Deputy chief minister MK Stalin with his sister Kanimozhi at the meeting. (PTI)

Coimbatore, June 23: The World Classical Tamil Conference began here today, the five-day event billed not just as a celebration of Tamil language and culture but also of M. Karunanidhi, the protagonist of Tamil politics.

The inaugural programme, opened by President Pratibha Patil, revolved as much around Karunanidhi as the Tamil language, even though the ubiquitous cutouts and banners of the Tamil Nadu chief minister were missing. The DMK boss had chastised his cadre for putting up the pictures during a pre-conference visit and had them removed.

At the venue, there was no escaping the Karuna effect. Till the VVIPs arrived, the audience was subjected to an auditory assault of the conference’s theme song penned by the DMK patriarch and tuned by A.R. Rahman. It was played at least two dozen times in two hours.

When the chief minister came to the dais, it was time for another tune, a specially composed welcome song hailing Karunanidhi as the ultimate protector of Tamil language and culture. This was followed by the conference theme song and a music video. For the past two days, the two songs had been compulsorily played in all government and state-aided schools. The education department had sent the CDs and cassettes.

Karunanidhi didn’t resonate only in the songs. A key award, handed to professor Asko Parpola of Finland for his hypothesis that the script and language of the Indus Valley civilisation belonged to the Dravidian family, was also named after the DMK boss. Karunanidhi himself and many other speakers described the prize the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Tamil literature.

“Although other Tamil scholars deserve the honour more that me, I am accepting this award, hoping others would get their turn in the future,” Parpola observed, apparently not aware the prize was a one-time affair.

Lest anyone forget his own contribution, Karunanidhi devoted two full pages of his speech to his love for Tamil. “Whether in power or out of power, I have tirelessly served my mother Tamil and brought laurels to her,” he said.

The chief minister’s family, too, has prime roles at the conference. Floats depicting Tamil culture through the ages went through the streets of Coimbatore this evening — the brainchild of his daughter Kanimozhi.

Karunanidhi’s son and deputy chief minister Stalin gave the welcome speech this morning. Tomorrow, an exhibition on Tamil culture will be inaugurated by Stalin’s elder brother and Union chemicals minister M.K. Alagiri.

Another exhibition on the Internet will be opened by Karunanidhi’s grand-nephew and Union textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran. Lest his critics accuse him of nepotism, the DMK veteran has graciously allowed Union shipping minister G.K. Vasan of the Congress to inaugurate an exhibition on Tamil books.