From Lewis to Lord Wavell, most Viceroys that he worked with, were astonished by Menon’s comprehensive knowledge of all Indian situations. He was later appointed the deputy to Sir Hawthorne Lewis, the Reforms Commissioner. He also tagged along with Linlithgow to England on most official trips, thus making him the only local civil servant in his time to attend the Roundtable Conference in England. Not only was Menon trusted with classified information but also became a consultant for various reform decisions. Transferred to the Sensitive Reforms Department, he became a confidante of Lord Linlithgow, the longest-serving Viceroy of India. His speedy and flawless typing made him an asset to the British officials. Once he arrived, Menon was able to earn the position of a clerk-and-typist in the home department in 1929. The next thing he knew, he was travelling to Shimla in the hope of earning a government job. He had a flair for the English language and the ability to analyse issues and find solutions. He was an ambitious man, and soon took up the job of a clerk-typist in a Bangalore-based tobacco company. He left his home in search of a job, intending to shoulder the financial responsibility of the large family and help his father.įrom being a construction worker to a coal miner, factory hand, a coolie-grade stoker and even an unsuccessful cotton broker-he did it all.ĭespite the odd jobs, he did not limit himself. Moved by his father’s struggle to make ends meet, the young boy who was only a matriculate, decided to trade education for a string of menial jobs. When he was young, Menon once overheard his father, lamenting the lack of resources, and his inability to give his children the life they deserved. With a family as large as that, finances were always tight.
He was the oldest among a dozen kids to a school headmaster. Vappala Pangunni Menon was born in the small village of Panamanna in Ottapalam close to the banks of Bharathapuzha on September 30, 1893. Monday was his 126th birth anniversary, and this is a good time to remember the man who played an instrumental role in ensuring that over 500 princely states seamlessly joined the Union of India and get a glimpse into his incredible story. Menon’s adventures and experiences are narrated in his book - The Story of the Integration of the Indian States-considered to be one of the most detailed works on the political integration of India. To the extent where he had a close shave with death when an angered maharaja sprung out a gun and threatened to shoot him point-blank. While his wit and diplomacy were able to win over several of them, the task was arduous. He travelled from court to court, having endless eye-to-eye discussions and negotiations.
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