Organization: Anil Matches
Achievement: Ayya Nadar is the famous south Indian entrepreneur who transformed the southern city of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu into the ‘Firework capital’ of India. He is also renowned for Anil brand matches, which later became Ayya Fireworks.
P. Ayya Nadar (1905-1982) was an Indian entrepreneur from the southern city of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. He along with Shanmuga Nadar is credited for transforming the small village of Sivakasi into a thriving industrial town. He was the founder of Anil brand (Squirrel) matches, which later turned into Ayya Fireworks, and Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College.
He was born in 1905 in Sivakasi to Palaniappa Nadar and Nagammal. He was married to Janaki Ammal with whom he has four sons and daughters. He died in year 1982.
He along with his cousin Shanmuga Nadar travelled to Calcutta and stayed there for 8 months learning about the match industry. Upon their return to Sivakasi, they started a factory together with machines imported from Germany. In 1926, they separated and established two separate match industries with Ayya Nadar’s Anil (squirrel) brand competing with Shanmuga Nadar’s kaka (crow) or Standard brand.
The company which started with producing matches eventually diversified into other areas including fireworks, yarn, printing and education. Ayya Nadar founded Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College in 1963 offering courses in Arts and Sciences. The college is located in Sivakasi. From its beginning in 1963 till 1984, he headed the institution he founded. His sons, A. Graha Durai and A. Vaira Prakasam, have been heading the business ever since. They started Ayyan Nadar Janaki Ammal women’s polytechnic in 1990.
Ayya Nadar, along with Shanmuga Nadar, is credited with transforming the small poverty-stricken Sivakasi village into a bustling industrial town. R. G. Chandramogan, another entrepreneur and owner of Hatsun Agro, happened to grow up in this town and witness this transformation said,
“This revolution was brought to Sivakasi by Shanmuga Nadar and his cousin Iyya Nadar. The people of our village looked up to them as demigods because of the prosperity they brought to us.”
Ayya Nadar was the chairman of Sivakasi municipality between 1955 and 1963. Vaippar-Vembakkotai drinking water scheme with a dam in the north of the city was instituted during his tenure, which helped in the expansion of population and industries in the drought-prone town.
