Category: Classic Kovai

Golden Years of Peelamedu GRG GRG Matriculation Higher Secondary School was founded in the year 1969. Eminent industrialist G.R.Govindarajulu of the PSG family had founded the school in order to serve the growing educational needs of the society. The school was built on Avinashi road in Peelamedu and this suburb can rightfully be known as the educational capital of Tamilnadu. It was a CBSE school for about a dozen years or so. Subsequently it became a matriculation school around the year 1980. The white coloured paint, green coloured windows, white…

My father K.Govindarajulu used to bring me to the Rathinavinayagar temple on my birthday. We used to park the car on D. B. Road and visit the temple. Our family members used to celebrate the star birthday and not the date of birth. The visit will be complete after an archanai and arathi. Subsequently daddy used to take mummy, my brother Suresh and myself to ‘Toyland’ on D.B.Road. It was a famous toy shop those days and it was known as Balus. I used to pick up a tiny car…

V.C.P.Kittu, the son of V.C. Palaniswamy Gounder (Minister) was born in 1918 and he had passed wireless engineering in 1938. He studied a textile course in Bombay and joined the freedom struggle in the same year – 1942. V.C.P.Kittu had toured many parts of the country. He was the leader of the deputation for supply of power to agriculture with success. He worked for the formation of a strong union for agriculturists pump set users in the undivided Coimbatore District. V.C.P.Kittu was also a Honourary Bench Magistrate. He was associated…

Kalam’s Closeness With Siruthuli The ‘Kalam Vanam’ at Anna university (Coimbatore) is a standing tribute to the great son of India. Abdul Kalam was born in the tiny island Rameswaram but had won the hearts of every Indian. The wonderful People’s President was very fond of nature and he was keen to motivate environmentalists all his life. People remember him as a scientist who had assured India’s space in the comity of nations. However, Coimbatore was one city which was close to his heart and the green NGO Siruthuli was…

The book 1000 Great Lives by Plantagenet Somerset Fry (1931 – 1996) had been a best seller. Very few Indians were featured in the book. The author was a British Historian who had taken part in a television game show in order to raise money. He won 512 Pounds and this made him well known. The Historian wrote about 50 books and the book ‘Biography of Elizabeth I’ was the beginning of his successful career as a writer. He wrote history for adults and children. The Council of Independent Archaeology…

Maranna Gowder’s Patasalai Taught That All Are Equal Coimbatore town had ‘Thinnai Pallis’ those days. A number of learned Tamil scholars and math teachers took care of the educational needs of the students. The Anglo Mysore wars had taken a toll on the region. Coimbatore became the headquarters of a big multi lingual district on 24/11/1804. The place came under the grasp of the East India Company and the small ‘thinnai schools’ began to flourish post 1822. It was 1831 when the reorganized system of education was introduced and growth…

Coimbatore the Rome of Kongunad is a symbol of entrepreneurship and philanthropy. The city is blessed with diverse political views and is also a MINI INDIA. Coimbatore has been on the global commercial map for a long time. The Romans had a settlement at Vellalore on the suburbs of the current city. A huge number of villages were stitched together to create the modern city. Today the villages are seamlessly found within. Commerce during the Roman times, water harvesting due to the efforts of the Cholas, military supremacy during the…

“Don’t worry, your son is as heavy as an American baby. He is well nourished and has the strength to withstand the whooping cough that is bothering him. Your child will be okay soon, “were the comforting words of the iconic paediatrician Dr.M.Ramaswamy to Aravindakumari and Govindarajulu of Vysial Street. Today the once chubby child Suresh is working as a gemmologist at Toronto in Canada. The magic hand of Dr.Ramaswamy has ensured that many a child became fine. His autobiography ‘A Million Children’s Lives Touched: A Journey from Peasantry to…

Indians have been grazers and farmers from time immemorial. The people of the Kongu region specialized in cattle rearing. The herders led a nomadic life. They lived in settlements called ‘Pattis’ along with their cattle. Indian people lived in villages, city clusters, in the forests and also as nomadic cattle grazers. It was a diverse and complete country. The wealth of a person was measured based on the heads of cattle owned by him or her. Ancient epics like Mahabharata talk about the cattle wealth of the land and the…

People used to address each other in a respectable manner since long. It was during the early part of the twentieth century that tradition was carried forward while welcoming change in the form of the English language. The colonial rulers were really smart. They made people think that they denoted progress in spite of the fact that they had ruined the economy of the country. English began to prevail and people accepted the language during their period of submission. It started entering mainstream life through cinema and education. Words like…