This is my World

The world has seen many entrepreneurs who run businesses to be successful and wealthy, but Tamil Nadu produced a man who turned an entrepreneur to fight the might of the British and to prove them that India can stand up on its own legs. In this venture of his, he lost all his wealth and led a life of sacrifice so that we can breath freedom.  Chapter 1: Early years V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (VOC) was born on September 5, 1872 in Ottapidaram (the same place where Veerapandiya Kattabomman's memorial fort is). He was the eldest son of Olaganathan Pillai, an eminent lawyer and Parvathi ammal. He did his schooling in Ottapidaram, Thoothukudi(Tuticorin) and Thirunelveli, learnt English from a Taluk officer, and read Ramayana and Mahabharatha with his  grandparents. After finishing his schooling, he was employed as a clerk in the Thoothukudi Taluk office briefly before he went to Thiruchi to study law. He graduated in 1894 and a year later, returned to...

Indian historians have always had selective memory. To them, the four cities of Shahjahanabad(Delhi), Mumbaai(Mumbai), Mahishur(Mysore) and Kalikata(Kolkata) form the boundaries of the country. Many a men have lost their place in Indian history due to this geopolitical blindness. One such man is Vanchinathan.  Personal life: Vanchinathan was born into a Brahmin family in 1886 in the southernmost corner of the country. Sengottai, the town in which he was born, literally means 'Red fort' in English, but this one is not celebrated as the other one in the northern corner of the country. As a child, it is said, Vanchinathan was polite and unassuming, almost shy. He also seems to have been studious, graduating with a B.A. from Moolam Thirunal Maharaja College in Thiruvananthapuram and a M.A from Baroda university. While he was in college, he married Ponnammal with whom he fathered a daughter. After college, he was offered a clerkship in Travancore forest department which he happil...