MGR Memorial

MGR memorial is a memorial structure built on the Marina beach in Chennai, India. It was built in memory of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran. Spread over 8.25 acres, the memorial is located adjacent to the Anna Memorial and has the highest footfall on the seafront. The body of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and MGR's protégé J. Jayalalithaa is also buried at this site.HistoryThe memorial was built in 1988 and was inaugurated by Janaki Ramachandran, wife of M. G. Ramachandran, in May 1990. The memorial was remodelled and the whole complex was laid with marbles and opened in 1992 by J. Jayalalitha when she became the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu the previous year. When J. Jayalalitha died on 5 December,2016, she was buried next to MGR. This structure was designed by Architect Mr. K. Ramachandran, retired chief architect of PWD, Tamil Nadu. Between 1996 and 1998, the mausoleum was again renovated at a cost of about 27.5 million. After the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the seafront in December 2004, the memorial was affected. Repair works were taken up at the cost of about 13.3 million.In 2012, the memorial was again renovated at a cost of 43 million, including 34 million for remodelling the facade and the wall around the memorial. The renovation included a new entrance sporting AIADMK party's two-leaves symbol and Pegasus, the horse from Greek mythology, landscaping the open area around the memorial using Korean grass, and planting exotic decorative plants such as palmyra alpha, date palm, spider lily and atinium, a granite pathway shaped like a massive guitar in the middle of the memorial, stainless steel handles around the memorial, a fountain in the middle, waterfall at the rear, decorative lamps, and an overhead tower with lights both at the entrance and on the arch. Two pergolas having 18-metre width have also been constructed, in addition to ramps for the physically challenged.