CHENNAI: A book recounting former chief minister M G Ramachandran’s critical phase in hospital till the time of his demise, was launched at a function here on Thursday. The book ‘Critical Years of an Immortal Legend’ in Tamil and English, was authored by Dr H V Hande, who was closely associated with the treatment given to MGR in his critical phase.
Recalling his motivation to write the book, Dr Hande, who was the Health Minister in MGR cabinet and played a significant role in the treatment provided said that though he has worked closely with a lot of leaders in the past, MGR had been his source of inspiration in every aspect of his life.
“During his time of treatment, I had a vague idea of recording my memories with him and kept noting down the instances I remembered. The ‘Eureka’ moment came in during an event I attended at Kuala Lumpur, many years after his demise, where I delivered a speech about Puratchi Thalaivar and all my colleagues and audience urged me to bring it out in the form of a book,” recalls Dr Hande, who was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Park Town constituency as a Swatantra party candidate in 1967 and 1971 elections.
The book narrates MGR’s critical period and what transpired during the phase and the happenings of the State. Also present on the occasion were D Jayakumar, Fisheries Minister, veteran actress Latha, former minister C Ponnayan, JCD Prabhakar and Nalli Kuppuswami.