V. O. Chidambaram Pillai
Vallinayagam Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai (5 September 1872 - 18 November 1936), also known as Kappalottiya Tamizhan ("Tamil Helmsman"), was an Indian freedom fighter and a prominent leader in the Indian independence movement. He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company[1] in 1906 to compete against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC).[2] He launched the first indigenous Indian shipping service between Tuticorin (India) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) with the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC), competing against British ships. Tuticorin Port Trust, one of India's thirteen major ports, is named after him. Once a member of the Indian National Congress, he was later charged with sedition by the British government and sentenced to life imprisonment, and his barrister license was revoked.
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai
5 September 1872
18 November 1936 (aged 64)
Indian
V. O. C, Va Voo Cee, Kappal Oottiya Tamilzhan, Sekkizhutha semmal, Chekkilutta chemmal
Meenakshi
4 sons, 4 daughters
Early life[edit]
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai was born in Ottapidaram, Tirunelveli District to Olaganathan Pillai and Paramayee Ammal.[3] When Chidambaram was six years old, he learned Tamil from teacher Veeraperumal Annavi. He heard stories about Shiva from his grandmother and stories from the Ramayana from his grand father. He heard stories from Mahabharatha told by Allikulam Subramanya Pillai etc. In his childhood, he learned horse riding, silambattam, archery, sword fighting and played kabaddi, swimming, stilt walking, wrestling and chess.
He learned English from a Taluk officer named Krishnan Iyyengar in the evenings. When Iyyengar was transferred, Chidambaram Pillai's father built a school for him and appointed Aramvalarthanatha Pillai from Ettayapuram as the English teacher. The school was run by a priest at Pudhiamuthur. At fourteen, Chidambaram Pillai went to Thoothukudi to continue his studies. He studied at CEOA High School and Caldwell High School and in Thoothukudi at the Hindu College High School, Tirunelveli.
Chidambaram Pillai worked as Taluk office clerk for some time before his father sent him to Tiruchirappalli to study law. He passed his pleadership exam in 1894, returning to Ottapidaram to become a pleader in 1895.
In Madras, Chidambaram Pillai met Swami Ramakrishnananda, a saint who belonged to Swami Vivekananda Ashram (monastery), who advised him to serve the nation. Here he met the Tamil poet Bharathiyaar who shared his political ideology. The two men became close friends.[4]
Later life[edit]
Upon Chidambaram's release he was not permitted to return to Tirunelveli district. With his law license stripped from him, he moved to Chennai with his wife and two young sons. There he ran a provisions store and a kerosene store.
Chidambaram had a long correspondence with Gandhi, not yet Mahatma, from 1915 to 1920. In 1915, when Gandhi visited Chennai (Madras then), both had met. Some people in South Africa of Indian origin had collected money to help Chidambaram and transmitted the amount through Gandhi. However, Chidambaram did not receive the money. He had some lengthy correspondence with Gandhi on the subject. In one instance Gandhi wrote a postcard to Chidambaram in Tamil with his own hand. Chidambaram was delighted on seeing the postcard and, for a moment, forgot about the money dispute.[12] However, on 4 February 1916, Chidamabaram wrote to a friend, "Rs. 347-12-0 has come from Sriman Gandhi."[12]
In 1920, Chidambaram quit the Indian National Congress, citing ideological differences with Mahatma Gandhi. He focused his efforts on establishing labor unions in Madras and on writing.
After moving to Coimbatore, Chidambaram worked as a bank manager. Dissatisfied with the income, he petitioned the court, seeking permission to practice law again. Judge E.H. Wallace gave permission to restore Chidambaram's pleadership license; to show his gratitude Chidambaram named his last son Valacewaran.
Chidambaram moved to Kovilpatti and practiced as a lawyer. He rejoined the Congress Party in 1927 and presided over the third political conference held at Salem. He said that he wanted to join Congress again because he noticed a remarkable change in the policies of Congress and was happy to note that the policies of which he did not approve were withdrawn one by one. However, after the Salem conference Chidambaram again severed his contact with Congress.
In 1929 he moved to Thoothukudi, where he spent his time writing and publishing Tamil books. By 1935, he had written commentary on the first book of the Tirukkural (Book of Virtue) and was published under a different title. However, it was only in 2008 that the complete work of his commentary on the Kural was published.
Stamp[edit]
The Indian Posts & Telegraphs department of India issued a special postage stamp on 5 September 1972, on the occasion of his birth centenary.[14]
Many statues of Chidambaram have been commissioned; some of the more notable are:
Ma. Po. Si. (M.P. Sivagnanam)[edit]
M.P. Sivagnanam, popularly known as Ma. Po. Si., wrote a biography of Chidambaram titled Kappalottiya Tamizhan. Later Chidambaram was remembered as 'Kappalottiya Thamizhan'. Ma. Po. Si. brought the fame of Chidambaram to the limelight.
Books written by Ma. Po. Si. on V.O. Chidambaram Pillai are Kappalottiya Thamizhan (1944), Kappalottiya Chidambaranar (1972) and Thalapathy Chidambaranar (1950).
R.A.Padmanabhan, popularly known as Bharathi Aringnyar . He has written an authenticated biography of V.O.Chidambaram Pillai in English printed and published by the National Book Trust in 1977. R A P gives a greater insight into the life of Chidambaram Pillai focussing Chidambaram Pillai's achievement as the pioneer of Swadeshi Shipping company.
Film portrayal[edit]
In 1961 Kannada film director B.R. Panthalu made a film of Chidambaram's life titled Kappalottiya Thamizhan. Chidambaram was portrayed by Sivaji Ganesan, Subramanya Siva by T. K. Shanmugam and Subramanya Barathi by S. V. Subbaiah. The story of this movie is based on Ma. Po. Si.'s biography 'Kappalottiya Tamizhan'.
In RRR film, he was featured and honoured in a song named Ettara Jenda (Koelae).[15]