Jalal Bai, 60, a tailor from Vaniyambadi in Vellore district waits outside Apollo Hospital in Greams Road, where Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa+ is undergoing treatment, from morning till night. This has been his routine for several days now.
“I have left my tailoring business for now. I am waiting here, praying for Amma to get better,” he says, worry writ large on his face.
The 68-year old+ AIADMK general secretary was admitted to Apollo on September 22 with ‘fever and dehydration.’
“At night, I sleep on a corridor at the MLA hostel,” he says. His prized possession is an identity card with a photograph of him standing next to his leader, that says he is a secretary in the party local’s branch.
Suresh Babu, 41, a marketing professional from Madipakkam, works with a private concern. Dressed in formal attire, he says he has been waiting outside the hospital from September 23.
A long-time party member, Babu says his ‘only wish is Amma back in good health.’ Along with few other party workers, he says he has been praying in temples in and around Poes Garden everyday. Asked if being away from office was affecting his work, he said he is ‘trying to balance both.’
“I am in marketing. My physical presence is not required in office. I communicate with clients on phone,” he says.
Several women, like Lily Kalpana, 45, from the party women’s wing, have been camping outside the hospital from the day the CM was admitted.
“I have left my home and come here. This is more important, and I am praying for Amma to recover,” she says. Some supporters travel to Apollo every day, from as far as Arakkonam and Madurantakam, while some have taken up temporary lodging in the city.
Online Source: The Times Of India.
