How far can you support a man climbing a coconut tree? Only as far as your hands reach; after that, he has to do the climbing himself – Kasthuri Sreenivasan in his book Climbing the Coconut Tree- A partial autobiography.
“Hurry up to school! It has rung quarter to eight” “Go to bed, it is blowing eight” this is how grandmas from families of lower middle class in Coimbatore used to urge their grandchildren in the bygone days. Since owning a wristwatch, clock or radio was expensive those days, they knew the time only from the ringing of bells and blowing of sirens from the surrounding textile mills, as they regularly announced the work timings.
But who could have imagined that the noise of the siren and bells would permanently fade away in the wind leaving the Manchester of the South without its textile mills?
Though textile business flourished in Coimbatore during the years after World War II, several textiles and spinning mills, later, faced heavy production loss and were about to be closed in the 1970s. However, Kasthuri Sreenivasan brought them under National Textile Corporation and made them function with new vigour. Lauding his outstanding contribution in textile research, the government of India honoured him with the award ‘Padmabushan’ in 1969.
Born in an agricultural family at Chandrapuram near Karadivavi some 20 miles away from the city of Coimbatore, Sreenivasan had his primary education in Karadivavi Board Elementary School. Later, staying at his aunt’s home in Raja Street, he completed his high school at the Municipal High School, Coimbatore. Then, taking his B Sc from Presidency College, Madras, Sreenivasan obtained his master’s degree in Textile Technology from the University of Manchester. In England, Sreenivasan married Barbara, an English lady, who was a gifted artist.
On his return to Coimbatore, Sreenivasan administered Kasthuri Mills Ltd, his family-owned company for about a decade and later became the Director of SITRA (South India Textile Research Association) and Chairman of the National Textile Corporation.
Besides being a veteran in Textile Technology, Sreenivasan was an ardent lover of literature and a passionate writer too. His famous book Climbing the Coconut Tree- A Partial Autobiography, is a mirror reflecting the past of Coimbatore.
“The siren from Kaleeswara Mill could be heard by the entire city. In the morning, women would carry pots of buttermilk and curd on their heads and sell them on the streets. The milkman would lead his cow from house to house and sell the milk to his customers, milking the cow in front of them” writes Sreenivasan in his book.
Sreenivasan also penned the novels A Handful of Earth, Devadasi, Service with a Smile, Light from Heaven and I am a stranger here. His other books include his English translation of Thirukkural and Sundarakandam, a canto from Kambaramayana. His book Cancer Made Me is his memoirs of the days of his illness and recovery. The anklet- a play in three acts is based on the great Tamil epic Silapathikaram. His technical books are Anatomy of Wealth, Anatomy of Progress, and Productivity and Social Environment.
But who could have imagined that the noise of the siren and bells would permanently fade away in the wind leaving the Manchester of the South without its textile mills?
Though textile business flourished in Coimbatore during the years after World War II, several textiles and spinning mills, later, faced heavy production loss and were about to be closed in the 1970s. However, Kasthuri Sreenivasan brought them under National Textile Corporation and made them function with new vigour. Lauding his outstanding contribution in textile research, the government of India honoured him with the award ‘Padmabushan’ in 1969.
Born in an agricultural family at Chandrapuram near Karadivavi some 20 miles away from the city of Coimbatore, Sreenivasan had his primary education in Karadivavi Board Elementary School. Later, staying at his aunt’s home in Raja Street, he completed his high school at the Municipal High School, Coimbatore. Then, taking his B Sc from Presidency College, Madras, Sreenivasan obtained his master’s degree in Textile Technology from the University of Manchester. In England, Sreenivasan married Barbara, an English lady, who was a gifted artist.
On his return to Coimbatore, Sreenivasan administered Kasthuri Mills Ltd, his family-owned company for about a decade and later became the Director of SITRA (South India Textile Research Association) and Chairman of the National Textile Corporation.
Besides being a veteran in Textile Technology, Sreenivasan was an ardent lover of literature and a passionate writer too. His famous book Climbing the Coconut Tree- A Partial Autobiography, is a mirror reflecting the past of Coimbatore.
“The siren from Kaleeswara Mill could be heard by the entire city. In the morning, women would carry pots of buttermilk and curd on their heads and sell them on the streets. The milkman would lead his cow from house to house and sell the milk to his customers, milking the cow in front of them” writes Sreenivasan in his book.
Sreenivasan also penned the novels A Handful of Earth, Devadasi, Service with a Smile, Light from Heaven and I am a stranger here. His other books include his English translation of Thirukkural and Sundarakandam, a canto from Kambaramayana. His book Cancer Made Me is his memoirs of the days of his illness and recovery. The anklet- a play in three acts is based on the great Tamil epic Silapathikaram. His technical books are Anatomy of Wealth, Anatomy of Progress, and Productivity and Social Environment.