KNL ( K.N.Lakshminarayanan ) was a popular advocate in Coimbatore. He was a personification of simplicity. The advocate was born as the second child of Thailambal and K.M.Narayana Iyer at Ottapalam in Kerala. His father K.M.Narayana Iyer hailed from Kizhakke Gramam of Kollengode ( Palakkad District ).
KNL ( K.N.Lakshminarayanan ) was a popular advocate in Coimbatore. He was a personification of simplicity. The advocate was born as the second child of Thailambal and K.M.Narayana Iyer at Ottapalam in Kerala. His father K.M.Narayana Iyer hailed from Kizhakke Gramam of Kollengode ( Palakkad District ). The family has settled down in Coimbatore in 1900 and K.M.Narayana Iyer was a first Grade Pleader. He was a member of the Bar from 1909 and had practiced on the civil side in Coimbatore till 1945. K.N.Lakshminarayana Iyer did his early education at the Veeraswamy School and this was followed by an Intermediate from the Government Arts College in Coimbatore. He did his B.A from Loyola College in Chennai ( 1930 - 1932 ), and law from the Madras Law College ( 1932 - 1934 ). KNL cleared his Bar Council Exam in 1935 and joined the Bar at Coimbatore in the August of that very year. He underwent training in all aspects of civil law under his father. K.M.Narayana Iyer had been a well known and highly respected Vakil of the time. The father and son duo practiced together for 10 years (1935 - 1945 ). K.M.Narayana Iyer stopped attending the courts from 1945.
Meanwhile, KNL worked simultaneously as an apprentice at law under K.Raghavendra Rao ( Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor ). The keen youngster had assisted K.Raghavendra Rao in Sessions cases, Civil appeals and original suits. He got a thorough training in all aspects of law while working with K.Raghavendra Rao. KNL had also worked under S.K.Raghavendra Rao, a leading civil lawyer of the yonder era.
K.N.Lakshminarayanan married Subbalakshmi in 1932 and the couple were blessed with Sharadha Rammohan, Mangalam Venkataraman, K.L.Narayanan, Dr.L.Anant Iyer, L.Sundaresan and L.Vasudevan. One of the sons in law C.P.Venkataraman is a senior advocate. The family deity is Tirupati Venkatachalapathy and KNL was greatly devoted to the Lord of the Seven Hills. He was an active advocate for fifty years ( 1935 - 1985 ). Thereafter he restricted himself to Chamber practice ( 1985 - 2000 ).
"Father was quite active in the society. His social religious, cultural and educational work was interesting. He worked along with a number of charitable institutions. Grandfather K.M.Narayana Iyer had been the first secretary of the Ramnagar Suburban Society. Father was Power Agent, Secretary and Treasurer of the Sanganoor Subramania Iyer Trust, a public charitable trust under the management of the Sringeri Mutt. The trust was formed with the objective of running a Veda Patasala. He was also associated with the Cochin Diwan Nanjappier Trust, Sharadhambal Temple on Race Course, Ramnagar Suburban School ( President, Secretary & Correspondent ), Kodandaramaswamy Temple ( President ) in Ramnagar, Coimbatore Brahmana Mahasabha, Sri Ayyappa Pooja Sangam. Father was also associated with KR Kalyana Mandapam. A number of charitable institutions, hospitals and educational institutions benefited because of his involvement in the interest of the society. He was greatly attached to the Sringeri Mutt and the Pontiffs H.H.Abhinava Vidyatheertha Maha Swamigal, H.H.Bharathi Theertha Maha Swamigal had visited the family residence in the past, " stated the first son K.L. Narayanan.
A number of leading citizens were friends of KNL. Many leading corporates were his clients too and it included Sakthi Sugars, Bannariamman Sugars, Periya Karamalai Group and the S.N.R Sons Charities as also several public and private sector banks. S.N.R.Chinnaswamy Naidu was very well known to him. His close friends and associates included Sriyuths Dr.Sundareswaran, C.S.Balakrishnan, K.V.Narayanaswamy Iyer, S.Radhakrishna Sastrigal, S.R.Nanjundiah, C.S.Govinda Iyer, N.Balasubramania Iyer, K.S.Mruthyunjayan, A.S. Ananthanarayana Iyer, Dr.C.V.Ramaraj, S.Rajagopalan, Dr.C.N.Santhanam, P.S.Ramachandra Iyer, S.R.Ramakrishnan, G.V.Ramachandriah, P.N.Raghavendra Rao, P.N.Madhava Rao, P.N.Rama Rao, Dr.P.K.Kalyanaraman, Narayana Iyer, P.S.Narayana Iyengar, N.Parthasarathy and many others. T.M.A.Pai the Chairman of Southern Apex Bank ( it became Syndicate Bank later ) was known to him for 50 years.
Quite a few auditors used to seek his advice and they included V.K.S. Iyer, G.Krishnan, N.R.Doraiswamy, A.R.Jaganathan, K.S.G.Subramaniam and D.V.Subbachar. He used to an advisor to a number of banks. KNL was a forerunner in drafting property related documents, consortium and tri partite agreements, joint venture agreements ( property development related ) among other things. Those were times when the crisp opinion of KNL was relied upon for people venturing into purchase of properties and for banks wanting to lend money for property purchases. His good work and methods had helped many a person to buy a house or an apartment. Several senior lawyers used to discuss with him informally and he would come forward to share his opinion. His knowledge on Hindu Law, Property Law, Muslim Law and Trust Law was highly sought after.
"Father was a devout person. He used to perform the Navarathri Pooja along with mother for 10 days every year. Surya Namaskara Pooja, Devi Mahatmeeya Parayanam, Rudrabhishekham, Valmiki Ramayana Parayanam, Bhagavathi seva, Venkatachalapathy Deepam and Samaradhanai would be done by him. Somaskanda Pooja has been going on for 150 years. We were taught prayer methods by the time we reached 15 years of age. He was a strict disciplinarian. Father had learnt the job of the gumastha ( Clerk ). He would exactly know what to do in the absence of a clerk. Delays were not tolerated and he used to go through the papers even after 11 PM. The preparations were completely done by him during the late hours. He would use the old envelope and never wasted paper. Many of the Agraharam people from Pichanoor were among his clients. He would never consider the financial size of the transaction for charging a fee and never worked on a percentage basis. Fees were fixed based on the task. Family disputes were abhorred and he would try to settle through discussions. People were told that they were putting good money after bad, " recalled his son L.Sundaresan.
KNL was known for his legal etiquette. Once, a judge was in the hall and KNL was present alone in the hall at that moment. The judge wanted to know if there was anything pending. KNL stated that the judge should not be the last person to leave the Court hall as per the protocol. Therefore he had been waiting for him. KNL was a highly respected senior advocate by then but he held on to the protocol with great dedication. He used to tell his juniors to learn, work and practice for development would follow a healthy attitude. Real Estate developments took place in a big manner from the last quarter of the twentieth century. KNL was among the earliest to draft documents in order to serve the interests of the owner, developer and the buyer simultaneously. People used to say that if KNL had vetted the document, one could go ahead and purchase the property. His intellect was used in the company of his amazing wisdom.
"KNL was a remarkable advocate who was respected by the Bar and the Bench for his erudition in law. He was a simple man who was readily available to help anyone who needed his guidance, never after cheap money or popularlity. He was a man of sterling qualities and never compromised on ethical values. I had the oppourtunity of moving closely with him and cherish the time I spent with him, " Stated Senior Advocate N.V.Nagasubramaniam.
Ammini.S.Iyer, P.R.Thirumalnesan, U.R.Krishnan, U.Chandrashekaran, M.V.Ramachandran, K.V.Ramamurthy were among his juniors. The firm K.N.Lakshminarayanan Associates continues and his juniors S.Krishnan and P.S.Ravichandran are at the helm these days.
"Senior was like a father to me. He was a role model for many. Senior never charged money for giving a property purchase opinion for bank employees. He used to state that the purpose of an agreement is to perform and not for non performance. I began working with him from 1978 and I used to visit his home everyday. My food was with him before going to the court. He had worked for 65 years and was updating himself at all times. Rest time was sacrificed in the interest of the client. He wrote briefs and opinions till his last moment. His humour would never offend anyone. My Guru was approachable, accessible and never maintained a distance with anyone, " stated his long standing junior S.Krishnan.
"Father used to have a ' hold all ' which was used at the time of travel. He acknowledged grand father's contribution in connection with the success in his profession. I am now reminded of a few of our family habits with regard to purchases. He used to tell us that the ' Thirumangalyam ' should never be weighed post production. Therefore he would only let us check the weight of the other ornaments. It was act of faith for him. We used to shop at P.A.Raju Chettiar for jewellery, Maruthachalam Chettiar for clothes and K.C.Mannarswamy Chettiar for rice. Well, now I remember Judge Narayana Iyer coming home for pooja. Our house used to known as 'Narayaneeyam' and now post development it is known as ' Ayodhya '," added L.Sundaresan.
"I recall what a client said about father. He Had approached father to file a suit for partition of the family property. Father went through the papers and advised him to bring the other family members also for a discussion. At the end of the discussion the family decided to settle the issue amicably without partition. Said the client ' your father not only saved our property but also our family from splitting '," remembered L. Vasudevan
K.N.Lakshminarayanan, the sincere advocate had been a man of substance. A rare gem, whose life is worthy of emulation.