The Coimbatore Brahmana Mahasabha has chronicled the good work of Hotelier C.S.Govinda Iyer (1903 - 1977) in an appropriate manner. Govinda Iyer was a hardworking entrepreneur from his early days.
The Coimbatore Brahmana Mahasabha has chronicled the good work of Hotelier C.S.Govinda Iyer (1903 - 1977) in an appropriate manner. Govinda Iyer was a hardworking entrepreneur from his early days. He hailed from Chennimalai and his father Subramanya Iyer was know as Malai Sastry.
Govinda Iyer had moved over to Tirupur from his native Chennimalai and he used to cater at the time of the Avinashilingeshwarar car festival. "My father used to pack all the cooking material and vessels onto a bullock cart and travel to Avinashi those days. He used to set up shop at the time of the car festival and serve hot food to the pilgrims.
His kitchen cart used to be famous with the pilgrims. Ninnaiyer of Coimbatore was an uncle of my father and he used to run a 'matai salai' (thatched shed) restaurant in the vicinity of the Kudiraivandi Court more than ninety years ago.
A number of tough clients from the villages used to frequent the eatery. Some of them from the suburbs had been involved with violence and murder and would purchase the lunch token only after having relished the same. Lunch, beeda and a fruit used to cost four annas then. Ninnaiyer passed away and his family moved over to Coonoor in the Nilgiris. Ninnaiyer was associated with a drinking water well in the Pettai area.
My uncle C.S Venkataramanier (Vishnu Coffee Works near Bharat Café) was a trustee of the Raja Street Kalyana Venkataramanaswamy Bhajanai Kovil in Raja Street. Slowly business developed and my father purchased the property and called it the C.S.Grand Coffee Hotel. It had 14 rooms and he added another 32 rooms to his kitty when he put up C.S.Lodging in the year 1939 after the Railway Station opened up on the Bank Road. Geetha Lodge came up with another 40 rooms and it went upto 80 later on. He was the first hotelier to cross 100 rooms in Coimbatore," shared C.G.Venkatasubramaniam, the son of C.S.Govinda Iyer.
Work was his priority and therefore C.S.Govinda Iyer took to family life only after establishing himself. He lived with his spouse Karpagambal at Karuppa Gounder Street and the couple was blessed with Venkatasubramaniam, Sharadhambal, Gangabai, Mangala, Geethabai, Krishnambal and Radhakrishnan. Govinda Iyer used to be up by 4 AM and he used to cycle to work everyday until he moved over to his house near the Court (Now C.S. Grand Café). He used to work in the kitchen - cook and also make sweets along with his assistants.
Govinda Iyer used to jot down his work and appointments for the following day in a Hoe & Co dairy every night. All the construction work used to be personally supervised by him on a day to day basis. Geetha Lodge used to be known as "Vaikuntam" and it became "Geetha" later on. "Geetha Hall" was the first community hall in Coimbatore and a number of plays were conducted there in the past. Chellammal of Keshavardhini Oil used to organize plays for a few years at Geetha Hall. The restaurant came up much later. Govinda Iyer was a close friend of M.S.Jagannatha Iyengar and Babu Rao. All the three friends used to have car picnics every Sunday.
C.S.Govinda Iyer did a lot of good work in the interest of the community and the food industry. He hand held the hotel association by serving as its President during the early days. Govinda Iyer did much to promote the activities of a number of social bodies which included Friends Arts Cultural Association, Coimbatore Thiruppavai Committee, Samaiyal Kalaignar Sangam, Coimbatore Brahmana Maha Sabha and the Sringeri Mutt. He did much for the well being of the hotel employees in this region for he was truly concerned with their joy.
Govinda Iyer served as the Vice President of the Coimbatore Brahmana Maha Sabha for a few years and his work in connection with the said organization is praise worthy. He served the Sringeri Mutt with utmost devotion and His Holiness the Sankaracharya by looking after the properties of the mutt ie., Sanganur Subramaniam Iyer Trust, Cochin Dewan Nanjappier Trust and the Sankara Mutt located on Raja Street.
Govinda Iyer was totally responsible for the initial construction work carried out at the cremation ground which was later named as " Sri Vaikuntam " at Sundakkamuthur. He took great efforts for acquiring the property at Ponnaiyarajapuram and named it as Brahma Theertham and it is being used for carrying out final obsequies. A cart to carry dead bodies was also donated by him. He formed a trust in the name of his father Malai Sastry for charitable causes and he had an easy way of moving with youngsters and elders alike. Govinda Iyer adopted a particular system of accounting and was known to adhere to time while doing his community service with great devotion. He had no desire for fame for he was a true Karma Yogi all his life.
S.R.Nanjundiah of Sulur House, Binny Subba Rao and C.S Govinda Iyer were very close to each other. They did much together for the Sringeri Mutt in Coimbatore and its neighbourhood. Coimbatore had been part of the Vijayanagar Empire for centuries and therefore the people had been associated with the Sringeri Mutt all along.
However, the pontiffs had not been making regular visits to the city. Therefore C.S.Govinda Iyer, Binny Subba Rao and S.R.Nanjundiah requested His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamigal of Sringeri to undertake a Vijaya Yatra in this region. It was felt that a proper facility should be made available in order to accommodate His Holiness and his entourage. Govinda Iyer got into the act and the new Coimbatore Sankara Mutt came up within a short period due to his untiring efforts. Coimbatore was indeed blessed when the icon of Shardhambal belonging to the era of His Holiness Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharathi Theertha Swamigal ( 1879 - 1912 ) took a permanent residence at the Mutt on Raja Street.
The pontiff had been responsible for the developments at Kaladi, the birth place of Adi Sankara. C.S.Govinda Iyer undertook the construction of the Sringeri Sankara Mutt at Tirumala. It was under his personal supervision that the doors and windows of the said building were made at ' Sulur House ' in Race Course.
C.S.Govinda Iyer enjoyed a great deal of goodwill with His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamigal as a consequence of his true devotion to Goddess Sharadha and the Sringeri Mutt. An incident which took place those days illustrates the trust that the Pontiff of Sringeri had placed on C.S.Govinda Iyer.
"Once G.D.Naidu had invited His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamigal and also E.V.R. Periyar to inaugurate facilities in his campus. A number of believers did not want His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamigal to visit the campus and inaugurate the facility because G.D.Naidu was close to Periyar ideologically.
G.D.Naidu was always known to be a good host and he took it upon himself to visit my father a number of times and impress upon him that everything would be done with utmost etiquette during the visit of the Pontiff. The industrial scientist requested my father to intercede and ensure that Swamiji took part in the event.
Subsequently my father took up the matter and the visit of the Swamiji took place in a fine manner. The visit increased the goodwill for everyone concerned thereafter, " added C.G.Venkatasubramaniam. The hardy C.S.Govinda Iyer was adept in handling all kinds of situations. His entrepreneurial background coupled with his people skills put him at the forefront at a time when Coimbatore was emerging as a big business destination in our country. Several merchants visiting Coimbatore on business used to stay for days at the hotels built by C.S.Govinda Iyer and conduct their activities successfully. The simple but safe cost effective rooms were a boon to the business traveller.
There have instances when some of them spent several days in the properties of C.S.Govinda Iyer in order to promote business.His work and outlook added much to the hospitality infrastructure. The family continues to participate in the hospitality sector through its ventures - C.S. Meals and C.S. Grand Café. The grandsons of C.S.Govinda Iyer - C.V.Govindarajan and C.V.Kishore continue to serve the quality food loving citizens with the same zeal that was exhibited by their grandfather.
The Hospitality sector at Coimbatore added to the value of the region due to the efforts of hard working hoteliers like C.S.Govinda Iyer.