Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu
The Indian Edison
Coimbatore is often called the Manchester of India, due to it’s factories and industries. Tamil Nadu’s second largest city, also called as Kovai, is an Industrial, Technology, Textile hub of the state. And the reason is one man, often called the “Edison of India”, Gopalswamy Duraiswamy Naidu, aka G.D.Naidu, the man who created the first motor in India. Much like Edison, a school dropout, he was behind many inventions and also started many industries, playing a vital role in development of the state.
He was born on March 23, 1893 in Kallangal village near Coimbatore, son of a humble farmer Gopalswamy Naidu. Having lost his mother at an early age, he was raised by his uncle and aunt at the nearby Naayakanpaalayam village, where he grew up under their doting care. At school, the teacher identified him as a brilliant student, though quite mischevious too. However he could not get along with the strict class room environment, and dropped out of school, beginning to work on his father’s farm.
It was during his work on the farm, that he developed an interest in reading, and began to read books on every subject that interested him. As he grew up, he came to know about a medical company called Park Davis, and managed to finalize a business deal with them of selling pain balms. He also got married in the meantime to Chellamal.
One day he saw a Britisher driving a motorcycle in his village, and desired to own one himself. He went to Coimbatore, for the first time in his life, worked in a hotel for 3 years, and managed to save around 400 Rs. Later he purchased the motorcycle from the British surveyor he had seen and proudly showed it to his father and wife.
He tried his hand for sometime in the cotton business, however with that turning out to be a failure, he decided to stay away from it. It was around this time he met Robert Stanz, while looking for a job in auto industry. Robert knowing the potential of Duraiswamy, offered him Rs 4000 and suggested him to invest another 4000 to buy a bus that could yield a good profit. He ran his first bus from Pollachi to Palani in 1920, and soon his transport business flourished in the decade to come, as he rose to become an owner of 70 buses. When his competitors failed to beat him, he invited all of them, and set up United Motor Services(UMS), a joint venture, that soon became a leading transport company.
The humble Duraiswamy who had never left his village till the age of 20, now began to tour the world. He made his own camera, through which he captured the images of leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and also covered the funeral of England’s King George V in 1935. He began to learn the latest industrial, business techniques, which he would put to good use.
He established National Electric Works in 1939, that manufactured the first electric motor in India. It was a completely indigenous product, with all the parts except the ball bearing manufactured in his company. He invented the Rasant razor, that was made at a factor in a German town called Heilbronn, which bought good profits.
His inventions included a Refrigerator, Recorder, Mechanical Calculator, a distance adjuster for film cameras, fruit juice extractor, Coffee Supplier. He invented a 2 seater petrol car in 1941, that cost Rs 2000, howevet then British Govt did not grant him the licence. It was not just industry, even in agriculture too he created hybrid varieties of cotton, maize, papaya, banana and coconut. He also deeply researched on Siddha medical system, coming up with his own medicines. The likes of C.V.Raman and M.Visveswarayya visited his farm and were impressed with his work.
He developed a good rapport with many industrialists, political leaders, Govt officials across the world. In memory of his father he constructed a bungalow in Coimbatore called “Gopala Bag”, where he would spend the rest of his life till his last breath. He firmly believed that students needed more hands on experience, than mere academics.
And started two premier institutions in 1945,“Sir Arthur Hope College of Technology” and “Sir Arthur Hope Polytechnic” named so after then Madras Governor. He later gave them to the Govt, and they are now called the Govt College of Technology, and Govt Polytechnic, both leading educational institutions in Coimbatore. He felt thar the four year course was not needed, and two years with practical training was more than enough. However his proposal was not accepted by the Britsh Govt and he resigned as principal.
Later in 1946, he started Industrial Labour Welfare Association (ILWA), now known as G.D.Naidu Charities, to impart higher education with an emphasis on practical training for students to get good employment. G.D.Naidu passed away on January 4, 1974, leaving a vast legacy in the form of his industries and educational institutions. The G.D.Matriculation Higher Secondary School and G.D.Public School in Coimbatore are now run by his descendants.