It turned out to be an evening of nostalgia for many as speakers recalled the illustrious contributions of renowned industrialist, politician and educationist C. Rajam Ramaswamy on his centenary year celebrations held in the city on Saturday.
Eminent personalities from various fields elaborated on their association with Mr. Ramaswamy and his contributions to society. B. Muthuraman, former vice-chairman of Tata Steel, highlighted the multi-faceted personality of Mr. Ramaswamy.
Many speakers also narrated anecdotes about Mr. Ramaswamy, who not only excelled as an industrialist but was also an acclaimed educationist and the first MLA of Mylapore constituency. While R. Ramakrishna Raja, former Rotary governor and entrepreneur, spoke about his acumen as an industrialist, R.K. Raghavan, former CBI Director, said Mr. Ramaswamy was a close associate of Congress leader Kamaraj and was an inspiration to youngsters.
M.M. Murugappan, vice-chairman of the Murugappa Group, underlined Mr. Ramaswamy’s patriotic fervour, commitment to public life and numerous contributions to the education field. Mr. Ramaswamy made significant contributions to Madras Institute of Technology that was founded by his father.
S. Sathik, former Vice-Chancellor of Madras University and former director of MIT, and Mannar Jawahar, former Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, and T.M. Jawaharlal, former general manager, Ashok Leyland, touched upon Mr. Ramaswamy’s contributions to the field of education and technology. His contributions to society through setting up of Public Health Centre that offers medical services at a subsidised rate were also highlighted.
‘Remembering Rajam Ramaswamy: A Man For all Seasons’, a souvenir compiled by Prema Srinivasan, was released on the occasion. Ann Gonsalvez, former senior manager, Bank of Baroda, and S. Balachandran, director, NIFCO, also spoke.
