The Remarkable Mr. Devadasan and Dr.Robert Caldwell and Woodlands Estate:

Introduction: Mr.  M. Devadasan of Nagercoil  was a remarkable person and a   native of Kanyakumari district . Some make history  by their accomplishment and some others make history by  rubbing shoulders with great historical personalities; and  Devadsan belonged to the second category.

Devadasan and  Caldwell's Woodland Estate in Asambu Hills in Kanyakumari district: 

The legendary son-in-law of  Revd. Charles Mault and the author of the monumental and epoch making book , " A  COMPARATIVE GRAMMAR OF THE DRAVIDIAN  OR SOUTH INDIAN FAMILY OF LANGUAGES "[ Published in London, 1875].  Dr. Robert Caldwell was owning a fertile and spacious Estate covering an area of 275 acres in Asambu hills.  He loved his lovely Woodlands Estate situated on the top hilly slopes in Asambu hills in Kanyakumari district. Rt. REV. ROBERT CALDWELL , D.D , LL.D ,  and his wife Eliza were stationed at Edayankudi in Tirunelevali district. Whenever Dr. Caldwell and his wife  Mrs Eliza Caldwell  felt  home  sick and needed  rest they used to visit and stay at their  poetically beautiful Woodland Estate, in Asambu hills, in Kanyakumari district..

Dr. Robert Caldwell was in need  of an able, educated and trustworthy person  to take care of the  Estate and it's cultivation  and as he  found all these traits in  Mr. Devadasan  of Nagercoil  ; he appointed Mr. Davadasan as the Conductor of the Woodlands  Estate.  Mr. Devadasan  managed and looked after the affairs of the Woodlands  Estate to the full satisfaction of   Dr. Robert Caldwell.    Coffee, tea , cardamoms, oranges , sweet limes, and guavas were cultivated in the Woodlands Estate.

At the center of the Woodland Estate there was a  spacious  and magnificent bungalow  having many spacious rooms, with high ceiling and  stately   teak wood furniture   splendidly  adorned  the lovely rooms of the bungalow.  Dr Caldwell was having a standard library  in his  Estate bungalow and books on sociology, religion,history,  literature  and literary magazines such as Temple Bay,  and Mac Millan lined and decorated the tall shelves of the Library in the Woodlands Estate.  Woodlands Estate played an inseparable part in the life of Dr. Caldwell. , and it is pertinent to remember that Caldwell's loving second daughter Mrs. Louisia Shephered  died in 1872 at Woodlands Estate , Asambu hills, Kanyakumari district

Mr. Devadasan  became the owner of the Woodlands Estate:

Dr. Caldwell became very sick and old so he wanted to sell his beloved Woodland Estate ,  and  Caldwell rightly and aptly remembered the great and sincere services rendered by Mr. Deavadasan , the Conductor of the Woodlands Estate  and sold the Woodlands Estate to Mr. Devadasan  just for !00 cash of that time. Devadasan became the proud owner of  the  Estate of 275 acres.  A Conductor  was converted as  an Estate owner . Devadasan  had a big bungalow at Nagercoil very near to the Nagercoil Home Church and also he owned  a majestic horse and he used  to go to his Woodlands Estate riding on his horse


Mr.M. Devadasan's  Parents and family background : During  19th century there lived a gentleman and his name was Mr. Santiago and his wife's name was Mrs Arulai . Mrs. Arulai Santiago and Mr. Santiago were blessed with a female child  and a male child  namely  Jeevaratnam. and Devasahayam respectively. And at that time there lived a nice  man and his name was Mr. Moses. and  Mr . Moses married Miss.Jevaratnam { daughter of Mr and Mrs Santiago and sister of Mr Devasahayam}. Mr Moses and Mrs.Jeevaratnam Moses gave birth to our patriarch Mr.M. Devadasan, And Mr Devadasan married  Miss. Annammal. from an illustrious christian family from south Travancore.

Mr. Davadasan and his wife and children :

Devadasan and his dynamic wife Mrs. Annamal  were blessed with 10 lovely children namely[1]Rev. D.M. Devasahayam, [2]Mr. George Dawson, [3] Mrs. Victoria , [4] Mr Charles Samuel Dawson, [5]Mrs. Lily Joseph [ Wife of Mr J. M. Joseph, formerly the Head  Master of  the famous Scott Christian High School , Nagercoil], [6] Mrs. Grace ,[7] Mrs . Chinnathai, [8] Mrs. Patience , [9]Mrs. Bernice  Ebenezer and [10] Mrs . Dorothy.  Below I am high lighting some of the prominent members of his  family for the review and evaluation , by the readers.

His fiirst son Revd. D.M. Devasahayam , B.A., B.D   was the first B.D. Graduate   in the whole of India , from the pioneer Serampur University.  An unique honor that can not be undone  by anybody . Devasahayam is generally called as DMD . Thus this family of Mr, Devadasan has got an unique place in the history of  Theological  education of India.

George Dawson:   Devadasan's another son George Dawson  got 5 children.  George Dawson worked as a Secretary in the YMCA.  George Dawson's first son Mr. Edward Dawson , B.Sc., B.T., became a great evangelist and he joined the famous " The Jehovah Shamma" , Chennai, established by Bro. Bakth Singh of Punjab, in 1945   and he was number two in command in that  Christian religious organization. He was serving as the Publisher and Editor of Hebron Messenger.

George Dawson's second son Mr. Rabindranath Samuel Dawson married Mrs . Ranniamma, M.A[Maths], M.A[ English] , [who  worked as a Senior Lecturer in The S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil  for many years]. He is popularly  known as RS .Dawson , and he was a well known senior Rotarian  in Nagercoil.

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Mr. Devadasan's  family link with the great theologian Dr. Paul  D. Devanandan ::

Charles Samuel Dawson [C.S.Dawson]:  He was the fourth son of Mr. Devadasan and he married Mrs Shantamal Chandraleelamal, a daughter of Mr. Ragland  David Servai.   Mrs Shantamal Chandraleelamal was a first cousin of the world famous Indian theologian  Dr. Paul. D. Devanandan , [The first Director  of  C.I.S.R.S,Bangalore and son-in-law of K.T. Paul , who represented the Indian Christian Community in the Round Table Conference in London in the year 1930-1932].

Moreover the  third daughter of C.S.Dawson and Mrs.Shantamal  Dawson , Miss Queenie

was given in marriage to the  Chief Architect of the Government of Kerala. Mr. J.C. Alexander [son of  Mr J. M. Joseph,  former Head Master of Scott Christian High School , Nagercoil ]  who was the chief architect for the  famous 'Gandhi Memorial  Building" at Kanyakumari. { his profile will be dealt in another Post ] .

Conclusion:  Thus Mr. Devadasan and his children had played a remarkable role in the social , religious and  intellectual history of Kanyakumari district  and India with great distinction and had laid  some remarkable milestones  in the glorious map of Kanyakumari district and India.  So long as the Tamil speaking people and Dravidian Movements remember the great linguistic  scholar Dr. Robert Caldwell,   nobody shall forget  the" Woodlands Estate'  and  Mr.Devadasan of Nagercoil.

P. BABU MANOHARAN. M.A,. [Rights reserved .This Article will be enlarged, modified and corrected later , if needed ]