Coimbatore, the Rome of Kongunad has seen enormous development in the last century and a quarter. The rulers of Jaipur are known for the title Sawai meaning a quarter over one in strength and intelligence. In other words it means - one quarter of an average man's worth. Sawai Jai Singh was given the title at the age of eleven by the Mughal Emperor who had summoned him and was later impressed by his wit which was backed by intelligence. Coimbatore the city of entrepreneurship has been able to do the job of ' more than one city ' and has become a Sawai among cities. Those were times when leaders ruled the roost and now cities rule the roost. Therefore we can proudly call our city ' Sawai Coimbatore '. Incidentally an offering made to any deity begins with one and a quarter units of currency and the title Sawai is our offering to the deity called commerce.
Coimbatore, the Rome of Kongunad has seen enormous development in the last century and a quarter. The rulers of Jaipur are known for the title Sawai meaning a quarter over one in strength and intelligence. In other words it means - one quarter of an average man's worth. Sawai Jai Singh was given the title at the age of eleven by the Mughal Emperor who had summoned him and was later impressed by his wit which was backed by intelligence. Coimbatore the city of entrepreneurship has been able to do the job of ' more than one city ' and has become a Sawai among cities. Those were times when leaders ruled the roost and now cities rule the roost. Therefore we can proudly call our city ' Sawai Coimbatore '. Incidentally an offering made to any deity begins with one and a quarter units of currency and the title Sawai is our offering to the deity called commerce.
The city had a very small population during the times of the Anglo Mysore wars. It was declared as the district headquarters on 24 November 1804 and now we are celebrating this day of elevation as ' Coimbatore Day '. The city trudged on listlessly for some decades until the founding of the Coimbatore Spinning & Weaving Mills in 1888 by Sir Robert Stanes who was supported by the wonderful S.P.Narasimhalu Naidu. Meanwhile Sadasivam Mudaliar had founded the Janopakara Bank in 1883 and it was the first joint stock company from this region. Of course the development of the Nilgiris added to the growth of the region. However the selfish and inefficient administration of the English brought in big famines and lots of people lost their lives. The business of textiles gave the city the identity once again. It had once exported textiles to Rome and made a big fortune. This was during the Sangam period and this gold was later used to gild the roof of the Chidambaram Nataraja temple with gold in the tenth century. Maybe the merit acquired because of the same made it the biggest jewellery manufacturing centre in all of south.
Textiles, pumps, motors, engineering business, transport, trading, jewellery etc., added to the wealth of the city and the region. Enterprising Coimbatore led this part of the country and the whole of Western Tamilnadu was catapulted into the world of commerce. The dryland farmers turned disrupters in the early parts of the twentieth century and this created enormous wealth and employment. Coimbatoreans understood the need to embrace modern education and were not keen to produce clerks or become clerks under the English. This attitude gave them the welcome break. Otherwise the skills would not have been of much use. The salubrious weather and the tasty brown rava uppuma added to the climate and flavour of this region. A number of hard working entrepreneurs did their bit by establishing ventures and some of them led the democratic society as well. The city became smart very quickly. Civic leaders like S.P.Narasimhalu Naidu, Rao Bahadur A.T.Thiruvengaswamy Mudaliar, Diwan Bahadur C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar, M.G.Arogyaswamy Pillai, T.A.Ramalingam Chettiar, Dr.R.K.Shnanmukham Chetty, V.C.Vellingiri Gounder, Diwan Bahadur C.V.Venkataramana Iyengar, Kovai Kizhar C.M.Ramachandran Chettiar added to the civic infrastructure and dialogue in a big way. Freedom fighters Kovai Khadar Ayyamuthu, Kovai Subri, T.S.Avinashilingam Chettiar, Bharat Ratna awardee Dr.C.Subramaniam, Boo Boo Ramaswamy did much for the cause of freedom and liberty. Liberty was espoused by them in a patriotic manner.
The Agricultural University, Forest College, Sugarcane Breeding Institute came up because of the soil diversity. Plagues hit the city and it led to better hygiene and urban developments. Ramnagar, R.S.Puram etc., came up. K.S. Ardhanariswara Iyer did much in Ramnagar. Diwan Bahadur Sulur Lakshmi Narasimha Iyer was responsible for getting Trichy Road bigger. He gave away his family lands adjacent to the road for its expansion. Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudaliar did a lot for the freedom fighters from his Vysial Street residence. The PSG Brothers, G.D.Naidu, G.Kuppuswamy Naidu, B.Rangaswamy Naidu, A.G.Guruswamy Naidu, V.S.Sengottiah, P.A.Raju Chettiar, Rao Bahadur V.Gopal Naidu, DPF Narayanaswamy Naidu, A.T.Krishnaswamy Mudaliar, A.T.Devaraja Mudaliar, Swamikannu Vincent, S.M.Sriramulu Naidu, Textool Balasundaram , Prof G.R.Damodaran, G.K.Devarajulu, N.R.Karuppanna Nadar, R.Venkataswamy Naidu, T.S.Sivasubramaniam Chettiar, T.T.R.Pillai, S.R.P.Ponnuswamy Chetty, N.Giriya Chettiar, Verivada Chettiar, Diwan Bahadur P.Somasundaram Chettiar, Zamindar of Uthukuli, G.K.Sundaram, T.V.Brothers family, Kikani family, Gokuldas Thulsidas, S.Bheemiah Chetty, N.G.Ramaswamy etc.,added real wealth to the city.
The next period saw many more like G.R.Govindarajulu, Texmo Ramaswamy, L.G.Varadaraj, V.N.Ramachandran, N.Damodaran,, Everest Somasundaram and Dr.N.Mahalingam. Food entrepreneurs Asoka M.K.Krishna Chetty, C.S. Govinda Iyer, Annapoorna Damodaraswamy Naidu, Sri Krishna Sweets N.K.Mahadeva Iyer, K.S.M.Guruswamy Nadar, RHR Guruswamy Nadar, Seetharama Vilas Krishna Iyer, Rose Brand A.R.Nagamanickkam Chettiar Alankar Hotel Thirumurthy, Ayyar & Co family, J.M.& Sons family etc., did great things. The Alankar Hotel was the most modern hotel of its times. Woodlands on Arts College Road had its fine cottages. It had been the residence of the great N.S.Ramaswamy Iyengar and it had been purchased from the family of C.M.Padmanabhachar.
The sing song mariyadhai Tamil can be called the ' Sangeetha Tamil ' which added a musical flavour to the city which was one home to a big fort which was built by the Vijayanagar rulers. Quite a few women did their bit. Chinnammal Rangaswamy Naidu, Dr. Sarojini, T.V.M.Thillai Ammal, Chandrakanthi Govindarajulu, Dr.Rajammal Devadas, Savithri Shanmugham, Dr.G.V.Rajammal were quite well known. Of course Dr.T.V.Sivanandam, Dr.Ramaswamy Iyer, Dr.S.R. Srikantan were very popular with the people because of their selfless service. Multi faceted mill owners like Annur K.Govindaswamy Naidu came up with a number of ventures.
Coimbatore has been famous for motor sports, dog breeding, farmer movement ( under Narayanaswamy Naidu ), textile research ( SITRA K.Srinivasan ), music ( Coimbatore Thayi and Pithukuli Murugadas ), Bhagavad Gita ( N.Giridhari Prasad ), education, cooperation etc., in a big way. The city has been known for its progressive education system led by its own people. Many Christian convents were begun long ago. The Veeraswamy school was a pioneer.
Bureaucrats like Diwan Bahadur Rubgunday Raghunatha Rao cut their teeth in Coimbatore. This city is home to the famous treatise on Periya Puranam, Perur Puranam by Kachiappa Munivar and Danaicken Kottai by Vakkil Balakrishna Naidu. Nava India founded by Prof P.R.Ramakrishnan was the Numero Uno its arena. Jewellers like Kirtilal Kalidas, K.Ramakrishna Pillai, S.Vasudeva Rao, B.R.Nataraja Chettiar D.A.Ramachandran Chettiar, K.S.Pandurangan Chettiar followed the path laid by the Kulur family.
One of the earliest examples for good governance was under Kurikkara Mathaiyan long ago. He looked after old Coimbatore very well for nearly forty years. N.Ramu Brothers, Electro Diesel, Meenu Mix, Koyas, Rama & Co, IES ( Industrial Engineering Stores ), Zimson , Shobha Cloth Centre, A.Rangaswamy Chettiar, IAB, Tharakaram Silk House, Bombay Anand Bhavan, Lakshmi Grinders, Original Viswanatha Iyer, Ranjitha Vilas, Veeco Sarees, Radio House, K.S.Shetty & Co, Radhakrishna & Co, M.S.Manickkam & Co, Angannan Biriyani, E.Purushottam, Carnatic Theatres, Royal Theatre, Raja Theatre and the flamboyant P.A.R. Viswanathan Chettiar. M.M.A.Chinnapa Devar, Nilkan Perumal will forever be remembered. People will always cherish public representatives V.C.Palaniswamy Gounder, Parvathi Krishnan, G.Varadaraj and the others who contributed towards the development of the region.
A number of charities founded by people belonging to a broad spectrum of the society have alleviated many a misery. The list is endless and there are numerous unsung heroes who are remembered in incognito. Goddess Koniamman and her sisters along with the children Marudamalai Murugan and Eachanari Vinayagar are often visited by the people who love Lakshmi Narasimhan at Ukkadam. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Buddhists enjoy Coimbatore for its fellowship and friendship. Coimbatorean spirit continues to rule the roost in this region. Let us salute Sawai Coimbatore the city which represents India which is Bharat.