The following article written by me has appeared in the 1-15th
December,2015 issue of Madras Musings
In January 1948, Dr. Alagappa Chettiar of Kottaiyur went to see Jawaharlal Nehru in
Delhi, to sell Karaikudi as a town to house one of the science research
institutes , promising to offer 300
acres of land and 1.5 million rupees to set up the institute in his native
place. Impressed by his commitment to people and the country, he introduced
Chettiar to his sister Vijayalakshmi Pandid, as a socialist capitalist.
Out of the offer came the Central Electro Chemical Research Institute
(CECRI) as a wing of of Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Karaikkudi. On 25th July 1968, Jawaharlal
Nehru laid the foundation stone for
CECRI in a sprawling campus between Karaikkudi and Kottaiyur, an area that was later to be named
as Alagappa Nagar. It was the seventh in
the chain of national institutions and the second to be opened in the Madras
province that year.
The main building of the
institute was declared open by Dr. S Radhakrishnan the then Vice President of
India on the 14th January 1953.
At the opening ceremony there were
nine Nobel laureates on the dais
including Sir Visveswarayya and Sir C V Raman.
Ramanujan Institute, as a
remembrance to a great man was another of
Chettiar’s initiative. A standing monument to Chettiar`s love for research. It was established in a portion of his own
house ‘Krishnavilas` in Vepery in
December 1951.
That is what Alagappa Chettiar was – a successful businessman who believed
in ploughing back the money he earned
from his varied business to social causes.
His business interests consisted
of rubber plantations in Malaya, tin
mines in Burma, Textile mills in
Kerala, insurance companies in Calcutta, Hotels in Bombay, Theatres in Madras,
a flourishing stock broking company and a private airline. Referred to as the `Unsung Business Maharajah of South India ` in the 1930s and 40s, Chettiar believed in having a diversified
business portfolio. The philonthrophist in him came to the fore only in late
40s.
Dr. A Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar the then Vice Chancellor of University of
Madras, who was presiding over the Dr. Annie Besant Centenary celebrations on 3rd July
1947 made an appeal to philanthrophists and industrialists in the audience to
come forward to start colleges in the state to meet the dire
need for educational
institutions, as many were denied education due to lack of colleges.
The then 38 year old Alagappa Chettiar who was moved by the appeal. He rose to spontaneously announce that he
would be happy to start an Arts College in his home town in Ramanathapuram district and announced a donation of Rs.5 lakh
on the spot.
`It was a great but sudden
impulse, a great turning point, a transition in his life. With this one act he seemed to have found his
calling in life – the care for
education.` writes the author, his grandson, on whose book this article is
based.
Within 5 weeks from the date of
announcement Dr. Alagappa Chettiar College of Arts & Science was
inaugurated on 11th August 1967, at Gandhi Maaligai, the Karaikudi Municipality Building which had been rented for Rs.2400/-`
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Other generous donations were to
follow. He started a string of
educational institutions in Karaikudi, making it an important educational
centre. These included Alagappa Chettiar
College of Engineering & Technology, Alagappa Arts college, Alagappa Teacher Training College, Allagappa College for women, Alagappa Physical
Education College and Alagappa
Polytechnic among many others.
He sold many of his business interests abroad to fund many of his dream
projects devoted to education.
Alagappa Chettiar`s dream of
elevating the status of educational institutions in Karaikudi to a full
fledged University was however
not to be realized during his life time.
It was only in 1985 that it became Alagappa University but run by the
State Government with the numerous
colleges he had founded over the years.
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He loved children, as much as he
loved education. His daughter recalls,
‘he had a dream – a dream that every child who enters Alagappa School be able
to complete his / her studies. We should
provide for them, such that they never need to seek other institutions throughout their
educational career, he used to say`
The first school started by
Alagappa Chettiar was AL V
Valliammai Achi School referred to as the Board School at Kottaiyur. Other schools that he
established include the Alagappa Model School,
Alagappa Montessori School & Hostel,
Alagappa Elementary School, Alagappa Business
School, Alagappa Preparatory School
`Despite his religiousness, which included carrying a box of small
religious icons and Pooja articles as a part of his luggage wherever he
travelled, he was not a temple goer
nor did he donate to temples of worship.
His temples were the towers of education
and his donations were mainly
aimed at helping the less fortunate.` writes the author.
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Carnatic music was another of his passions. He played a significant role in the
proceedings of the first Tamil Isai Conference held in August 1940 in Chidambaram. Chettiar introduced the universal language of mankind - music into Alagappa Group of Institutions by
starting Alagappa School of Music in 1956.
Chettiar, was also a lover of
sports. He believed in healthy minds in
healthy bodies.The Bhavnagar stadium on the Alagappa Arts College campus in
Karaikal was inaugurated on 2nd February 1952.
The stadium held a special place in his heart. Whenever he was in Karaikudi, he always
stayed in one of the rooms in the pavilion. In fact, his dying wish was that his mortal remains be laid to rest in the stadium, which to him was a haven
of peace. Now his memorial temple,
just opposite to Bhavnagar stadium , stands as a testimony to a
life of service and sacrifice
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Chettiar`s generosity extended
beyond education. He made innumerable donations
to various institutions devoted to causes, not necessarily related to
education. Nobody who came to see him
for any kind of help went back
disappointed.
Alagappa Chettiar was a driven man. Ambitious ideas, Quick planning ,
Immediate execution became his mantra, especially after he had ventured
into educational projects during his
last decade`
Said Dr. S Y Krishnaswami , ICS ( Retd.)and a friend from college days
paying his tribute to Chettiar recalled his capacity for work and
his energy which were truly
immense! The words ‘cannot’ and
‘impossible’ were not in his dictionary.
Every challenge must be
overcome, Chettiar would tell his
staff repeatedly.
His meticulousness, his sense of perfection extended to even small mundane activities. He
could be seen explaining to his staff how a postage stamp should be affixed on
an envelope – ensuring 90 degree angle and equal spaces.
Apart from his abiding interest in Tamil language and Tamil literature,
he was interested in journalism and was the honorary editor of Kumudam,
the most popular Tamil weekly from its inception.
Books were his constant companions on his travels. He would finish a book overnight on a train
and do the same on many a flight. A voracious reader he had a vast collection
of books pertaining to various fields.
His reading habit not only made many consider him a scholar but he was
also much in demand as a speaker.
Right from his teenage years Dr.
Chettiar spoke ex-tempore. His speech
was clear and interspersed with sparkling wit and wisdom. He was a gifted conversationalist with a brilliant sense of humour.
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The first blow of fate was the
death of his wife Smt. Valliammal Achi in 1928. Then came a series of debilitating
illnesses. In his early twenties Alagappa Chettiar travelled to London to take
the Indian Council Service examination, During the medical examiniation he
discovered that he had fallen victim to the dreaded leprosy. He probably got the disease from someone who looked after
him when he was a child. Though the
disease left him after 20 years, the scar left
behind by the disease on his
face, fingers etc. made him very self conscious about his looks . In the later years he contracted bone cancer, with few more cancer lesions on other parts of his
body. He was constantly in pain.
`Fighting a life long battle against his health, and yet
venturing in ever -new ways to make the world a better place, Alagappa Chettiar
was a great soul whose stint on this eternal state was one of the best ever
played. With ambition pushing him up and
health pulling him down the two words `perseverance` and `sacrifice`
sums the life of this compassionate man, ` it was said of him.
On Republic day of
the country in 1957, the President of India had conferred the Padma Bhushan on.
Chettiar. Less than three months after that , on
April,5,1957, Alagappa Chettiar breathed
his last at Krishna Vilas, his house
in Madras on 5th April 1957, He was only 48. He considered his life mission to be charity and
charity he did until his last breath. No wonder people called him `Vallal
Chettiar`.
( This article is based on the
Book- `Alagappa- A beautiful Mind - a saga
of Perseverance, Compassion and Sacrifice`
by Ramanathan Vairavan, grandson
of Dr.Alagappa Chettiar)
Feedback welcome on rvrajan42 @gmail.com
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