Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai is a name embedded in the long but unforgotten memories of erstwhile Travancore. When one looks into the blurred memories, a turban-wearing visage comes to the mind of the elderly citizens.
Sundaram Pillai’s contributions to the educational and cultural sectors had once been viewed as glittering and awe-inspiring. In search of this Philosophy Professor in the then Maharaja’s College, Thiruvananthapuram, many a great man had come. He had even guests like Chattambi Swami, Sree Narayana Guru and Swami Vivekananda.
It was in honour of his great Tamil classical drama ‘Manonmaniam’ that the government of Tamil Nadu had established the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University at Tirunelveli. The other day, the University, as part of its foundation day, invited Dr P S Ramaswamy, a native of Karakulam in the city, to the University and honoured him along with four of his relatives, all descendents of Sundaram Pillai.
“It was a great experience for me and my family to be honoured at the University for my great grandfather’s contribution to literature and culture. Though he was a Malayali, and spent most of his life here in Thiruvananthapuram, it was his contribution to Tamil literature that got him a suitable place in history,” Sundaram Pillai’s great grandson Ramaswamy said.
Sundaram Pillai’s contributions as a teacher, writer and philosopher were legendary so much so that Swami Vikekananda himself, on his first visit to Thiruvananthapuram, called on him one fine morning to hold discussions with him. It was on a ‘Krishnasila’ placed in front of Pillai’s house that Vivekananda was seated and had rested. Last year, Ramaswamy handed over this stone, which he had kept as a sacred monument, to Bharateeya Vichara Kendram.
Ramaswamy pointed out that Tamil Nadu government had selected a song in ‘Manonmaniam’ as its official song. He said Sundaram Pillai’s son P S Nataraja Pillai was the finance minister in the Thiru -Kochi government and he later became the MP from Thiruvananthapuram when Kerala state was formed.
Sundaram Pillai’s history of the early sovereigns of Travancore and of South India had earned him the stature of a historian.
Ramaswamy is happy that, at last, the citizens of Thiruvananthapuram too have come forward to perpetuate his great grandfather’s memory. Last year, the Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai Foundation was formed with Thiruvananthapuram as its centre. District committees have also been formed in Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts. Foundation secretary C S Vidyasagar, an advocate, who is also a DCC office-bearer, said they had asked the government to sanction funds for setting up a cultural centre.
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