid day meal he introduced at schools. He is not only a great leader, but also a friend of the poor. Today, I sang a song dedicated to him,” said septuagenarian Valluva Vattapu from Kodungaiyur.
Many caste groups from various corners of the city also joined the celebrations, visiting the house and clicking photographs inside the house, where the late leader was once a tenant even during his regime as a chief minister. After his death, the house was purchased by the government and converted into a memorial.
“My father is a Kamaraj follower. I have been visiting this house since I was in class nine. But what is worrying now is that people no more see him as a national leader. Instead, they associate him with his caste. Even my husband has become such a fanatic that he has registered our son’s name along with the name of our caste. We always have an argument over caste and about following Kamaraj’s principles,” said a worried Parameshwari, who was part of a Nadar association from Mangadu.
The birth anniversary could have been a reason for 63 primary class students from Karnataka Sangha Nursery and Primary School, who were on a field trip, to visit the memorial. “We saw photographs and lots of books in the library. We were told he is a national leader,” said Gowri, a class three student. However, a teacher worried that their students wouldn’t be able to spend enough time in the house due to visits by several political leaders and the crowd of party workers around them.