‘Swadeshi Steam’ by A.R. Venkatachalapathy chronicles V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and his battle against the British Maritime Empire. This magisterial book is an act of archival retrieval and historical scholarship. Chidambaram Pillai's visionary Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company was a revolutionary idea that challenged the might of the British Empire. At the Jaipur Literature Festival 2025, In conversation with academic and historian Sunil S. Amrith, Venkatachalapathy brings to life the inspiring saga of one individual's vision that sparked a revolution. Presented by @AmarUjalaNews To watch the full session, subscribe to our YouTube channel. youtube.com/@JprLitFest #jaipurliteraturefestival2025 #jaipurlitfest2025 @TeamworkArts @SanjoyRoyTWA @NamitaGokhale_ @DalrympleWill @VidaDotWorld @MSArenaOfficial @Vedanta_Group @sunilamrith @ARV_Chalapathy

A.R. Venkatachalapathy, author of Swadeshi Steam: V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and the Battle against the British Maritime Empire, recounts a lifelong journey inspired by a forgotten hero: 'Without VOC, without this story, without this search, I would not be what I am.'Discovering that V.O. Chidambaram Pillai’s bold stand against the British Empire was absent from his school textbooks sparked a 40-year search through archives across the globe. What began as a curiosity became a mission to uncover and document the legacy of a modest lawyer who dared to challenge the world's greatest maritime power. @ARV_Chalapathy @PenguinIndia @PenguinBooks #GajaCapitalBookPrize #GajaCapital #Entrepreneurship #Business #BusinessBookPrize

Self-styled ‘godman’ #BholeBaba said on Wednesday that he is very disturbed by the #Hathras stampede but nobody can avoid what is destined and everyone has to die one day. thehindu.com/news/national/n…

The eminent social, cultural, and intellectual historian of Tamil Nadu A.R. Venkatachalapathy - who has already produced some classics - now adds to this list his biography of V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. VOC as he came to be known launched the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to challenge the might of the British maritime empire. One of his greatest champions was Subramania Bharati, who had earlier in the year started his weekly called India. VOC's company ultimately failed but undoubtedly it is a very significant landmark in the evolution of Indian enterprise and entrepreneurship. The biography of VOC, who was a strong supporter of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and later Periyar, is based on some four decades of archival research around the world. It is a panoramic narrative that combines deep scholarship with a very lively writing style. In 2011 the Tuticorin Port Trust was named after V.O. Chidambaranar and is now known as the V.O.C. Port Authority.

Flashback and fast forward: #Notebook column on covering today's news & chancing upon nuggets from history, where someone tells you "been there, done that" - based on @ARV_Chalapathy's book talk on VOC, pioneer of Indo-Lanka connectivity thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/f… via @the_hindu