Staking out at Poes Garden

Intelligent, attractive and articulate, often running down her adversaries with a pungent tongue, Jayalalitha has always been a source of delightful `copy’. But the pleasure of doing a Jayalalitha story is frequently preceded by hard toil. We have to sweat it out, waiting outside her bungalow to grab a quote for our papers — or a soundbite in the case of TV channels — from politicians squeezing through those imposing black steel gates.

It is no different when we haveto wade through the unruly crowds of her partymen if Jayalalitha calls a press conference at the AIADMK headquarters on the narrow Avvai Shanmugam Salai in the city. But at least out there, once we have gained entry into the impressive granite and marble interior, there are chairs lined up under fans inside a cool conference hall.

It is a different scene outside the Poes Garden bungalow. Most often it’s a nightmare, particularly if the reporter happens to be a woman. As tension peaks over the question of her support for the Vajpayee government, we camp outside Jayalalitha’s residence for hours together.

On August 12, for instance, when George Fernandes and Pramod Mahajan landed in Chennai for Jayalalitha-darshan, the wait began at 9 am. Everyone knew George was coming but no one was sure about Pramod. When the guests arrived at 11 am, there were about 50 journalists milling around the massive gates, trying to stop the white Ambassador with its tinted windows rolled up. After that it was a longsuspense-filled wait. With the nearest restaurant or snack bar at least a mile away, it was difficult to get even a cup of tea.A pack of biscuits generously distributed by some kind soul got depleted fast, but where could we go for drinking water? Amidst all this frustration came that horrible message on the pager: `Call office immediately.’ The bosses were understandably anxious, but they did not realise that there were no telephones within a radius of 1 km. Not all reporters are blessed with mobile phones. Sometimes, a friend from another paper would let me use his or her mobile, but not with a very friendly smile.

After all this, George and Pramod had no `copy’ to offer after being scolded by the Amma. When they emerged from the bungalow, their car ploughed through the screaming TV crews and newspaper reporters, leaving a perplexed and frustrated bunch behind with no option but to pack up and leave.

When George returned on August 14 he told reporters that he had stopped to talk this time atJayalalitha’s suggestion. She had been informed that they were all carrying placards which read: `George please stop’. Some reporters had made those placards out of folded newspapers to catch the attention of George, who is usually media-friendly. Even so, we had to wait for over 12 hours at Poes Garden.

If Jayalalitha could see the placards, she could not fail to see the hungry and thirsty reporters waiting outside. The least she could have done was to leave a pot of bacteria-free water outside the gates. We are, of course, grateful that the long stake-outs didn’t take place during the monsoons.But who can tell? Knowing Jayalalitha, we wouldn’t be surprised to find ourselves soaked, drenched and utterly miserable but keeping our eternal vigil at Poes Garden when the merciless northeast monsoon hits Chennai.