CHRONICLE OF A DEATH RETOLD

CHRONICLE OF A DEATH RETOLD - They prayed for 75 days and mourned the rest

It isn't unusual for 36-year-old autorick shaw driver S J Sasiku mar to see ambulances zoom past his stand on Greams Road. But exactly a year ago, the shrill siren of the ambulance and two SUVs that tailed the emergency vehicle kindled his curiosity .

He saw former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, motionless on a stretcher, being wheeled into the hospital.

In the next 10 minutes, everything in the neighbourhood changed. Several hundred policemen were posted on the narrow lane and all 37 autorickshaw drivers were asked to vacate the area.They weren't allowed to return until everything was over, 75 days later. “Each of us lost at least `800 a day. Our earnings came from ferrying patients to and from the hospital. We had no alternate autorickshaw stand and were not allowed to park in other stands in the area,“ Sasikumar recounted.

The road was barricaded, yet thousands of AIADMK wo rke r s t h ro n g e d t h e streets. Journalists and photographers stood outside the gates to record every medical bulletin, catch a glimpse of the CM's associates and to get a byte out of state and national leaders.

Inside the hospi tal, the staff, including doctors, had to show their identity cards, and patients had to produce app o i n tme n t details. They also had to walk the nearly half-a-kilometre stretch to the hospital as no vehicle was allowed to enter the lane for the first few days. For residents too there was a regular check. “We had to show Aadhaar or voter cards to return home,“ said C V Raman of Ambedkar Nagar. The otherwise bustling roadside eateries did not serve anything beyond breakfast for several weeks. “Breakfast business was not affected be cause roads weren't crowded at that time. But by lunch though there were hun dreds of people and none of them ate at our shops. Food, which includ ed biryani, was sponF sored by AI ADMK men,“ recalled P Mu thuraj, who has been run ning an eatery for more than 25 years. In November, with the news of the CM's recovery the scenes outside were of celebration. Partymen distributed sweets, thanksgiving pujas were conducted and the atmosphere of gloom of more than month seemed to dissipate.

It was at this time, 48-year old R Alli's kuzhi paniyaram business thrived, and she made `2,000 every day . “I am not an AIADMK member but I liked `Amma'. Most of my family members are beneficiaries of the state health insurance scheme. I did pray for her recovery ,“ she said.

Like her, autorickshaw driver G Sukumar believed prayers would help Jayalalithaa recover. He ferried partymen and patients to and from the hospital for free. “Instead of the fare, I asked each of them to pray for ` Amma'. I thought if she recovers, she would take care of me and the state,“ he said.

Many party workers kept a ceaseless vigil hoping their leader, who fought bitter political enemies, would fight her illness too. But that was not to be.

On Thursday , a year later, Sukumar looks visibly stressed, unable to recover from the losses he incurred, he runs a roadside garment shop. For some, his financial instability could seem to be a reflection of the state of flux Tamil Nadu is in.