Many people don’t know his real name. Manikkam is better known as MGR in the busy trading hub of Colombo, where he has been working for the last 34 years pulling carts. The special thing about him is he is always dressed to kill.
Manikkam is an adoring fan of the late Tamil action hero M.G. Rakmachandran, who was born in Sri Lanka and became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu after retiring from films, and our local hero likes to follow in the footsteps of his idol to match the sartorial elegance of the late heartthrob. “People say I will look exactly like him if I am little fairer in complexion,” the 48-year-old bachelor says.
He left school after the sixth grade and made cart pulling his career at the age of 14 after the death of his parents. The obsession with former Tamil film icon began in the tiny prayer room in his house where his mother who used to worship the actor’s picture as the last part of her morning ritual of paying obeisance to her deities.
“One morning, I asked my mom about the man in the picture who wore dark glasses, a hat and a wrist watch over his right sleeve. She asked me also to worship the framed image of ‘MGR uncle’. I did so and asked whether that person was my real-life uncle. Then she said he is like a father to everybody in the world. I cried saying that I want to see him,” Manikkam says describing how it all began.
One day, he came ‘face to face’ with the star when his father took him to a theatre to see an MGR movie. The cinema was full and the audience was cheering and whistling as the actor sang, danced with a beautiful lady and beat evil-looking bad men. From that day onward he became a die-hard fan of the actor who is known as Makkal Thilakam (World’s Pride). Manikkam wanted to be like him. He was known to give lot of money to poor families and was good to the people. Manikkam does not earn like the actor who played main roles in 130 odd films, but spends a fortune on his wardrobe to look like him.
Manikkam is already known as MGR in Sri Lanka after the social media brought his exploits in the streets of Colombo into national focus. Last Divali the bachelor got four suits tailored at a cost of Rs. 38,000 (US$247). “MGR is called the friend of the poor. People loved him so much and some fans burnt themselves to death when he died,” he says.
Our local MGR works in the busy, dusty streets immaculately dressed in expensive local brand names in matching colours. “I have 52 pairs of shoes, 30 trousers, dozen hats, 50 belts, 9 wrist watches and 50 pairs of dark glasses,” he says. “I want to dress well and sometimes I spend between Rs30,000 to Rs. 40,000 a month on clothes. I have a good taste and buy clothes from special shops. I like when people look at me.”
Manikkam’s budget on clothes is beyond the means of most of his colleagues. “Money doesn’t matter to me. Do people take their wealth when they go to the grave? I want to live without being a trouble to anybody. I have a married sister. She is always inviting me to visit her but I go to her house rarely because I don’t want to be a nuisance to her. She has a family to look after.”
Before he goes to sleep he thinks about the suit he is going to wear the next day. “My penchant for dressing up neatly has made me a star in Colombo. Everybody calls me MGR Aiya (Brother MGR). When people meet someone in my country the first question they ask is what is your name? The second one definitely is what do you do for a living? If you say you are unemployed they might think you are a thief or a thug or engaged in some shady business. I am proud I have a job.”
Talking about his earnings, he says that some days are bad and some days are good. “Generally, I earn well as lots of traders entrust me with their valuable cargo for delivery. Even if I earn less on some days I don’t really care. That is how life goes on. But I am satisfied either way. I am someone who can keep on playing the violin even when the ship is sinking!” (Main picture courtesy Ada)
