Kamaraj Memorial House is built in the memory of the
former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri Kamaraj. He was an ideal for
all the Indians, as he rose out of poverty and became the Chief Minster
thrice. The Memorial House was inaugurated in 1978 by the then Chief
Minister, M. G. Ramchandaran. The memorial is spread on the two floors
of the building. It showcases the personal photographs and effects of
Shri Kamaraj, which provide an insight into his life.
The ground floor has a bedroom which was once the personal den of this
venerated bachelor. The room is adorned with plain furniture that
symbolizes the plain and simple life Shri Kamaraj led. There is also a
well stocked library in the house, occupied by the books like volumes of
'Lok Sabha Debates', '100 Modern Lives', 'Churchill' and 'Doctor
Zhivago'. Shri Kamaraj had to discontinue his schooling, but it did not
stop him from becoming a well read man. The Memorial House also exhibits
a rare collection of his photographs.
The walls of the dinning hall are covered with black and white
photographs of Kamaraj's life. The photographs provide a quick look at
his childhood, youth upto his late life years. Some of the most
intriguing pictures are thaose of his 1954 swearing-in as Chief Minister
of Tamil Nadu, the first Kamaraj Ministry of 1954, the second of 1957
and the third of 1962. There are even pictures of him with eminent
personalities, like Pt. Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Rajendra Prasad, Lal
Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, M.G Ramachandran, Martin Luther King,
Queen Elizabeth, etc.
The second floor of the House also displays a number of his belongings,
like luxuriant Felicitation Shawls, his simple attire, his suitcases,
timepiece, pens and utensils. One of the prized possessions of this
exhibition is the prison coat, worn by him while serving term in prison
in the year 1942. The displayed personal effects of Kamaraj include his
spectacles, a spool tape player and even a Gillette shaving set. Apart
from this, there are also pictures showing the leader in different
moods.
