Irusu Pillai has been living in his home ' Thaayagam ' for 60 years now. People driving through Damu Nagar during the late hours cannot afford to miss the lights on in his residence. The senior Tamil scholar would be found reading and writing with full gusto. Irusu Pillai has authored more than 20 books and has taken Divine Tamil forward in a wise and sensible manner.
Irusu Pillai has been living in his home ' Thaayagam ' for 60 years now. People driving through Damu Nagar during the late hours cannot afford to miss the lights on in his residence. The senior Tamil scholar would be found reading and writing with full gusto. Irusu Pillai has authored more than 20 books and has taken Divine Tamil forward in a wise and sensible manner.
The elder Tamil scholar has a sharp memory. He is sure to surprise the visitor with his razor sharp intellect. Irusu Pillai was born to Maniyakkaarar Ramaswamy Pillai and Irusayi at Siruvangur (Siruvangaiyur) in the October of 1928. His favorite deity is Lord Murugan while his family deity happens to be Irusayi Amman. Irusu means axle or achu. It is also known as Achaani. The Madras University Lexicon states that Irusu means honesty.
Irusu Pillai did his early education in his native place. However high schools were yet to come up those days. Therefore he moved over to the District Board School in Kallakurichi. The village Siruvangur had seen a lot of caste related issues and Irusu Pillai's mother did not want to see her son coming up in this atmosphere. This led him to a new place. He founded the Valibar Sangam in the interest of promoting harmony. The offenders had to pay a fine.
"I continue to remember my teachers Venkatarama Iyer, Gurumurthy Iyer, Lakshmikantha Iyer, Nagaraja Iyer, Natasabapathy Ayya, Subbiah Mudaliar and Nallaperumal. My first teacher was Kuppuswamy Pillai and he made me write on paddy with a piece of turmeric. Well, that was the beginning. I had to write a Selection Exam before my SSLC as that was the norm then. Unfortunately I could not clear my English paper and had to write the entire set once again in order to write the SSLC exam. One had to pay exam fees in order to write the exams. Thereafter I joined the Annamalai University in 1947 and did my Intermediate there. The students could not join without meeting the Vice Chancellor (M. Rathinaswamy). I am grateful to Ramanujachariar for helping me with the hostel accommodation. Social work was possible in the university but one had to finance it with his own resources. I took night classes and collected one or two annas from the students as donation and went ahead with social work. My teachers stated that I was eligible for mathematics or economics but I chose TAMIL," smiled Irusu Pillai while talking about his younger days.
Irusu Pillai did his M.A from Annamalai University and he was very popular with the students. His good conduct made him endearing. The authorities appointed him as the Secretary of the Social Work programme. He was preferred by the Vice Chancellor Dr.S.G.Manavala Ramanujam and Registrar Satchitananda Pillai. Irusu Pillai was a true centrist and it was a time when students had political leanings of different hues. On one occasion, the Tamil scholar put an end to a conflict that was based on the linguistic identity of a student. The hostel had several dining facilities and the students used to elect one person as their representative. This was normally based on caste, but the choice of the students was based on the support of Irusu Pillai for he had earned a lot of goodwill and it mattered in the mess connected with him. Once, a set of aggravated students surrounded the Vice Chancellor's Guest House. The Vice Chancellor had shut off a road which in which girls had been disturbed by the boys. The angry students had kept him within the guest house. Irusu Pillai and his friends ensured that the Vice Chancellor was brought out safely.
"I still remember the moment when we unveiled the portraits of Maramalai Adigal and Tamil Thaatha U.Ve.Swaminatha Iyer. There was a lot of opposition and it was from Prof Sundaram and M.Annamalai. They shouted the slogan ' Arya Adi Varudi Irusu Pillai Ozhiga '. (Down down Irusu Pillai, the one who caresses the feet of the Aryan). Finally the portrait of U.Ve.Swaminatha Iyer was unveiled first by Meenakshisundaram and that of Maraimalai Adigal by Paramasivanandam. This was done this way in order to avoid a boycott, "smiled the scholar. Irusu Pillai has always taken the positive side of people. In spite of the fact that some of them had created obstacles and challenges for him. He continues to recall the teachers Raghavachari, Bheema Rao, Rajamani Nadar, Chidambaram Chettiar and Bhoovaraham Pillai.
Irusu Pillai finished his education and was a teacher for sometime. He joined the PSG College of Arts and Science in order to teach Tamil during the year 1953 and he continued there until 1964. He still remembers facts connected with his selection , "30 applicants were in for one post and I got selected. My marriage to Kamala of Namagiripettai followed the appointment. Father in law Maaria Pillai (a) Raja was the Namagiripettai Panchayat Board President. A number of my students cycled all the way to the wedding venue. They were from out of town and it was heartening. Prof G.R.Damodaran was a visionary and it was a great experience to work under him. He created a Teachers Colony on his land. It came to known as Damu Nagar. I paid Rs.2400 for 10 cents. The payment was made by me in irregular instalments. I was moved to the PSG Industrial Institute as the Labour Welfare Officer in 1964 and I continued there until 1987. Kalaikadhir founded by GRD was a path breaking magazine. I was associated with the magazine for sometime and was a member of the team which worked on ' Ariviyal Kalaichol Agaradhi '. Gandhiyam and Sarvoyadam were always dear to me and I was in charge of the magazine Sarvodaya until 1992. The tenets of Vallalar and Ahimsa of Gandhiji were always dear to me. I used to offer my respects to a picture of Vallalar before going to school each day. It was only after becoming a vegetarian did I begin to speak about Vallalar. Later I began to share details pertaining to the teachings of Vallalar at Sanmarga Sangam and taught Thiruvarutpa and Periya Puranam on the request of industrialist Dr.N.Mahalingam. The industrialist had been greatly supportive. I was also involved with the work - Kongu Naattil India Sudhandhira Porattam quite deeply."
Kamala and Irusu Pillai have been blessed with Murugavel, Aravanan, Thirunavukkarasu, Gnanavallal and Irusu Ambalavanan. He was considered to be a bit short tempered. However there was a time when one worker at the PSG Industrial Institute had spoken badly about Irusu Pillai in the presence of many people. He was not even in any of the unions, but was excused. Later the worker requested Irusu Pillai to help him to draft his daughter's wedding invitation. Irusu Pillai had done a lot of publications on labour welfare. The scholar has been connected with a lot of organizations which included Thiruvalluvar Mandram, Ramana Kendram, Aliyar Arivu Thirukovil, Kamban Kazhagam, Nanneri Kazhagam, Sanmarga Sangam and Samudaya Seva Sangam.
It is important to know about his missing work which was seminal. He used to share the complete details pertaining to the history of Tamil literature while at the PSG College of Arts and Science. He had personally created a valuable manuscript on the subject and had taken a lot of efforts to prepare the same. It contained a wealth of information. No other work of this kind had been available those days. Lots of explanations were part of this book. Unfortunately the details are not available. Irusu Pillai has written about 20 books and they veer around literature working towards the betterment of the society. This was his approach. Irusu Pilla's books are freely available. He does not charge a price, nor does he take a royalty. He states that the cost of the books are sponsored. Irusu Pillai is happy to acknowledge the support of Brahmagnani Mahendran, Yogi Subramaniam, Angammal, Veluswamy, Ve.Thirunavukkarasu and Ve.Marudagiri with regard to his books.
Irusu Pillai's books are many and he has a wish list too. He wants the judiciary to be as pure as gold. His books include Thiruvasaga Sollagaradhi, Thirukovaiyar Sollagaradhi, He is deeply attached to Vedadri Maharishi, Gnanavallal Paranjothi Mahaan who was not educated but whose handwriting was excellent. The teachings of Visiri Samiyar Yogi Ramsurathkumar attracted him deeply. On his retirement, Irusu Pillai spent a lot of time in Aliyar with Vedadri Maharishi. He taught Vedadriyam and Dhyanam to the seekers at Aliyar for sometime. Irusu Pillai has received a number of recognitions - Nalmaanakkar from Annamalai University, Tamilnerichemmal from Nanneri Kazhagam, Tamilsaanroar from Kovai Maavatta Sanmarga Sangam, Gnanachemmal from Sri Krishna Sweets, Tamilmaamani from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Nallasiriyar from Sekkilar Arayachi Maiyam (Chennai).
The scholar seeks a better society in his works. He wants everyone to be calm and happy. While talking about the benefits of enjoying increased income, Irusu Pillai states that its okay provided we develop internally.
Tamil New Year is a time to celebrate Tamil wisdom. The work of Irusu Pillai does that precisely. His book Thirukkural Sindhanai is thought provoking. The author has chosen 365 couplets for an annual reading. Arulnidhi Rama.Irusu Pillai has elucidated the teachings in a lucid manner. While talking about non violence and staying a vegetarian, Irusu Pillai states that one should not kill justice, duty etc., In another place he states that renunciation does not mean running away from all the responsibilities but understanding the relationships and the boundaries of the same.
The books and lectures of Irusu Pillai are beyond this small essay. His works are a must read and will act as a beacon light. He states that the poverty and illiteracy that accompanied colonial rule have disappeared. People have a lot more today. However they need to meditate in order to beget a calm mind. That is the need of the hour. We tend to find fault with others while not looking at our own faults. This should be avoided says the Tamil scholar Arulnidhi Rama. Irusu Pillai.
Arulnidhi. Rama Irusu Pillai continues to be a beacon light and his works in Tamil add to the lustre of the Tamil society.