CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin is expected to attend the first event to take place at the rejuvenated Valluvar Kottam, renovated and modernised at `80 crore, on June 21. Persons with disabilities will be thanking the CM for passing legislation ensuring their representation in all local bodies during the event.
The monument is not only an iconic landmark of Chennai today but also holds a significant place in the state’s political history.
DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said, “It was our leader Kalaignar M Karunanidhi who himself drew the basic design of how Valluvar Kottam should look, after extensive consultation with Tamil scholars. After our party got re-elected to power in 1971, it became one of his ambitious projects. He laid the foundation stone and personally oversaw every stage of its construction.”
Amid the Emergency, Karunanidhi’s government had announced a two-day inauguration ceremony for Valluvar Kottam on February 22 and 23, 1976. However, his government was dismissed on January 31 that year.
Eventually, it was announced that the Kottam would be inaugurated by then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on April 15, 1976.
Karunanidhi, who was not invited to the event, addressed his party cadre through a detailed letter published in ‘Murasoli’ on the same day.
Titled ‘Kottam Thirakkapadugirathu. Kuraloviyam Theettapadugirathu’ (The Kottam is being opened. Kuraloviyam is being created), the letter likened the incident to how a mother would feel if she were not allowed to attend her own child’s wedding. Also, the foundation stone he had laid was removed during the inauguration.
Meanwhile, at a DMK public meeting in Chennai’s harbour area in 1977, party cadres set up a stage to replicate Valluvar Kottam. Speaking at the event, Karunanidhi said, “Just as one shows a child the moon’s reflection in a mirror when it wishes to catch the moon, my cadres have recreated the Kottam, a place I have not entered yet.”
After a gap of 13 years, when the DMK won the election and Karunanidhi was set to become CM again in 1989, he chose Valluvar Kottam as the venue for his swearing-in ceremony.
Pozhilan, a Tamil enthusiast who visited the venue, said, “Valluvar Kottam was neglected during the 10 years of the AIADMK regime. Now that it has been thoroughly renovated, it makes us happy. We are eager to use the facility to promote and host Tirukkural-related activities.”
Features of the renovated venue
The stone chariot with the Tiruvalluvar statue has been revamped
Fully AC ground floor hall with a seating capacity of 1,550
Digital screens and audio systems displaying the Tirukkural
Store selling 133 types of items related to the Tirukkural
133 plates mounted on pillars on the first floor with inscriptions and illustrations for each of the 133 chapters in the Tirukkural