F. G. Natesa Iyer
| F.G. Natesa Iyer | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
11 November 1880 Pudukkottai, Pudukkottai state, British India |
| Died | 23 January 1963 (aged 82) Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| Known for | Founder of pioneering Tamil and Shakespearean theatre group Rasika Ranjana Sabha in Trichinopoly. Leader from Trichinopoly for Indian National Congress during the years of World War I. One of the first Indians to become an officer in South Indian railways, retiring as District Traffic Superintendent. Talent scout, responsible for unearthing and actively promoting some of the superstars of Tamil cinema and Carnatic music |
F. G. Natesa Iyer (11 November 1880 - 23 January 1963) was an Indian activist in the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement. He was also one of the pioneers of modern Tamil drama and Tamil cinema. He was a talent scout who recognized merit and promoted many youngsters, who went on to become great performers in Carnatic music.
Natesa Iyer was born on 11 November 1880, to Janakiammaiyar Sastri (Pudukkotamma) and Gangadhara Shastri: who was the legal advisor to the then Pudukkottai state, a Princely state in the Indian subcontinent under the British colonial rule. Iyer's elder brother was Rao Saheb G. Ganapati Sastriar who went on to hold the position of Dewan of the Pudukottai state. The family claimed lineage from Appayya Dikshita. Iyer's love for music and theatre made him run away from home at the age of ten, to join the railways as a clerk in the Madura and Tinnevelly - Quilon Railways construction department.
In an article written by his grandson, it is claimed that as a child, " He took shelter with Englishmen who brought him up and converted him to Christianity. Twenty years later, dissatisfied with the ability of the priests to clarify his doubts, he met the Kanchi Shankaracharya, and, getting satisfactory answers from him, reconverted to Hinduism." . The Shankaracharya referred to was Paramacharya Chandrashekarendra Saraswati. It is recorded in a conversation he had in June 1923, that based on his twenty years of experience and knowledge on the Christian religion, "the Hindu religion was our mother and it was not appropriate to abandon your mother." Iyer also is reported to have stated that he was unfortunate to have committed such a sin, but realized his folly in time and he did notlike to see anyone else commit the same mistake.
Iyer spent much of his formal career as a railway officer with the South Indian Railway Company (S. I. R). He retired as a District Traffic Superintendent in 1935, the first Indian to occupy this position. The company was incorporated in England, with the stocks and shares quoted on the . South Indian Railway had its administrative headquarters at Tiruchirappalli. Iyer built his house in Tiruchirappalli and spent much of his life in this city.
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