Tamil Nadu leaders and their canine friends

Though they may be rivals in politics, many politicians share a common love

Interviewing politicians can be tricky. Sometimes, they provide answers that help us understand their motivations, opinions on controversial issues, and future plans, but sometimes they can be abrasive, evasive, or maintain a stony silence. Interviewing them again and again helps to break the ice and establish a relationship. Conversations then tend to throw up facets of their personality that the public seldom gets to see. In the case of Tamil Nadu’s politicians, I realised that I had something in common with many of them: a love for dogs. And this would often figure in our conversations.

When Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK) founder and actor Vijayakant, or ‘Captain’ as he is popularly called, died recently, I was reminded of this fact. Vijayakant was an animal lover. There are various breeds of dogs at the DMDK’s party headquarters. I recall seeing an Afghan Hound, a German Shepherd, a Dobermann, a Husky, and a Great Dane. They are all now maintained by his son, Vijay Prabhakaran, who inherited his love for dogs from his father.

Vijayakant was, in fact, so attached to his dogs that he once cancelled a meeting of party MLAs when Lucky, his bull mastiff, was not keeping well. Vijayakant was then the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Vijayakant took his dogs to the veterinarian Chockalingam. When I spoke to Chockalingam after the actor-turned-politician’s death, he told me that even when Vijayakant was not well, he would urge the vet to visit his calves and give them vaccination shots. He would always feed his cow a carrot in the morning before leaving home. And on returning home, he would first visit his dogs.

In 1998, there was a rumour that Jayalaithaa, who was Chief Minister then, had had a disagreement with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when she left a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Though there was truth in it (she subsequently withdrew support to the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a move that eventually brought down the government), she left that particular meeting halfway because Julie, her favourite Spitz, had died. The death of Julie affected her so much that Jayalalithaa refused to keep dogs after that. When she was admitted in Apollo hospital on an earlier occasion, Julie was taken in a basket to the hospital to be with the All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader.

Though her arch-rival in politics, former Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader M. Karunanidhi shared Jayalalithaa’s love for dogs. Karunanidhi’s dogs included Khanna, a Lhasa Apso; Singham, a pug; and Blackie, a Dachshund, his blue-eyed dog who would apparently be given whatever he ate. He even turned vegetarian for two years after Blackie’s death. He would treat his dogs like his children and speak to them often. A photo of Karunanidhi posing with Khanna hangs on the wall of his Gopalapuram residence along with the photos of political leaders.

His love did not stop with the dogs at home. When he was active, Karunanidhi would go to Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters, for his morning walks. There, he befriended a street dog, which would accompany him on his walks. Karunanidhi became so attached to the dog that he even spoke about the canine in a few public meetings.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko, who would enthrall his audience with his knowledge of world history, also had a dog he loved — a Rajapalayam called Peritas. Once, he asked me whether I had heard the name Peritas. When I said I had not, he explained that Peritas was the favourite dog of Alexander the Great and even accompanied him during his military conquests.