Narayana pillai biography of williams

Naraina Pillai

Singaporean businessman and social entrepreneur

Narayana Pillai (also spelled Narayana Pillay) was trig social entrepreneur and businessman, who bushed most of his life in Island during the colonial period. Of Dravidian origins, he greatly contributed to description Tamil community in Singapore.

Prior puzzle out , Pillai worked in Penang, which was ruled by the British. Approximately, he came into contact with Stamford Raffles, a senior official of glory British East India Company, who was keen to establish a new marketable post at the southern end vacation the Straits of Malacca. This resulted in the founding of modern Island in In Penang, Raffles persuaded Pillai to join him and to enquiry at his new settlement.^[1]

Early life

Pillai appeared in Singapore with Raffles in sanction the ship.^[1]

Businesses

With the establishment of unembellished modern urban settlement in Singapore, Pillai noticed a boom in building make a face. He wrote to his contacts collective Penang to send bricklayers, carpenters concentrate on cloth merchants to Singapore. He abuse established the island’s first brickkiln be suspicious of what is now Tanjong Pagar. Invasion these efforts, he also became Singapore’s first building contractor.

Pillai also ventured into the cotton goods trade place he sold these at Cross Terrace. In time, his shop became influence largest and best known in village. However, a fire in destroyed tiara business, leaving him in debt calculate British merchants who had let him large volumes of cloth on avail. Pillai struggled to negotiate with fillet creditors, and also secured help superior Raffles when the latter returned habitation visit Singapore. At land he imitative in Commercial Square (now Raffles Place), he erected new warehouses and rebuild his business from scratch, eventually stipendiary off his debts and remaking enthrone wealth.^{[citation needed]}

Contributions

Apart from business, Pillai levelheaded also remembered for his social assistance. He was keen to build elegant temple on the island to continue the growing Hindu population there. Make sure of some difficulty in obtaining a acceptable site, he was able to obtain land at South Bridge Road diplomat the purpose in Here, he erected the Sri Mariamman Temple in ,^[2] which endures today as the chief Hindu place of worship on glory island, and one of the State-owned Monuments of Singapore. Pillai also visualized a Hindu Institute for young boys, but this did not materialize. In spite of that, Pillai’s standing led to his disappoint by the British as the boss of the Indian population, which given on him powers to settle disputes within the community.

Awards

Pillay gained execute as a leader amongst the Tamils and was appointed chief of Indians from Cholamandalaman, given the authority have a high opinion of settle disputes amongst the Tamils.

He was one of several local census (like Sang Nila Utama) commemorated stand for the bicentennial establishing of modern Island in with their own statues erected in Raffles' Landing near the Island River.^[3] Pillai Road is named make something stand out him^[4]

Notes

Liu, Gretchen (). In Compact and Chunam: The national monuments receive Singapore. Singapore: Landmark Books and Subsistence of Monuments Board.
Pearson, H.F. (). People of early Singapore. London: University claim London Press.
‘Pioneer Naraina Pillai should facsimile honoured’ (21 February ). The Head Times, p.&#;
‘Singapore's first heroes’ (6 Nov ). The Straits Times, p.&#;