Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXVI No. 18, January 1-15, 2017
Roads that remember memorable women
– Archana Venkatesh
Recalling J J Road in Alwarpet
Where is J.J. Road?
J J Road cuts across Kasturi Rangan Road in Alwarpet. There are many other streets in Chen-nai named after J Jaya-lalithaa, as well as a J J Nagar.
Who was Jayalalithaa?
Jayalalithaa was an actor and then a politician (four times Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu). She was born in Mysore in 1948 to Jayram and Sandhya. She studied in Bishop Cotton’s Girls’ High School in Bangalore, and Presentation Convent, Church Park, in Chennai.
Jayalalithaa made her acting debut in a Kannada film, and rose quickly in the industry. She did 28 films with the superstar of the age, M.G. Rama-chandran.
Influenced by her contact with MGR, she joined the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) in 1982 as Propaganda Secretary. Very soon, she took a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
After MGR’s death, the party split into two factions, headed by MGR’s wife Janaki and Jayalali-thaa respectively. Jaya-lalithaa prevailed and went on the become Leader of the Opposition in 1989.
Her first stint as Chief Minister came in 1991, when she was elected to form a coalition government. She has the distinction of being the first elected woman Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She lost in the 1996 elections, but returned to power in 2002. After a loss in the subsequent 2006 elections, she won again in 2011 and yet again in 2015.
As with many politicians, her career was coloured with controversy. But there were significant contributions to social welfare, such as the Cradle Baby Scheme, the introduction of All-Women Police Stations and the numerous Amma facilities that offered people-friendly prices.
Jayalalitha was an accomplished dancer, Carnatic singer as well as a proficient linguist. She was fluent in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and English. She was an avid reader and had an extensive library. She was awarded many honorary -degrees.
