Radhika Selvi chose her new 'puddu podvai' (sari) with care--a Kanjeevaram in contrasting green and pink that she had saved for a special occasion. Draped in the colours her husband loved, she joined the Union council of ministers today. And as she took oath as the Minister of State for Home, she wished Venkatesa Panniyar had been there to watch her.

From giving her the “best years of her life” to literally thrusting her into politics after he was shot dead in a Chennai encounter in 2003, her husband has meant the world for the 31-year-old. “Sometimes I feel I have everything and sometimes nothing,” says the uncertain Selvi, as she resolves to “figure out” her ministry in the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps the only person who has observed her transformation from a “pampered housewife” who didn't know how to cook to a first time MP from Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu, is her three-year-old son. Rakshan Achintya never met his father. But he has witnessed his mother’s rise in politics and brightly waves goodbye when she heads out to attend parliament sessions.

She campaigned with him when he was 16-days-old. “It was very tough,” she recalls, refusing to elaborate on her decision to fight on a DMK ticket in 2003. “And I had a caesarian, which made things even more difficult. But I could have done anything then.”

Now, she is not so brash. “I have always been interested in labour issues, but my portfolio is something new. I am very excited about learning its nuances.” Aware that her three minute oath-taking ceremony comes in the backdrop of internal politics, Selvi resolutely refuses to be drawn into it, insisting that she is just happy to be “up there”.

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