The new glasses were supposed to be more comfortable for in-house use, as Kalaignar had embraced retirement life almost completely by that time. He felt very comfortable wearing them he smiled to acknowledge as much,' the optical house said in a statement. It has prescription tinted glasses in amber brown. 'After searching for a suitable pair across the country for 40 days, we sourced a new lightweight frame from abroad. It was in 1989 that Kalaignar Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi visited Sivakumar's house, as. The new pair was the feather-weight model, German imported by Chennai-based Vijaya Opticals, who had shared with media the difficulties his team had to go through since a piece matching the former Chief Minister's requirements were not available anywhere in the country back then. The photo of Kanimozhi with Karunanidhi was actually taken at veteran Actor Sivakumar's house. READ | Here's why M Karunanidhi named his son Stalin A medical panel suggested a pair of glasses for the Dravidian leader to protect his eyes from exposure to sunlight. Ironically, it was a medical recommendation that made Karunanidhi start wearing them following an accident in the late 1960s that damaged his left eye. The veteran finally had to replace his darker glasses with lighter ones following advice from his doctors, who considered the frames of his favourite accessory unnecessarily heavy for the 94-year-old.

The news was announced through his official Twitter handle as well. It is the same legacy that made his switching to the light amber-brownish pair from the deep black one news for not just Tamil dailies but for almost all leading media houses of South. While a white-cap, dark glasses and watch created a typical image for his friend-turned-rival MGR, Karunanidhi adopted a similar glass along with a yellow shawl to formulate the 'Kalaignar swag' - his signature fashion that remained unchanged till late November 2017.

Kalaignar karunanidhi house