Born as Dakshinamurthy Muthuvel on June 3rd, 1924, a valiant, almost centurion, M. Karunanidhi has led a life up till now that is bound to leave behind a legacy in the forthcoming years. He, with quite a keen eye and interest, took part actively in his school's literary, dramatics and cultural activities - a connoisseur of art, storytelling and drama and the inclination towards it developed at a very tender age.
At 14, he entered politics, with the speech by Mr. Azhagiriswamy of the Justice Party providing him with a newfound vigour and energy. He gathered a group of youths and started a Newspaper, Maanavar Nesan. This youth group later multiplied into many as he formed Tamilnadu Tamil Maanavar Mandram, which identifies as the first student party with Dravidian ideologies.
At 20, he joined Jupiter Pictures as a screenwriter and shook the industry with his powerful ideologies echoing through screen, the actors making immense efforts to bring forth his ideas. After the success of Parasakthi, there was no stopping. In fact, ace actor M. R. Radha, appreciating his daring thoughts christened him as Kalaignar.
Karunanidhi's first breakthrough was his daring stand in the imposition of Hindi in Tamilnadu. With his fierce and commanding oratorical skills, he voiced his views very strongly on changing of a town's name - from Kallakkudi to Dalmiyapuram. He not only voiced his views, but also gathered a group of people and lay down on the train track, blocking the trains as a sign of protest. The police intervention resulted in the death of two and Karunanidhi was arrested.
At 33, in 1957, he won his first election - the Kulithalai seat. After the passing of C. N. Annadurai in 1969, he became a force to reckon with. In a span of 42 years (1969 - 2011), he held the office of Chief Minister for five terms.
Though an intellectual and powerful in his own right, controversies had been his close personal friend. Everything he said and portrayed was debated upon, starting from Ram Setu remarks on Sethusamuthram controversy, allegations that he has ties with LTTE, and more recently 2G scams.
Yet, through all the controversies, he didn't stop. He taught people a major life lesson - do not deter if you fall. The deeper you fall, the stronger you rise.
