Biography of Dhamodarasamy Naidu released

Industrialist and educationist V. Gengusamy Naidu (left) releasing the biography of the late Dhamodarasamy Naidu of the Sri Annapoorna Sri Gowrishankar Group of Hotels at a function in Coimbatore on Tuesday. M. Ravi (second left), president, Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, received the first copy. Industrialist N. Mahalingam (third left) presided.He is someone who exposed Coimbatoreans to vada-sambar, quality filter coffee and fine dining, in that order. And, when it was time to release the late K. Dhamodarasamy Naidu’s biography, Suvaipada Vaazhthal, people turned up by the hundreds. For, in Coimbatore, there are few lives he has not touched.

The function, held at the Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam, started with a documentary on the late chairman of Sri Annapoorna Sri Gowrishankar Group of Hotels. Shot by his grandson Vivek Srinivasan, it featured everyone who mattered in his life.From his wife, who spoke teary-eyed about the husband who looked after her “like a daughter”, to his employees, to whom he was a father figure, to his driver Murugan, whom he loved like a son, and a whole lot of others. And, it had lots of pictures of Dhamodarasamy as a youth, a patriarch of a family, and a graceful industrialist. It also had footage of poet Vairamuthu talking about a man he admired. “He looked after others like his children; that is why he was looked at like a father-figure,” he said.

The evening was presided over by industrialist N. Mahalingam, who was closely associated with Mr. Naidu.The material for the biography, written by Marabin Maindhan Muthiah, was collected by writer Kalyani Babu, who shared a good rapport with the hotel king. The book, published by Vijaya Padhipagam, was released by industrialist and educationist Dr. V. Gengusamy Naidu, and received by M. Ravi, president, Tamil Nadu Hotel Association.Soon after, it was time to announce the launch of the Dr. K. Dhamodarasamy Naidu Charitable Trust, and help needy organisations.

The trust will take on the entire expenditure of the WVS School for special children for one year, provide benches and stools to Corporation Schools under the aegis of the Siddhapudur Schools Alumni Association, build a dining hall at the Cheshire Homes, which houses 50 abandoned senior citizens, and erect a statue of Vivekananda at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.One of the speakers said no one could gauge Mr. Naidu’s personality in entirety; but they all loved whatever little bits of him that they saw.Dr. Gengusamy Naidu recalled how he would write a cheque for Rs. 1 lakh when he visited any village school run by the former, and that too without his knowledge. “He exemplified hard work, a virtue that is not given much importance these days,” he said, adding that the hotel chain proved that a family that stayed together did well. He wanted every family to start a trust. “The amount does not matter.”

Vadalur Sivaprakasa Swamingal, his spiritual guru, spoke about how he would surprise people with his generosity. “We cooked nearly 25 kg of koozh in our ashram, and it was a difficult task to mix it by hand. I happened to mention it to him once. In a fortnight, he had readied a machine to stir the nourishing broth,” he recalled.K. Srinivasan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Hotel Association, spoke about how he fought to hard to get the industry its due in times of trouble. Orator Parveen Sulthana, who presented an analysis of the book, said reading it was a learning process.“Books are like buildings. Some are intimidating. Some invite you inside and trap you. Some prompt you to read and go back and bring in others too. This book falls in the last category.”The book is a must for those who are taking a decision on their lives. It shows that success is the journey to a goal. He was living proof of how native wisdom can help take on any challenge, she said. Thamilaruvi Manian and author Marabin Maindhan Muthiah also spoke.

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