He always stressed on the importance of education. But he did not live to attend the graduation of any of his children. He died abruptly when I was still in the University. But I am sure he sees us and is proud of a family that values education and still places people ahead of money.

He never gave up no matter how hard the circumstances. Faced with a difficult childhood because his wealthy natural family got into financial difficulties, he started working at the age of 14 for P.R.M. Palaniappan Chettiar Avargal (1890-1945), a relative, whose family eventually adopted him.

The adoption gave my father access to plantations in Burma and the properties in Malaya, his home country. The first time he had to learn about business expansion was when he had to visit Burma in 1947, at the age of 24. He was going to a country he had never been to before to take care of the assets of his family. My father's trials and tribulations during the Japanese occupation made him stronger. However the surge of Burmese patriotism led to the nationalisation of all foreign holdings. My father lost everything he had in Burma : 3000 acres and 8 houses, and this when he was only 24.

He would always say "That was painful, son, but not as painful as the plight of the poor Burmese peasant. If our plantations can help feed the poor, why not?" He returned to the coolness of rural Gemas in Malaya before moving to Melaka, a nearby city.

To help him recover from the loss of Burmese property, my grandmother Kalyani Achi arranged for my father's marriage. The young handsome man would marry the daughter of India's leather magnate - Shri M.P.M Narayanan Chettiar of India Leather Corporation.

My grandmother saw that as the best way for my father to recover from the trauma of the losses. My western education suggested that her plan was more of a strategic alliance than a marriage. She turned out to be right. That alliance really powered the growth of the family. My maternal grandfather's international operations even in the 40's and 50's helped us to a great extent.

My father continued with various businesses. Success and failure, it seemed was part of his life. Major financial losses in 1968 and my maternal grandfather's death in 1969 had a profound impact on him. He retired to the plantations and focused on our education. His joy was to manage the transition from leveraging property holdings to education as the driver of family, community, and national fortunes. That was his crusade. He embarked upon the task with great enthusiasm forgetting the pain of losing millions – a loss that some attributed to difficult times; some to his mistakes; and others to his willingness to place people before money.