 If
there is one name that best symbolises Coimbatore's spirit of entrepreneurship,
it is that of G D Naidu. Born on March 23rd, 1893, in Kalangal
near Coimbatore, this school dropout began his Transport business
in 1920, with the purchase of a passenger auto-coach, which he himself
drove for the service between Pollachi and Palani. In a matter of
a few years, his United Motor Service (UMS) owned the most
efficient fleet of public transport vehicles in the country. In 1937,
the first motor to be produced in India, was brought out at G D Naidu's
UMS factory.
As an inventor, G D Naidu was one-of-a-kind in the country. He invented
an Electric Razor - Rasant, that gave users far more shaves
than other existing options in the international market. Among his
other inventions were the super-thin shaving blades, a distance adjuster
for film cameras, a special fruit juice extractor, a tamper-proof
vote-recording machine and a kerosene-run fan. In 1941, he announced
that he had the ability to manufacture five-valve Radio sets in India
at a mere Rs 70/- a set. In 1952, his brainchild - the indigenously
built Petrol engine two-seater Car (costing a mere Rs 2,000/-) rolled
out. But production was stopped subsequently, because of the Government's
refusal to grant the necessary license. His inventiveness was not
confined to machinery alone. He is said to have grown ten feet high
Cotton plants, millet plants with high yields and several injections
for plants that made possible what Sir C V Raman called "Botanic
marvels".
 On
his trips abroad, Naidu always seemed to draw appreciation for his
innovations and his personal drive. In 1935, he personally filmed
the funeral of King George V at London. In 1936, he met Adolf
Hitler in Germany (even taking Still Photographs of the Fuhrer).
Among the Indian stalwarts that GD Naidu's camera captured were Mahatma
Gandhi, Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose. GD
Naidu remained an outsider to Politics, despite having contested and
lost in the 1936 Provincial General Elections.
In 1944, Naidu retired from active involvement with his automobile
combine and announced several philanthropic measures including grants
for Research scholarships and welfare schemes for his employees and
the depressed sections of society. Through Naidu's efforts and his
donations the Arthur Hope Polytechnic and the Arthur Hope
College of Engineering were set up. In 1967, the G D Naidu
Industrial Exhibition, conceptualised, designed and built by the
great man himself, was established.
With his demise on the 4th of January, 1974, Coimbatore lost its greatest
ambassador to the world. There have been several tributes paid to
this legend, but none seems as apt as that by Sir C V Raman: "A
great educator, an entrepreneur in many fields of engineering and
industry, a warm-hearted man filled with love for his fellows and
a desire to help them in their troubles, Mr Naidu is truly a man in
a million - perhaps this is an understatement!"
Author: Ivan Fernandez
Photographs: V Ganesan
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