MK rolls out message on his star birthday

CHENNAI: As celebrations begin for the 89th birthday of DMK chief, M Karunanidhi, and his party cadre gear up to greet him on June 3, there is a nagging question that some are raising: Why did Karunanidhi send across his birthday message to his cadre through his usual ‘Kalignar Kaditham’ in ‘Murasoli’ on May 23 itself.‘I know that you would have showered your birthday wishes on me’, he started the front page column under the headline ‘a self respecting man’s declaration’ (Oru Suyamariyathaikaranin Sulurai), which had the date ‘June 3’ on top. Why should a letter meant for publication on June 3 appear in print on May 23 or why should it be written so early? Was it a mistake on the part of the newspaper’s editorial team that broke an embargo? With the lines in the letter reflecting a birthday boy’s celebratory mood and his undying Dravidian fervour - it refers to ‘path of Periyar’ and ‘words of C N Annadurai’ - it looks that the column appeared on the right day.If you are puzzled, the answer perhaps lies in the pages of the Hindu almanac (panchangam), which is an anathema for rationalists. May 22 and 23 were dates that fell under the astrological star, ‘Mirugaseerisham’, which happens to be the birth star of Karunanidhi.Even if Karunanidhi does not believe in astrology, which is a superstition for followers of Periyar, all horoscopes of him, charted by others of course and uploaded in the internet, confirm ‘Mirugaseerisham’ as the DMK leader’s birth star.So did he, like all those who strictly follow the Hindu religious tradition and go by the astrological calender do, celebrate his ‘star birthday’, as they call it?Normally, the ‘star birthday’ is observed in a solemn way with religious rituals and prayers to God, while the birthay, according to the Gregorian calender, is a day for partying and celebrations. If we had to presume that the staunch follower of Periyar would not do something like that, then the birthday message was carried mistakenly, 10 days in advance. Of course, Karunanidhi, too, had been too eager to convey his wishes and gratitude, as ‘a self respecting man’, much ahead of him cadre greeting him actually.