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Speeches of Alagappa Chettiar |
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Speech of Dr. Chettiar on the occasion of Unveiling the Portrait of Rtn.Tampi at the Rotary Club of Karaikudi. I have great pleasure in unveiling the portrait of my friend and fellow Rotarian Sri A.N. Tampi. Normally I should have hesitated to undertake this task in the present state of my health. But when I was approached by my friend Rotarian Dr. Jabbar and Secretary, Alladi Natesan, I gladly undertook this task because it is an opportunity for me to give expression to my happy relationship with Mr. Tampi, everslnce the time that he came to Karaikudi and accepted the office of the Principalship of the College here. During these seven or eight years, Mr. Tampi and I have had occasions to meet very frequently. We have agreed on many issues and have also agreed to differ on certain occasions. But at no stage has there been any disparagement on either side. Mr. Tampi, as you know, is what he looks, that is, he is a strong man in the proper sense of the word. But his strength is not mere obstinacy, but determination to see a thing done properly. So much so, while he has always presented his point of view and stated his case with vehemence, he has shown an equal capacity to listen and to be convinced by others. This is particularly, so as far as i am concerned, because there has been many a question on which he and I have held long discussions and on which I have had to present my own point of view. Perhaps, some of you may thin that I am also an equally obstinate person and have the habit of presenting my point of view forcibly. But the results have been pleasant and constructive and I cannot remember an occasion when we did not arrive at a solution, which made both of us satisfied. Mr. Tampi held the onerous office of the Director of Public Instruction in Travancore State, a state as you know which teams with problems inspite of its high literacy or perhaps, because of it. I should not be misunderstood at this stage as saying that education is harmful but merely as stating a fact. After his successful tenure of office there, we were able to persuade Mr. Tampi, with the help of my revered friend Dr. A. Lakshmanaswaml Mudallar, to accept the no doubt less important office of the Principal of the Alagappa College. The arts College was the original nucleus around which the other Colleges have sprung. I say this is in the literal sense of the word that is, all the institutions were originally housed in the Arts College in the early years of their life and then only they had their own separate habitation. So, Mr. Tampi can claim in a way the fatherhood of all the institutions here. I am sure that seeing the children grow; up and develop an independent family life of their own, Mr. Tampi feels like a pater familias observing gladly what is happening all around and taking a natural pride in the activities of this college Campus. After coming over to Karaikudi the amount of interest that Mr. Tampi has Deem taking in these institutions is known to all of you and it is hardly necessary for me to repeat them. But I may take this opportunity of mentioning to you that his labors for the welfare and development of the institutions here have been constant and unremitting, and have been inspired by his desire to make all these institutions something of which anyone can be proud. So much so occasionally he has been impatient of opposition or even difference of view.It is a well-known trait of the common run of men to stick to a path, which has already been laid, and to shun any new change as far as possible. The extent of a man's robust thinking and determination is shown by his fearless disregard of all obstacles and not by the way in which he is overwhelmed by them. I consider this a safe test by which to judge the capacity of a person, and judging by the standard, Mr. Tampi has brought with him something of the quality of the stream roller, which crushed the small stones and , makes the road comfortable and easy for others to walk on. We need such men, and during the early years of the building up of institutions such men alone matter; and from this point of view we should all be thankful, and I particularly, to Mr. Tampi who has been with us during these formative years. The ideal of rotary is service. Though I was the founder of the branch of the Rotary at Karalkudl, yet, for various reasons my part in it cannot be compared to his. He has been the mainstay of the organization in Karaikudi. Inter-city meetings have been held here and Karaikudi bids fair to become an important center of rotary activities. This is mainly due to the interest that Mr. Tampi has taken in this matter. He inspired the organisation of the social service camps on various occasions, especially during the time of cyclone and other natural calamities and the work that has been done has been directed by him. I am not unveiling this portrait only in order to honour our friend. There is more behind it than that. When the portrait of someone who has done good work and is continuing to do good work, is unveiled, the idea is that those who look at should derive a certain inspiration from it. It is a symbol only of the service he has done, and in this sense, I have no doubt that all the Rotarians and all the students and staffs here will considerably benefit by this portrait. I have great pleasure in unveiling this portrait.
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