Plague brings in its wake devastation and
disturbance in the lives of those affected. When this scourge struck Coimbatore in the
early 40s many perished and many more were evacuated to safer places. Sellamuthu Gounder
and his family moved to Erode which though meant initial disturbance sparked off certain
incidents which had enduring and tremendous bearing on Chezian’s future life and
personality. One was his constant exposure to the great rationalist E.V. Ramasamy Naicker
who was a good friend and a neighbour of his father. The other one was his household
playing host to C.N. Annadurai when he had come to Erode for Nataka Kalai Mandram
festival. Brushing with these two stalwarts, then of justice party, soon to launch the
epochal Dravidar Kazhagam left indelible impression in the tender psyche and
personality of Chezian which saw him bloom in the peak of his youth before turning twenty
as the first district joint secretary of Dravida Kazhagam when he was bearly 16 and
later on as the first district secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in his 19th
year (C.N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi formed DMK as a result of difference of views with
EVR). During his college days in Government Arts College, Coimbatore, where he graduated,
in the early and mid fifties he mellowed into a fine orator not only by participating in
inter-collegiate functions but also in political platforms. He bagged the gold medal
for the best writer among all colleges in the Madras University numbering forty. The
second best orator was Janab Abdul Samad who was later on to become the leader of the
Muslim league. Chezian as a college student had courted arrest many a times and on quite
few occasions he was set free just for the duration of his exams. The labour wing of DMK
was founded by him in 1954.
That the pen is mightier than the sword can hardly be more true than in
the instances of C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi who had whipped up near frenzy among
their readers by their thought provoking writings. This saw a new and effective dimension
when they wrote successful scripts for films. While this promoted popularity by leaps and
bounds for the party and for themselves, there was a stigma in the making for the party
that it was a political party of denizens of cinema (in crude tamil Koothadi
Koottam).
Chezian felt, like a true thinker and reformist that this kind of aura was inimical to
purposeful pursuits by the party. He was vocal in his criticism of "too much cinema
in the system" not being helpful for the health of the party. Peculiarly for someone
who very nearly abhorred cinemas, he was soon to make a name in film production.
C.N.
Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi successfully persuaded him to think of film making as an
avocation as his meagre land holdings and political career will not keep the wolf at bay
(what more, in not too distant a future he was to be the principal aid more than a mere
privy to M.G. Ramachandran, the matinee idol becoming Chief Minister of TamilNadu –
perhaps the first in the history of stars making it to state affairs.
Some of the notable movies from his stable of near forty so far
since 1959 are Ootty Varai Uravu (Sivaji Ganesan), Sumai Thaangi (Gemini
Ganesan), Uzhaikum Karangal (MGR), Kumari Kottam (Jayalalitha), Circus Ramudu
(N.T. Rama Rao). It is indeed a distinction of sorts that all the three Chief ministers of
TamilNadu and Andhra Pradesh have worked under his banner. As honorary secretary of the
Madras film chambers comprising movie makers from all the southern states, he had
contributed a lot in sorting out squabbles which constantly arose based on language
issues.
The very movies which were almost the mainstay for DMK as a motivating
and mobilizing force from the point of view of men and money proved to be the bone of
contention in the ego clash between Karunanidhi and MGR ultimately resulting in MGR
leaving the DMK camp to start a party of his own ADMK. And Chezian was one of the founding
fathers of this new party. Despite the proximity between him and MGR, Chezian never
reneged from sticking to his views even when it clashed with those of MGR. One of the
famous areas of friction was the move on the part of MGR to make his party men tattoo
their forearm with the two leaves symbol to identify his party cadre and also to ensure
their unswerving allegiance. This somehow struck Chezian, though not a maverick himself,
as something barbaric and parted company having made his views clear. This was just before
MGR came to power through a phenomenal success at the elections. Subsequently MGR relented
and gave up the tatooing exercise. Chezian came back to the ADMK fold.
Topically today when Sonia Gandhi’s nationality / nativity is
sought to be highlighted as a hurdle for Prime Ministership, the DMK minus MGR in the
early days of formation of ADMK had projected similarly the question of MGR being a
Malayalee. Chezian a post graduate in Socialogy and Public Administration, burnt midnight
oil to bring out virtually a thesis to prove that MGR was from mannadiar stock in
TamilNadu which migrated to Kerala. This not only silenced the critics but also butterssed
the already popular MGR to be more acceptable to the people at large.
MGR as CM made Chezian chairman of the State Planning Commission with
cabinet minister rank which is unique, since normally the Chief Ministers held this
important portfolio. MGR was guided in this by no less a personality than Ashok Metha who
had come to TamilNadu heading a committee comprising members like M.S. Sivaraman (ICS) and
was why impressed by Chezian's deposition on field of ADMK. (ICS) and others to appraise
the need for plan outlays in different states, as he was impressed by Chezian's deposition
on behalf of the ADMK.
Pushing seventy, he is still active in public service though out of
ADMK and he has now espoused the cause of non-dalits as president of Tamil Nadu Federation
of Backward Class to bring about a reservationless society. He is strong in his views in
feeling that enough is enough with reference to reservation, which according to him, was
to have been a short duration experiment of ten years as per the assurance given by
Jawaharlal Nehru to Ambedkar but somehow got an extended lease.
That is Kovai Chezian, former MLA (the prefix Kovai as was the wont
with politicians who have arrived refers to the place where he is from) the multi-faceted
personality who is as much known for his forthrightness as for his flamboyance.
Sellamuthu Gounder though a powerful functionary as Secretary,
District Board, Coimbatore was a God fearing, simple and a humble man. His joy knew no
bounds when he was blessed with a son whom he named Murugesan after Lord Muruga of
Palani.
That was in the year 1930. He was determined to give him a good education which he
believed was so essential to make him a useful and good citizen. All the same he was not
fanciful of sending him outstation to big towns like Coimbatore for scholastic pursuit to
begin with. Murugesan had his primary education in Darapuram, Kangeyam and much later in
Coimbatore in the reputed St. Micheal’s High School. That was in the year 1943. That
was when the nation at large saw signs of British Raj coming to a close, thanks to a
common found effort called Nationalistic Movement irrespective of caste, creed and
language pounding incessantly at the very foundation of the Raj of 200 year plus standing.
With freedom just few years away certain groups which were part of the nationalistic
movement thought it was time action plans were initiated for local issues like disparity
among different communities, etc. This was the genesis of the Justice Party in whose
ranks many a later day Dravidian leaders like E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, C.N. Annadurai were
active. Murugesan, hardly 13-year-old as a student in the second form, was drawn in this
vortex of social and political whirlpool and became an active member of the youth wing of
justice party. Change like charity began at home. He changed his name to the unalloyed
Tamil – Chezian much to the dismay of his pious father who almost disinherited him.