BENGALURU: Late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s association with the city dates back to the 1950s when she studied in Bishop Cotton Girls’ School from standard 1 to 4.
The school still remembers her every year on her birthday with the school authorities distributing sweets to children.
Another person who remembers Jaya with a lot of adulation is Bader Sayeed, a former MLA from Tamil Nadu, a lawyer and an activist. She knew Jaya in Bishop Cotton’s Girls’ School and was two years her senior. Though they weren’t in touch after Jaya left the school, politics brought them together after many years when they met at a common friend’s house. In fact, it was Amma who asked Sayeed to take over the reins of the minority commission in Tamil Nadu.
“It was my luck that she took a liking to me, gave me those posts and reposed faith in me, of which I’m very proud of.” Sayeed added that Amma went with her even though many weren’t happy with this decision on account of her being a woman. Sayeed was elected in the MP elections and won maximum votes in 2004, although the party lost. “She was so happy with my success. She told me that she was behind me and I should just do my job.”
Sayeed still remembers about her illustrious junior. “She was a highly intelligent, witty girl and was the outstanding student of her batch. I think she would have loved to study further and do so many other things but she couldn’t fulfil those ambitions. We lost a great soul. She was dear to me.”
School mourns her death
Though Jaya did not visit Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, she kept in touch with the management. Lavanya Mitran, principal of the school, said she had received official communication from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s office to attend the last two swearing-in ceremonies of Jayalalithaa as the CM. “I feel that the people of Tamil Nadu have lost an iconic leader,” she said. The school paid tributes to Amma in the morning assembly on Tuesday by way of special prayers and observed a minute’s silence. A condolence meeting has been organised at 2pm on Wednesday which will be attended by the staff and the alumni.