K.Govindarajulu, 72, the first grandson of the iconic jeweller P.A.Raju Chettiar of Coimbatore and former President and mentor of the Tamilnadu Jewellers' Federation passed away at Coimbatore on Oct 26. He is survived by his sons Rajesh and Suresh. Govindarajulu, a Mechanical Engineer from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, was also a talented guitarist who could also play the mandolin, violin and jaladarangam besides the keyboard. He was a power lifter and a tennis player for years.
He got married to G.Aravindakumari of Salem in 1967. Subsequently he joined the Rotary Club of Coimbatore and was the Golden Jubilee President of the club. He became the Secretary of the Coimbatore Jewellers Association in 1980 and did much to the jewellery fraternity for almost 20 years. Those were trying times when a lot of rules and regulations created stumbling blocks for the jewellers and he worked hard to get the Gold Control Act repealed and these efforts ushered in an unprecedented era of fabulous growth hitherto unheard off. He served as the President of the Tamilnadu Jewellers Federation and also as the Joint Secretary of the Coimbatore Arya Vysya Samajam. It was during his tenure as the person in charge of the Coimbatore Arya Vysya Samajam Clinic that treatment was promoted at a cost of Rs.1 per patient thanks to a number of service minded doctors.
Govindarajulu was in the Senate of the Bharathiyar University and was also a trustee of the Marudamalai Subramanyaswamy Devasthanam. He worked hard to create a good parking infrastructure for the jewellers in the bazaar area. Again the common security system was promoted during his tenure. He was an avid reader who began learning German pretty late in his life. He was among the earliest among the jewellers of Tamilnadu to participate in a trade fair in Kuwait. He worked hard along side the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a number of years. He was known to be a good speaker who used to refer to the poems of Subramanya Bharathi in all his speeches. He was instrumental in the fabrication of the Gold Kavacham for Sabarimalai Lord Ayyappa on behalf of Dr.D.Jayawarthanavelu of LMW.
The work and approach of Govindarajulu and his team added the much required respect to the jewellery fraternity amongst the officials and the media.He was a deeply religious man. Fondly known as "Secretary" in the jewellery fraternity, he was a patron of fine arts and used to enjoy music, classical dance and drama in the sabhas of Coimbatore and in Chennai. Later in his life he turned into a a mentor to a number of young jewellers and he played a seminal role in order to ensure proper representation for jewellers from smaller centres on all the trade bodies.
He was one of those who used to encourage Rotaractors and young jewellers on an every day basis. A number of jewellers who had been stung by the terse laws of the times came out of pain due to the consistent efforts of Govindarjulu.