page_title: V. A. Sundaram
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: V. A. Sundaram / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: V. A. Sundaram with Gandhi in May 1930, shortly before Gandhi's arrest on 5 May 1930
context_page_description: Vellalore Annaswamy Sundaram was an activist in the Indian Independence movement, an associate of Mahatma Gandhi, a confidant of Madan Mohan Malaviya, and a fundraiser and secretary to the Benares Hindu University. His work focussed on communication and public relations, with particular emphasis on an international and intercultural perspective.
  His personal theme in life was an appreciation of beauty, on a sensual level as well as in broader, ethical and spiritual terms.
context_section_description: Sundaram was born in the South Indian city of Coimbatore to a family of orthodox Tamil Brahmins tracing their ancestry back to the 16th century Sanskrit scholar Appayya Dikshita. Sundaram's father Annaswamy Iyer, an advocate, hailed from the nearby village of Vellalore and, as customary in Tamil Nadu, Sundaram's name included the place of origin and the father's name (hence Vellalore Annaswamy or V. A. Sundaram).
  Sundaram took an early interest in literature and poetry, and developed a passion for the English language. After completing high school he enrolled in the renowned Pachaiyappa's College in Madras to study English literature. Halfway through his studies, he was captivated by the ideas of the Indian Independence movement and attended a meeting of the Indian National Congress for the first time in December 1914 in Madras.
caption: With Gandhi in early May 1930
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