In 1952, when set-up game in Volley ball was just introduced- Karaveddi Vigneswara College became the All Ceylon champions in the 6 a side tournament, conducted at Colombo Plan Exhibition in Colombo.
When Prime Minister Sir.John Kotelawala came to Karaveddi, these players were honoured by him and were took in a procession to the school.
My College -
Karaveddi Vigneswara College
In 1953, Our college finished as Runners up to St. John Bosco's College in All Ceylon Volley Ball championship.
An Interesting letter about my college and Mr.K.C.Nadarajah in Sunday Times - 24/8/97
Letter to the Editor
24, August 1997
Nehru's unknown hero was K. C. Nadarajah
I was pleased to read the article titled Nehru's Southern Holiday in 'The Sunday Times' of August 10.
The passage quoted by you in thick letters from the speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of the celebration of 50 years of independence by India, fits in well in the present context when Sri Lanka is scheduled to celebrate its 50 years of independence .
You have also published an extract from Nehru' s autobiography which portrays his thoughts on Sri Lanka after his holiday in Sri Lanka in 1931. I was thrilled to read the following passage in his autobiography. "One little incident lingers in my memory , it was near Jaffna, I think. The teachers and boys of a school stopped our car and said a few words of greeting. The ardent, eager faces of the boys stood out and then one of their number came to me, shook hands with me and without question or argument said "I will not falter." That bright young face with shining eyes full of determination is imprinted in my mind. I do not know who he was, I have lost trace of him.
But somehow I have conviction that he will remain true to his word and will not falter when he has to face life' s difficult problems".
I hasten to clear the cloud surrounding Nehru's mind in relation to the name of the school and the name of the young man with a bright face and shining eyes. In 1931 when Nehru came to Jaffna, I was not born and my father in his teens was a student at Vigneswara College, Karaveddi. My father who is no more was one of the students who greeted Nehru having stopped his car. The young man with a bright face and shining eyes was the late K . C. Nadarajah the leading criminal lawyer in Colombo. He was also the Attorney General of Nigeria and Supreme Court Judge of Bermuda. In 1931, he was just 13 years old and he was one among the first batch of students of Vigneswara College who did well in the London Matriculation Exam.
I am also an old student of Vigneswara College, Karaveddi which is reputed for producing eminent personalities in all walks of life. K . C . Nadarajah was the Manager of Vigneswara College. This statement of Nehru regarding the school and the young man's utterance "I will not falter" was read to us and explained at a function held by the school to felicitate K . C . Nadarajah on his appointment as Manager, Vigneswara College.
There is no vestige of doubt that K . C . Nadarajah has done justice to the conviction and expectations of Nehru. He was definitely a shining star and he is the elder brother of the world famous Dr. Siva Chinnathamby.
V. Vimalarajah
Colombo 8
M. Sivasithamparam
M.Sivasithamparam is a distinguished old student of Vigneswara College, Karaveddi. Vigneswara College was founded by Gate Mudaliyar Veeravaku Chittampalam (popularly known as 'Sithamaniam') in the year 1917. He is the grandfather of Siva Annan from his father's side. In 1920, Gate Mudaliyar Chinnathamby (popularly known as 'Ponniah Maniam') took up the administration of the College as Manager. He is the grandfather of Sivasithamparam from his mother's side.
He was educated at Karaveddi Saraswathy Vidyalayam up to Grade III and thereafter he had his education at Vigneswara up to his Cambridge Senior. While at Vigneswara College he passed the Cambridge Senior and London Matriculation Examinations at the first sitting.
Sivasithamparam passed both Cambridge and London Matriculation Examinations. He was a brilliant student. He was a leading figure in the Vigneswara College Parliament where he was elected as Speaker. He was the Deputy Speaker of Sri Lanka Parliament and he always said that the experience he gained at Vigneswara College Parliament helped him a lot in his work as Deputy Speaker in the Sri Lankan Parliament. In fact, Dr. N. M. Perera, an outstanding politician commended highly Siva for the way he handled a complicated issue in Parliament as Deputy Speaker. He always says with pride that he owes a big debt to Vigneswara in that what he learnt at Vigneswara is an unshakeable asset to him in his life and that he is today in this high position because of Vigneswara College. He has always been fully and actively involved in all activities of Vigneswara.
As Member of Parliament, he has put up a building for Vigneswara which stands as a monument for this good work to his alma mater. The old students of Vigneswara had done well in all walks of life in Sri Lanka and abroad in the field of Engineering, Medicine, Law and Accountancy.
Prof. Sivathamby
Prof. Sivathamby is a brilliant scholar with unparalleled eminence. We felicitated him recently for the rare and unique honour he had won in being the recipient of the V.K. Award from the Tamil Nadu Government. He is our patron and he works hard for our College. Our college had three M.Ps in parliament. An old student of our College who welcomed Jawarhalal Nehru in 1930 when he came to Karaveddi has found a place in the Autobiography of Nehru.
Vigneswara College is on the road starting from Nelliadi ending near Kirai Pillaiyar temple and named Vigneswara road. Our college produced lot of professionals, eminent high officials, educators and others.
During my period, Mr.Sivapiragasam (from Puloli) was the principal and Mr.Somasundaram (from Thunnalai) was the vice-principal.
Teachers who taught me during my G.C.E (O.L) classes are
Mr. Arunasalam (Maths), Mr. C.T.Tharmalingam (Physics),
Mr. Gunaratnam (Biology), Mr.I.Chittampalm (Tamil), Mr.Ganeshamoorthy (Chemistry), Mr. Mahesan (English),
Mr.P.Sinnathamby (Civics), Mr. Balasubramaniam (Civics),
