When a niece came calling at Poes Garden

CHENNAI: When J Jayalalithaa's convoy rolled into Poes Garden on Saturday evening, a couple, Deepa Jayakumar and Madhavan, stood among hundreds of cadres braving heavy rain to greet the AIADMK supremo. 

The two were spotted on the pavement, some 200 metres away from Veda Nilayam, the residence of Jayalalithaa, even a couple of hours after she returned home. 

With the last cadre leaving the street by then, the stretch wore a deserted look, except for a handful of security guards and police vehicles with flashing beacon lights.

 Deepa is the eldest daughter of Jayalalithaa's brother Jayakumar. Deepa's brother Deepak is in real estate business and lives in Chennai. 

"I wanted to ensure that my aunt is fine and that she is back home," the 37-year-old woman told TOI, fighting back tears. 

The family has been estranged from Jayalalithaa and relations between the two have been rather strained ever since the grand wedding of her foster son V N Sudhakaran in September 1995. Jayalalithaa did come to their T Nagar residence, a month later, when her brother died. 
Last year, Deepa's mother Vijayalakshmi too passed away. 

The last time Deepa met her aunt was at a film function in 2002. Her several attempts to meet Jayalalithaa in the last decade proved futile. 

Along with her husband, Deepa waited for her aunt to 'settle in' before passing on a message to Jayalalithaa's secretaries that she wanted to see her.

 Julie Mariappan, TNN | Oct 19, 2014, 05.55AM IST