Two hundred years ago, Hansraj from Porbander, Gujarat came to Coimbatore to become a businessman. He began his career as a businessman in the Vysial street and R.G. Street. He provided finances for local businessmen and later started selling jari. His son Lakmichand and his grandson Vendravan continued this business. Vendravan’s five sons - Tribhuvandas, Kapoorchand, Khimchand, Uttamchand and Abhaichand established a company called Tribhuvandas Vendravan Brothers (TV Brothers) in the second quarter of the twentieth century.
TV Brothers sourced Glasgow mull through Calicut and sold it in the local market. The octogenarian son of Abhaichand, Kanaklal, remembers the brokers who drew the attention of the retail customers to the shops in the town area. TV Brothers brought gold sovereigns from Madras. The firm also provided trade loans to jewellers.
The family visited weekly shandies at Annur, Pollachi and Udumalpet. About 100 bullock carts belonging to traders left the city by 8 pm and travelled through the night. They halted at Kinathukidavu. It was on one such trip that Tribhuvandas was attacked with a crowbar by bandits and sustained severe injuries.
TV Brothers built the Valubhai Vendravan memorial maternity home for the citizens on Vysial Street. Uttamchand initiated the building of the Vimalnath Jain temple on Vysial street in the 1940s.
The firm was the first to introduce fertilizers in Coimbatore. It sold Monkey Brand kerosene and the brothers came to be known as Kurangu Saits. T V Brothers were the sole suppliers of kerosene to the theatres run by Swamikannu Vincent. They also provided finance to Vincent's businesses. The family had a permanent pass to view movies in any theatre run by the Vincents. T V Brothers had a mentor in the yarn merchant Devsi Moolchand of Madras and they took care of each other’s interests in Madras and Coimbatore.
Abhaichand and his wife Manjulaben hosted Gandhiji and Kasturba when they visited Coimbatore. Manjulaben offered her bangles to Gandhi for the freedom movement. Gandhiji took them, but left one for her. Jawaharlal Nehru, Kamala and Indira stayed with them and Abhaichand hurriedly constructed an additional staircase in order to streamline the crowds who came to visit the great freedom fighters. When Vithalbhai Patel, the brother of Vallabhai Patel was incarcerated at the Coimbatore jail, Abhaichand's cook cooked food for him in the prison everyday.
The first floor of the T V Brothers office was inaugurated by Gandhiji during one of his visits. Local freedom fighters such as Kovai Subri, C.P.Subbiah and C.Subramaniam were close to Abhaichand and they generously contributed to the freedom movement. T V Brothers banked with the State Bank and Central Bank while their early Chartered Accountant was the famous D.V.Subbhachar. Later they shifted to D.G.Shah who belonged another old Gujarati family. The famous advocate V.V.Srinivasa Iyengar, C.Subramaniam and Vetrivel Mudaliar were the counsels for the firm.
Today, it is the seventh generation of the TV Brothers who continue in their pursuit of ethical commerce.
Rajesh is passionate about his city and is always looking for ways of documenting its history .
