Cries of "Amma" rent the air as a sea of humanity thronged the Rajaji Hall grounds on Tuesday to pay their last respects to AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, whose body lay in state in Chennai where normal life virtually came to a grinding halt.
Jayalalithaa's demise is seen as a personal loss for the 59-year-old Sasikala who was probably one of the few occupants of the Chief Minister's Veda Nilayam residence at Poes Garden besides assistants and officials.
Rajaji, an ardent follower of Gandhi, was a freedom fighter, scholar, jurist, statesman and the first recipient of the Bharat Ratna along with S Radhakrishnan and C V Raman.
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam hugged Modi emotionally on a couple of occasions.
Fifty years ago today, December 25, 1972, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, one of the titans of India's freedom struggle, passed into the ages. Kalki Krishnamurthy, who penned the Tamil classic Ponniyin Selvan among numerous other novels, describes his first glimpse of the man who would become an august national leader and his cherished role model.
Karunanidhi, 94, died at the Kauvery hospital on Tuesday following prolonged illness.
After an unsavoury courtroom battle, his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark
Many ordinary citizens are drawn to by a sense of history and India's remarkable journey from bondage to freedom which culminated in this monumental building.
Thousands of people hailing 'Puratchi Thalaivi Amma' (Revolutionary Leader Amma) walked with the cortege.
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, mingles with the unceasing flow of people outside Rajaji Hall in Cjhennai, that come for one last look at J Jayalalithaa.
Two devoted J Jayalalithaa followers speak of what the TN chief minister meant to them.
The body was kept at the leader's Gopalapuram residence till 1 am.
OPS has impressed Chennai residents by his astute, on the scene, handling of the Cyclone Vardah aftermath.
'We shall not see the like of Kalaignar again, and our nation is poorer without his wise statesmanship, and his dedication to our country and our people,' she said.
The letters bear address of Jaya's Poes Garden residence.
Reacting to the criticism, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said the government could not initially allot space at the Marina beach for burying the DMK leader due to pending cases against construction of memorials on the famous sands.
AIADMK leaders want Chinamma to succeed Amma as party general secretary, but it is not a done deal yet.
A look at the financials of some of the key companies in the Sasikala clan's business empire.
In the post Jayalalithaa Tamil Nadu, Sasikala is the person to be watched in the coming days, weeks and months, writes R Ramasubramanian.
As a loyalist who would run to her with every little matter, he realises it is time he comes into his own.
Life virtually came to a grinding halt across Tamil Nadu as the state woke up to deserted streets with shops, including eateries, remaining shut in the wake of the demise of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
She faced intense and protracted struggle to eventually head the AIADMK.
Post-Jayalalithaa AIADMK cannot take on the Narendra Modi dispensation like their late charismatic leader did it on several occasions in the past, says R Ramasubramanian.
Ram Nath Kovind is the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader and second Dalit in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'Sasikala definitely has an emotional advantage over the others, but there are very seasoned politicians with a strong support base.' 'For the time being, they may toe her line.'
The deaths of Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi within months of each other neutralises any sympathy factor their parties may hope to gain from. What's more, by removing charismatic leaders from the fray, it also levels the field for others, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Despite the BJP's displeasure over Sasikala's elevation as AIADMK general secretary, the Dravidian party has sent a message to the Modi government that it will not be cowed down, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi hit out at the UPA government for allegedly 'blocking' surgical strikes post 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008.
Should Sasikala seek to follow Jayalalithaa's footsteps in the matter, and if at all she is not disinterested in keeping the twin posts together, the by-election to Jayalalithaa's constituency R K Nagar could be the starting point, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Those days, none of the leaders thought of amassing wealth.' 'All of them wanted to sacrifice their all for the country.' 'There are many who didn't have any money, but sacrificed their lives for the country.' 'There are many who spent their own money and worked for the country.' 'There are many more about whom we do not even know what they had done; they did everything so silently and selflessly.'
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