Hazare has Chennaiites eating out of his hands

CHENNAI: There were no biriyani packets, no little quarter bottles of booze and no trucks ferrying the crowd. It was apparent that most of those in the crowd had never been to a public meeting before. But they had come to see for themselves, the man who now stands at the forefront of the articulation of national anger with the corruption-addled system. They came, they saw and they were conquered. Anna Hazare charmed the city from a stage at the historic Pachaiyappa’s College. The 9,000-strong crowd and its enthusiasm also served as a conclusive snub to allegations that Anna held little or no sway in Chennai.What was different from the many public meetings that are held was the fact that the crowd of around 9,000 stayed till the end, listened to the speakers and responded vociferously to every line that Anna spoke. So taken they were that they brought Anna’s speech to a grinding halt, irate over the absence of a Tamil translation. He was allowed to resume speaking only when a volunteer of India Against Corruption’s Chennai wing stepped up to translate Anna’s speech line by line.The age of the audience ranged wildly from four to 90 and beyond. It would also be safe to say people from all walks of life attended the event. This reporter spoke to two families of narikuravas, who said they had come to lodge their complaints against corrupt officials who were denying them their dues.The air was festive, as the entire path from the gate of the Pachaiyappa’s College to the ground where the meeting was taking place was lined with groundnut and murukku sellers and groups handing out badam milk for free. Also in attendance on the side of the pathway was a bookseller peddling Tamil versions of books on Anna Hazare.The message was clear at the end, with the crowd chanting, “Anna Hazare, hum tumhare saath hain!”