T. M. Nair - Early Life

Early Life

Nair was born near Tirur on January 15, 1868 in the Taravath family of Palghat, Madras Presidency. His father Chingicham Veetil Sankaran Nair was a District Munsiff in the Judicial service at Tirur. Madhavan Nair's elder brother Sankaran Nair studied law and served as Deputy Collector while his sister Taravath Ammalu Ammal was a Sanskrit and Malayalam scholar who wrote a book in Malayalam on the lives of the 63 Nayanmars.

Nair did his schooling at Government High School, Palghat. He was known for his academic proficiency and he passed his matriculation exam one year in advance. He did his graduation from Presidency College, Madras and joined Madras Medical College. However, he did not complete his course in medicine. Instead, he discontinued his course and moved to Edinburgh. He graduated in M.B., Ch.B. at Edinburgh and obtained his M. D. in 1896, with Sanskrit as the compulsory classical subject. He researched in E. N. T. diseases at Paris and returned to India in 1897. During his stay in the United Kingdom, he was a member of the Edinburgh Student's Representative Council, Secretary and later, President of the Edinburgh Indian Association, member of the Edinburgh University Liberal Association and University Union and one of the editors of Edinburgh University Liberal's magazine "The Student". Prior to his return to India, Nair spent some time in London where he served as Secretary and later Vice-President of London Indian Society which was led by Dadabhai Naoroji. He also served as a member of the British Medical Association, the Royal Asiatic Society, the National Liberal Club and the Royal Society.