'Wild' birthday gift for Karunanidhi

Chennai, June 3 (UNI) Among the gifts presented to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi, who turned 84 today, at the party headquarters Anna Arivalayam, an animate thing caught the eye.

As the five-times Chief Minister received well-wishers seated on the dais along with senior ministerial colleagues and Union Minister T R Baalu, a party functionary from Athur town in Salem district walked in with a sturdy looking ram, its horns turned up and sharp.

By his own admission, he had been presenting his leader an animal on every birthday.

''The ram represents ''veeram'' (tenacity and bravery),'' he told newspersons who walked up to him to find out why he had gifted an animal to the DMK chief as a birthday present.

Another party functionary became the cynosure of all eyes when he presented two elephants made of silver, each weighing 85 kg.

''I got them from Jaipur,'' he revealed. A functionary from Thiruvannamalai district presented different varieties of fruits and 'laddus' in the traditional manner to the DMK Chief.

As 'Kalaignar' received hundreds of party cadre who streamed in from different parts of Tamil Nadu and accepted greetings and gifts from them, outside the colourfully decorated 'Anna Arivalayam', resplendent with fluttering DMK party flags, a festive mood was pervaded. Young party cadres also organised drum beats.

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