Jaya is laid to rest next to MGR grave

With the sunset as the backdrop and amid the sound of bugles, AIADMK leader and four-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa's coffin was lowered into a vault in the MGR memorial complex on the Marina beach around 6 pm on Tuesday. Jayalalithaa, who was in hospital from September 22, suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday. When attempts to resuscitate her failed, she was put on life support, but her condition continued to deteriorate. She was declared dead on Monday night.
Her body, draped in a green and red Kanjeevaram sari, lay in state from 5 am at Rajaji Hall. On December 24, 1987, Jayalalithaa had astounded mourners on the steps of the same hall when she fought exhaustion and swallowed her pride as she stood vigil by the body of her mentor and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran for two days despite efforts by MGR's family to push her away. Almost 30 years later, she returned to where she once stood as a protégé, this time as a leader with a rich political legacy and a battalion of followers, mostly women.
Inconsolable women beat their chests or lay on the road. Some fainted of dehydration and exhaustion. As the crowd surged, trying to catch a glimpse of their leader from afar, police had to use force.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers, Congress vice-president Ra hul Gandhi, civil servants and members of the film fraternity were among those who paid homage.
While her close aide Sasikalaa Natarajan and her family stood close to the body, MLAs sat on the steps leading to the hall. Despite the sombre mood, there were loud cheers when celebrities like Rajinikanth arrived.
By 4 pm, police and army personnel started preparing for the nearly 2 km walk to the Marina beach. As the casket was moved to a flower-decked gun carriage, which was flown in from New Delhi, the crowd grew quiet. When the procession moved through the swarm of people, chants of “Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (revolutionary leader, mother)“ bade her farewell.
It took close to an hour for the cortege to reach the MGR memorial. Barricades and human chains formed by policemen didn't suffice. Some who tried to get close to the procession were lathicharged. People waved flags and scaled walls and buildings along the route to catch a glimpse of their leader. Some refused to believe she had died and cried `Long Live Puratchi Thalaivi'.
Her family didn't play a major role in the funeral rites. It was her close aide of 30 years Sasikalaa who took charge, while Jayalalithaa's nephew Deepak Jayakumar followed. Like her predecessors Periyar E V Ramasamy, C N Annadurai and MGR, Jayalalithaa was not cremated. However, some Vaishnavite rituals, including dropping sandalwood pieces and sprinkling water and rose petals, were followed.Prior to this, the Tricolor on her body was folded by Armymen and handed over to Sasikalaa.
Before the sandalwood casket inscribed with the words Puratchi Thalaivi Selvi J Jayalalithaa was lowered into the ground around 6pm, several leaders, including TN governor Vidyasagar Rao, CM O Panneerselvam, Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Pon Radhakrishnan and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad paid tributes. As her body was laid to rest, barely 100m from the grave of MGR, an uncertain silence descended on the crowd at Marina beach.