Category: Classic Kovai

Sundararajan of R.S.Puram was an advocate, corporate executive and a consultant later. Now he leads a retired life with his wife Lalitha, a mathematics tutor. His wife has spent time in several cities while growing up. It is a pleasure to catch up with the lively couple. The house is full of books and curios. Sundararajan has retained a lot of information about his forebears. Perhaps he could record his stuff on http://www.lumhaa.com. This interesting memory site is promoted by Shreya Sekhsaria, a girl who grew up in Coimbatore. The…

“We are a forest civilization, an aaranyakshada. Our Upanishads, our vedas came out of the forests, out of the banks of rivers, the mountains. Unlike the Greeks, an urban based civilization, or the Islamic civilization, a desert based one, ours was a forest civilization. Our sages lived in the forests and that is why the Vedas are full of hymns to the trees, the forests, to all creatures. There is a 63 verse hymn in the Atharva Veda, which must go back at least 4000 years and represents one of…

The Kongu country in the Coimbatore region is known for its hardy and creative people. Lack of sufficient rainfall and the nature of the soil have made people seek fresh methods. The forest soil, red soil and black cotton soil offer enormous diversity. Migratory birds, the sweet waters of the Noyyal were home to a River Noyyal Civilization. Perur is a village on the banks of River Noyyal and its Padithurai is really famous. The temples, choultries and mutts at Perur make it unique. Kachiappa Munivar wrote the Perur Puranam…

Periya Govindaswamy Naidu (1858 – 1916) was a real life hero. He treated a number of plague affected people in 1903. The good Samaritan moved around with his set of native doctors – Sodalamuthu and Bhashyakarulu in order to help the sick. A dalit assistant would keep him company. His horse was famous too. He advised people not to move out for he felt that the new location could be even worse due to the lack of sanitation. Therefore people were advised to stay on without the knowledge of the…

Periya Govindaswamy Naidu (1858 – 1916) was a real life hero. He treated a number of plague afflicted people during the year 1903. The good Samaritan moved around with his set of native doctors – Sodalamuthu and Bhashyakarulu in order to help the sick. A dalit assistant would keep him company. His horse was famous too. He advised people not to move out for he felt that the new location could be even worse due to the lack of sanitation. Therefore people were advised to stay on without the knowledge…

Sarkeel Govinda Rao was the first Jagirdar of Myleripalayam near Coimbatore. Sarkeel was a title given to people who dealt with accounts and money. Long ago, 300 families of Deshastha Madhwa Brahmins migrated to Thanjavur and Kumbakonam. This took place during the era of Chatrapati Shivaji. The ancestors of Sarkeel Govinda Rao were part of this group. The good work of Govinda Rao earned him rich rewards. He was much appreciated for his honesty. The English rewarded him with the Jagir of Myleripalayam near Coimbatore. Govinda Rao could collect the…

K.M.Krishna was an epitome of friendship and fellowship. He was the son of K.C.Mannarswamy Chettiar and Ramarathnammal. His siblings consisted of one brother and four sisters. The 1933 born K.M.Krishna was a student of Stanes Anglo Indian School. Krishna was an outstanding student cum sportsman and will always be remembered as a stylish batsman. He went on to complete his higher studies from the Madras Christian College. Krishna hailed from the Kulur family and the elders in his family had been into banking, jewellery and industrial investments. He began his…

Sekaripuram Subbaraman Vaidyanathan divides his time between the old and the new worlds. He lives in the USA and in Coimbatore. His wife Nirmala keeps him company and a few relatives live nearby in the retirement home chosen by the hospitable couple. Vaidyanathan was born to Subbaraman and Arundhati who was known as Ponnammal. The family hails from Sekaripuram near Palakkad in Kerala. The Palakkad and Thrissur regions are known for the presence of a large number of learned people who speak Tamil. Many of them were Sanskrit scholars and…

Rathinasabapathypuram came as an answer to plague. The Pettai and Kottai were insufficient to hold a growing city. Diwan Bahadur C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar created R.S.Puram. The idea had been on the boards during the tenure of T.A.Ramalingam Chettiar. Kovai Kizhar C.M.Ramachandran had helped in the task. The roads are named after the former Chairpersons of the Municipality. These gentlemen had provided yeomen service. A number of citizens purchased new plots and began building houses in the new extension. It was bound by Sukrawarpet and the Forest College. A number of progressive…

“My mother Ammani Ammal brought me up. She bought cows and buffaloes in order to run the family. I just went to school along with the other kids and it was spontaneous. The authorities asked me to bring my mother and she came over the next day for the purpose of fulfilling the formalities. My entire education was through scholarship. I joined the Government Arts College to my Intermediate (Maths, Physics & Chemistry). Thereafter I did my B.A Hons in Maths from Pachaiyyapas. I was drawn towards civil service and…