F.G. Natesa Iyer

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.

Early life and background

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 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 not like to see anyone else commit the same mistake.

Public career

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 London Stock Exchange. South Indian Railway had its administrative headquarters at Tiruchirappalli. Iyer built his house in Tiruchirappalli and spent much of his life in this city.

Iyer was a member of the Indian Congress Party and represented the city as a delegate to the annual Indian National Congress sessions during the years of World War I. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1914, and was a delegate at the sessions in Bombay (1915), Lucknow (1916), and Madras (1917). In the Lucknow session he was a member of the Subjects Committee and took part in the discussion on the Congress - Indian Muslim League scheme of reforms. At its Madras session in 1917, he was a delegate from Trichinopoly, an elected member of the All India Congress Committee, a member of the Subjects Committee and had the honour of moving the resolution on indentured labour at the open sessions. He was a supporter of the Indian Home Rule Movement of those years and a party to the passive resistance resolution passed at the Madras Provincial Conference following the internment of Mrs. Annie Besant, George Arundale, and B. P. Wadia.

Iyer was the district commissioner of the Boy Scouts Association in India in 1922. In this capacity he was presented to the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) at the World Scout Jamboree held at Madras.

Iyer has been credited as being "the first elected Indian chairman of Tiruchi Municipality."
He was elected councillor of Trichnopoly Municipal Council for a number of years. A research paper on Tamil revivalism in the 1930s described Iyer as a leader of importance, who had been "an autocratic but effective chairman of the Trichnopoly municipality in the 1920s".

His notability in those years between the two world wars could perhaps be assessed by his appearance in the "Who's who in Madras Presidency" in 1937.

He continued to take some interest commenting on the Indian Congress politics in the city until the 1950s.

Personal belief and faith

Iyer was very close to Advaita Vedanta scholars and saints such as Chandrashekarendra Saraswati. The Indian National Congress, in the decade of the 1920s, started organising the Non-Cooperation Movement, which involved getting many people to protest on the streets. F.G. Natesa Iyer, the leading Congress activist of Tiruchirappalli then, as also the elected Mayor, took this opportunity to convert the movement to also show support for the Chandrashekarendra Saraswati. He described the occasion, thus:
"I was nominated by the public as the chairman of the Reception committee for arranging a reception for the Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. As the municipal chairman, it was my duty to provide a proper welcome and respect to Swamigal who was visiting after a long time. The opportunity to welcome His Holiness in a manner that was exponentially greater than receptions given to kings and viceroys, was accorded to me, along my with supporters Sri MKandaswamy Servai, lawyer Sri. R. Srinivasa Iyengar and the larger public. The procession that was seven miles long, was preceded by seven groups of nadaswaram players, three band groups, four elephants, many horses and camels, instrumental players, Bhajan singers, Seva Samitis. I had the blessing to hold the front side of the ivory palanquin where our guru for the whole world , Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal was seated. He gave darshan to numerous people lined on both sides of the roads, in every floor, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. There was no count of arathis, Poorna kumbams, garlands, asthika goshams. The procession that started at 6 pm ended at 10 pm in front of the mutt at Thiruvanaikaval. I was enthralled in my service to Swamigal as service to Lord Shiva himself".

Iyer also appears to have had a good rapport with Ramana Maharshi and his ashram.
Iyer also was an admirer of Sivananda Saraswati. His homage is printed in a publication brought out by the Divine Life Society.

It can perhaps be inferred that Iyer belonged to the Smarta Tradition of the Vadama sub-sect of the Iyer community of Tamil Brahmins, who based their personal philosophy on Advaita Vedanta. The claim of lineage from Appayya Dikshita, who was a noted expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, with a focus on Shiva, perhaps is further evidence of Iyer's personal philosophy.

Theatre

Iyer is credited with being the founder of an amateur theater group, Rasika Ranjana Sabha, in Tiruchirappalli in 1914.
. The Rasika Ranjana Sabha has been historically classified along with the Madras-based Suguna Vilasa Sabha, the Kumbakonam-based Vani Vilas Sabha and Thanjavur-based Sudarshan Sabha for encouraging native "histrionic talent" in the Madras Presidency during the times when the British Raj ruled.
There exist some records of the English plays staged by the Rasika Ranjana Sabha. In 1915 at the Trichinopoly Collector’s bungalow, Sheridan’s play 'Pizzaro' was acted in aid of the Ladies’ War Fund. The predominantly British audience were stated to have been amazed at the excellent diction of the all-Tamil cast. In 1918, two plays were staged as part of the peace celebrations organised by the Carnatic Infantry. In 1918, "At Home" was given to Mr. Blackstone, Deputy Superintendent of Police, and the same drama troupe presented a few plays.
Iyer specialised in Shakespearean roles such as Hamlet and Othello. He was also famous for his production of and acting in Tamil social and mythological plays. In a recent foundation day celebration of the RR Sabha, he was hailed the "Father of modern Tamil dramas".
There is an account that he organised the first ever public concert of M. S. Subbulakshmi, when she was eleven years of age, in the 100 pillar hall inside the Rockfort Temple, Tiruchirappalli. with Mysore Chowdiah on the violin and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mridanga

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