THE SISTER SPEAKS

V.K. Sasikala has had a ringside view of Tamil Nadu politics, thanks to her decades-long friendship with former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. As she steps out of the shadows to dive into active politics, she remembers her friend, sister and guide

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

Tamil Nadu is under total lockdown. The towering steel gate of a swanky bungalow on Habibullah Road in Chennai’s T. Nagar is closed. A security guard checks my name against a list and lets me in. An assistant calls the lady of the house on the intercom and informs her about my arrival. On cue, the wooden door opens, and I am ushered in. Portraits of former chief ministers M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa adorn the walls of the small visitors’ room. I take a seat on the long, brown sofa, and in no time, a steaming mug of strong filter coffee is served.

As I set the empty mug down on the glass coffee table, in comes V.K. Sasikala, clad in an all-grey salwar suit. “Vanakkam (greetings),” she says, her hands folded. Even though the mask covers her smile, I can see it in her eyes. Sasikala was Jayalalithaa’s confidante, staying by her side in politics and life. Their friendship weathered many a storm. Everyone thought that she would fade into oblivion post the developments following Jayalalithaa’s death on December 5, 2016, including her 2017 conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

On her release from the Bengaluru prison this January, she had announced a step back from politics. But now, Sasikala, who has been well-versed with the internal politics of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for more than 33 years, is set to make a comeback—all to keep her friend’s legacy alive. And, it is to document this friendship between the two—once the most powerful women in Tamil Nadu politics—that I have been waiting to meet Sasikala for years.