Critical in the same hospital, Cho didn't know of Jayalalithaa's death

Despite being in the same hospital, they never met. The floor on which Jayalalithaa was treated was off limits to everyone including her dear friend Cho.

Updated: Wednesday, December 7, 2016, 13:48 [IST]

Despite being in the same hospital, Cho Ramaswamy wasn't aware of Jayalalithaa's death. On Saturday he complained of Chest pain and was moved to the ICU. On Sunday, Jayalalithaa suffered a massive cardiac arrest and shifted to the CCU. She passed away on Monday and he a little after a day. Both died of cardiac arrest.

Cho Ramaswamy was admitted to the Apollo hospital on November 29 for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, weeks after Jayalalithaa was admitted for dehydration and fever. Despite being in the same hospital, they never met. The floor on which Jayalalithaa was treated was off limits to everyone including her dear friend Cho.

Jayalalithaa had visited a hospitalised Cho in 2015, a courtesy she extended to no other journalist. The visit spoke volumes of the relationship they shared. Cho was a colleague, critic, guide and advisor to Jayalalithaa. With Cho in the ICU when Jayalalithaa passed away, he didn't have the opportunity to even hear of her death. He quietly followed in his friend's footsteps a little more than a day after her death.

[Also Read: Come back, I need a friend: Jayalalithaa had told Cho Ramaswamy]

Much has been written about their friendship but Cho time and again recalled a moment they shared during the rehearsal of a play, 'The Whole Truth'. Cho played the villian and was required to enact a scene of strangulating Jayalalithaa. As he approached, Jayalalithaa burst out laughing instead of being fearful, calling his expressions comical. Cho often said that Jayalalithaa remained his friend by treating his critique as comical as well. In January 2016, he urged the people to reject lineage politics indirectly encouraging voters to avoid supporting DMK.

Jayalalithaa called him a friend, a guide and philosopher. The man she went to whenever she found herself in a dilemma. It is more ironical than unfortunate that despite being in the same hospital, Cho Ramaswamy was in no position to understand that his friend J Jayalalithaa had passed away. Being the friend he was, he quietly followed her 2 days after.

OneIndia News