Tamil Nadu: After son’s demise, parents install idol, temple at home

CHENNAI: For 80-year-old retired teacher Karunakaran and his wife Sivakami, a retired revenue official of Kancheepuram district, their 48-year-old son is a family deity. The couple have made a 5.2 feet stone idol of their son, who died of heart attack last year on May 10, and have constructed a small temple inside their house.
The couple decided to build the temple as a memorial as they were unable to overcome the grief of the sudden demise of their son.The family contacted a sculptor in Mamallapuram who agreed to erect the statue for 2.5 lakh..
Last year on May 10, their son K Hariharan, a businessman, was on his way to visit a doctor for his wife Varalakshmi, when he collapsed mid-way and died. The sudden demise of their son left the couple and his wife shattered. Hariharan's mother insisted that she wanted to see her son every day. "Though it has been a year since my husband died, we are yet to recover from the shock. Looking at the statue everyday is painful and I am reminded of memories. But all of us feel he protects us from all odds,” Varalakshmi, his wife, told TOI. “My mother-in-law was firm in erecting the stone idol of her son. She felt looking at his idol will console her,” said Varalakshmi.