In the past few days, an image of a lady with facial features similar to that of Jayalalithaa has been doing the rounds. In WhatsApp’s corridors of uncorroborated rumours and silly conjectures, this lady was Jayalalithaa’s ‘secret daughter’, living somewhere in the US in anonymity.
In fact, the image had been doing the rounds since 2014, when Jayalalithaa was jailed. Ever since, the image in always accompanied by colorful insinuation about the late CM’s personal life.
To the sensible, these rumours always came across as nonsensical. But alas, there were those who believed it.
So, what is the truth behind that image? Who is she?
Popular singer and TV show host Chinmayi Sripada to the rescue.
Chinmayi informs us, having first-hand information in the matter, that the name of the person is Divya Ramanathan Veeraraghavan. No, she is not Jayalalithaa’s daughter. She lives in Australia with her husband, far away from the heat and dust of TN politics.
Referring to the other picture, in which she is seen with her husband, Chinmayi wrote, “The couple in the photograph are known to my family and they belong to an illustrious family of classical musicians,” and that, “She belongs to the family of renowned Mridangam Vidwan V Balaji. When he is not busy with concerts he is a part of the web series called 'Husbanned'.”
As she rightly says, "repeat a lie long enough and it becomes 'truth'."
Here is Chinmayi’s post.
Speaking to The News Minute, Balaji said, "We had seen the image doing the rounds last year, and had contacted Facebook through friends to get it removed. But they said there was nothing derogatory, and that the rumour will die down. But it didn't. It started getting circulated even more, and my brother and Divya were worried and annoyed."
He also said that though Divya was living abroad, the picture kept popping up in WhatsApp groups there too.
"After Jayalalithaa’s death, it got worse for her, and she was disturbed. Friends started warning her about the picture. That's when Chinmayi agreed to help us," he said.
He also added that Divya was born and brought up in Trivandrum, and like any other middle-class family, they too kept mum for long as they did not want to be dragged into any controversy.
And to those asking why she looks different in these two images, there is a simple explanation. While one image was taken in 2008, the other one is more recent.
To be sure, Trivandrum V Balaji also put up a post clarifying the same.
So, if you have seen or passed around these rumours, stop that, and share this instead.