He is known as the author of the Tamil prayer Neeradum Kadaludutha , which is part of his verse drama ‘Manonmaniam’. But few people know that P. Sundaram Pillai was a philosophy professor at the Maharaja’s college in Trivandram for over 15 years and the work was dedicated to Robert Harvey, Professor and Head of the Department of the College.
Sundaram Pillai, who died at the age of 42 in 1897, was also a historian, an epigraphist and a government official who held the post of Commissiones of separate revenue.
“He dedicated his work to Dr. Harvey as it was he who had recommended the appointment of Sundaram Pillai in his place after he decided to leave for England. He had even named his house as Harverypuram,” said A.K. Perumal, whose new book Manonmaniam Sundaranarin Innorupakkam (‘The other side Manonmaniam Sundaram’, NCBH), throws light on the multi-faceted personality of the author of the Tamil prayer.
‘Manonmaniam’ has its roots in Lord Litten’s ‘The Secret Way’, which was part of the collection of ‘The Lost Tales of Miletus’.
It was made into a film by Modern Theatres in 1942. The prayer song was set to music by late M.S. Viswanathan, but M. Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister, deleted a few lines.
Sundaram Pillai’s family was from Kalakadu in Tirunelveli district and moved to Alapuzha in the 18th century.
“He had studied Tamil in school. It is not clear how he had learnt Tamil literature in Kerala even though he was in touch with great Tamil scholars of his time, including U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer and C.V. Damodaram Pillai,” said Mr. Perumal.
When he was the principal of the MDT Hindu School he learnt Saiva Siddantha from Kodakanallur Sundara Swamigal and held a long discussion with Swami Vivekananda during his visit to Kerala.
As the Commissiones of separate revenue, the temple management was under his control and it came in handy for his research on epigraphs.
“As a historian he established with substantial evidence that Saivaite saint Thirugnana Sambandar belonged to 7th century and his English essay on the subject was published in the journal of the Madras Christian College. He also wrote an early sovereign of Travancore, an in-depth study of Travancore history,” said Mr Perumal, who has collected the essays.
Lost letters
“Unfortunately, we are not able to get many of his letters and photographs. Since he was a Congressman, police seized many documents from his residence, including his correspondence with Swami Vivekananda. They are lost permanently,” said Mr. Perumal.
‘He was in touch with great Tamil scholars of his time, including U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer'
