A River of Fire
“It (political life) is a river of fire where the script is full of ingratitude, betrayal and conspiracy,” Jayalalitha said in a message to her cadres on the eve of the 40 years of AIADMK, which was founded by MGR on October 17, 1972. The function for the event was like a carnival with the usual MGR look-alikes and some cadre with their faces painted with the two leaves symbol of the party and even one man with a portrait of amma painted on his stomach! Amma came for a few minutes, hoisted the flag, distributed sweets and went away. From her message, one could tell that she had spent the first part of her life spouting melodramatic dialogue. But you could also tell that she has spent the second part of her life in the rough and tumble of politics— she became a member of the AIADMK in 1982— and has come out on top, becoming the CM thrice ( technically, four times). How did she do that? Her answer was that she was focused on fulfilling her responsibilities without fear.