A goat, silver-coated elephant statues and a bunch of red bananas were among the gifts given to Tamil nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi by his party cadres during his 84th birthday celebrations on Sunday.
   Party cadres, including women, were waiting in a long queue from early morning at the DMK headquarters to have a glimpse of their leader, who came to the specially erected dais at the party headquarters here at around 9.30 am.
   After Union Ministers T R Baalu, A Raja, state ministers and senior party leaders offered shawls to the DMK leader, his supporters came to the stage one by one to greet the chief minister and offer their presents.
   A party functionary from Kolathur village in Salem district, led a goat to the dais and presented it to the leader.
As an amused Karunanidhi looked on, the activist tried to force the goat bow down to show respect.
   However, the animal tried to flee. Finally, it was handed over to one of the organisers.
   Tiruvannamalai district youth wing functionaries presented two Jaipur-made silver-coated elephant statues, each weighing 84 kilograms, to mark the occasion. They also presented 84 silver plates filled with 84 varieties of fruits and flowers.
   A party cadre, who is a farmer, presented a bunch of red bananas, cultivated in his land.
   Except for a brief period of ten minutes, Karunanidhi was in the stage for about four hours, receiving shawls, bouquets and gifts, without showing signs of fatigue.
   Physically challenged activists were lifted to the dais to convey their greetings to the leader.