Speaking at a marriage function here, the 89-year-old self-styled reformist said, the parents of his ladylove had in 1944 expressed their intention of marrying off their daughter to him only under orthodox ritual customs but he had refused.
"They said they cannot allow a self-respect style of marriage (which is devoid of chanting of hymns and the sacred thread meant for women) and said they cannot give their daughter in marriage if the wedding was not solemnised under orthodox customs," he said.
He said he was later married to Dayalu and the couple had four children--M K Alagiri, M K Stalin, M K Tamilarasu and Selvi-- and said self-respect marriages, aggressively endorsed by Dravidian veterans E V Ramasamy Periar and C N Annadurai, did not create any problems in his life.