Rao Bahadur N.Parameswaran Pillai

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The Title Rao Bahadur conferred by the British for his contribution in the field of Engineering in early 20th century. He was instrumental in conceiving, designing & implementing the Mettur Dam Project in South India. He was based at Chennai(Madras) with a jurisdiction of the entire Madras presidency which extended up to Northern Orissa. It is documented that he was invited by Nizam of Hyderabad to impart technology in developing the state of Hyderabad.

Manchanamadom Parameshwaran Pillai (1884,January - 1938,June) ... student at Mavelikkara High School ... the rank holder of Gundy Engineering College, Madras ... the Chief Engineer, Public Works, Madras Province.

A peep into the making of Rao Bahadur N.Parameshwaran Pillai...

The epitome of an engineer during the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 20th century defines Sri. Manchanamadom N.Parameshwaran Pillai. Certified with an Imperial Service of Engineering (I.S.E, equivalent to the I.C.S of today), the presiding officers of the yester years; the Whites, Padmashree Tirumala Iyengar and so on honoured Pillai. Apart from the province of Madras, his services were highly sought after by other provinces too, like the province of Hyderabad, etc. An expert in the construction of dams, he was the one to start up on the preliminary studies of the Thungabhadra dam as per special request of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Sri. N.Parameshwaran Pillai, the multifaceted personality! His works and services were not just tied down within the Engineering arena. Leafing through the era when the British ruled out the use of the patriotic handloom clothing ‘Khadi’. As a protest to the decision, Sri. Parameshwaran Pillai decided to stick to Khadi clothing. The decision to give the entire high ranges of Travancore on lease to some English Company was strongly opposed by Sri. Pillai. This was on behalf of the entire general public. It is revolutionary that he travelled all the way from Madras to Kerala to make his protest strong and effective.

Sri E.V.Krishnan in his memoir, reveals that Sri. Manchanamadom Parameshwaran pillai wrote many booklets, under the pen–name, Kallor Narayana Pillai. These booklets served a great deal to change many decisions taken by the British government at that time .

The change in the Law of Succession was an essential transition made in the social front . The Indian Law, saw this revolution with Sri. Parameshwaran pillai as the backbone, as Sri. P.S.Achuthanandan, a former law college principal once put it. The need for cooperative movements and the active participation of each and every individual of the overall development of the country has been a matter of great study for this grand personality. The outcome of these studies was of major effect amongst the public. The personal request by Sri. Chithira Tirunaal Maharajah Balarama Varma and C.P.Ramaswamy Iyyer, entrusted the leadership behind all the engineering works of Travancore, of those times, into the hands of Sri. Pillai. But the sad and untimely death of this humble soul failed to see this as a reality.

The brilliant student, the miraculously skilled engineer, the devoted patriot ... The title Sri. Manchanaamadom also crowned with Rao Bahadur, by the British government is in any way very much deserving...