G. Govinda Menon looks frail. His skin is wrinkled and he needs a walking stick. Yet, the 102-year-old moves around his house with remarkable independence. Despite losing sight in his right eye and dealing with cataract in his left eye, his inner vision and memory remain strikingly clear. This centenarian engineer from Thiruvananthapuram―probably the oldest engineer alive in Kerala today―fondly reminisces about his pivotal role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast between 1946 to 1949, assessing its potential for an international seaport.
This year, the decades-old vision finally came to fruition with the start of trial operations at India’s first deepwater container transhipment port. Vizhinjam, located in the southwestern tip of India, has a natural depth of up to 23m and is strategically located near international shipping routes.
“I was born in 1922 in Changanacherry; my father N. Govinda Panickar was a tehsildar there,” says Menon. “Whenever he was transferred, we had to change schools.” Menon was an excellent student, and his father encouraged him to pursue engineering. In 1940, Menon joined the second batch at the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, and he graduated with a diploma in mechanical engineering four years later, topping his class. Those were the final days of World War II and Menon got his first job in the military engineering services. However, by the time he joined, the war had ended, and he moved to the public works department of the Travancore princely state.
During the 1940s, Vizhinjam was part of Travancore. Diwan C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, who envisioned an independent Travancore post-British rule, saw Vizhinjam’s potential as a world-class port. He commissioned a British team from Harbour Engineering Company to survey the location’s viability. Menon, who was working on an aerodrome project, was asked to assist the British team.
“A section office was set up at Vizhinjam, and I was appointed there,” says Menon. “When the British expert arrived, our section was responsible for supporting the survey. This began as a survey along the coast. The British expert recommended Vizhinjam as the best spot for a port. We ventured about half a mile into the sea to take soundings for depth and observe current movements, among other details. The instruments we used included sextants for navigation and a lead wedge tied to a marked rope for taking depth soundings. We also used a current meter for measuring water movements. The survey lasted about six months.”
The team sailed in traditional boats, braving the monsoon. Once they were steering the boat near a promontory to take measurements, but ventured too close. “The sea was rough and we had a close call that I will never forget,” says Menon. His team was tasked with monitoring tide variations as well. “We were also asked to take soil samples along the shore through drilling. We collected soil data, completed the marine survey and forwarded it to the British company for further analysis,” he says.
The final report was submitted to the Travancore government. However, Travancore’s bid to be an independent state failed, and when the princely state was merged with the Indian Union, the project was abandoned. “By 1949, our section itself was abolished. Then I was sent to Nagercoil as a head draftsman, and from there, I was transferred to the Pallivasal hydroelectric project,” says Menon. Later, he worked in the survey team for Sengulam dam and the construction team for the Mattupetty dam near Munnar. Menon retired in 1977 as an executive engineer from PWD, Kerala.
In the early days of the Vizhinjam assignment, Menon would cycle more than 15km each way from Thiruvananthapuram to Vizhinjam. After his marriage, he rented a house near Vizhinjam. Remarkably, while celebrating his 90th birthday, Menon and his wife Bhawani Amma went to the house and were surprised to find it without much change. The couple’s third son, Sasikumar G., made a special gift for them by superimposing one of their photos from the 1940s on a picture taken during Menon’s 90th birthday in front of their old house. That house is now owned by cricketer Sanju Samson.
Menon says his wife was the pillar of support in everything he did. “I had to leave early for marine surveys, and she was always helpful and understanding,” he recalls. Bhawani Amma died in 2018 at the age of 87.
Interestingly, Menon’s connection to cricket doesn’t end with the old house. His youngest son, G. Jayakumar, is a former Kerala medium pacer and a renowned technical coach who has mentored many international players, including Dinesh Karthik, R. Ashwin, Murali Vijay and Samson.
Menon has always led an active life, and he credits his longevity to yoga and pranayama. In 1939, his father gave him a book on surya namaskar, which inspired him to practise the 12 asanas involved. He continued the routine till he turned 80. “When I joined the engineering college, His Highness Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma (the last ruling king of Travancore) appointed a yogi to teach yoga to college students as part of the curriculum,” says Menon. “I enrolled in the class. It helped me focus, and it greatly benefited my studies.”
Even at 102, Menon practises some of the asanas, including pranayama. Sasikumar says Menon wakes up in the morning before others and begins his day with prayers. He maintains a strict routine for meals―9:30am, 1pm and 7:30pm―and calls it a day by 9pm.
Menon’s father Govinda Panickar was an exponent of Hindu philosophy. Consequently, Menon also picked up an interest in learning the Gita and other philosophical texts. He published Bhagawad Gita Bhashyam adhava Karmayoga Sasthram (a commentary on the Gita) written by his father.
One of Menon’s articles, published by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad, advocating Vizhinjam as an ideal location for a modern port, played a pivotal role in shaping public discourse in favour of its construction. In 2022, after turning 100, Menon saw his long-held dream coming true when he visited the port. Project director Ethiraj Ramachandran personally explained the project’s progress using an animated film, and also gave him a site tour. Now, with Vizhinjam receiving massive motherships during the trial phase itself, Menon feels a deep sense of happiness and fulfilment.