Nagpur's Nair Service Society celebrating silver jubilee this year

Nagpur: At its annual general body meeting held recently, Nair Service Society elected its office bearers. For the fourth consecutive year SS Nair was elected as the president. Others elected at different posts include EP Rajagopala Menon as vice-president, K S Santhosh Nair and U. Ravindran Nair as joint secretaries. The society, formed on Sept 12, 1992, will be celebrating its silver jubilee this year with a slew of programmes.
Formed on the lines of NSS that was established in Kerala by Mannathu Padmanabhan in 1914, it has been bringing together members of its community for religious and social purposes. “When it was first formed, Nair community was facing a crisis. There was no unity among them and a blind adherence of outmoded customs was preventing it from progressing,” informs president SS Nair.
“Nairs were predominantly soldiers and had a glorious past. But their penchant for extravagant celebrations and ceremonies led to their downfall. The community hit hard days in terms of loss of wealth, property and employment opportunities,” explains Nair and says that after the society was formed the community was put on the path of progress and a slew of educational institutions, hospitals and other socially beneficial institutions were formed.
Replicating the model in the city, NSS has been able to preserve and further the various traditions typical to them. The society has 900 members. Each family irrespective of the number of members is counted as one. “Nairs, who include Pillais, Menons, Kurups and Nambiars, have a distinct presence in Nagpur and reside in different parts of the city,” says Nair. They have been living here for a fairly long period but their native traditions still remain close to their heart, he says adding that the society, which functions out of a registered office located near Gorewada, fulfils that need.
Since its inception, NSS Nagpur has been rendering humanitarian services to its members and the community by providing educational assistance to the needy, feeding the less privileged, organizing medical check-ups, holding blood donations camps, providing relief and aid at the time of natural calamities and holding cultural events.
The community has a very robust entrepreneurial spirit, feels past president and builder Anil Nair. “Mostly engineers, Nairs first came to this region to work in places like Bhilai and in government offices in the city. But next generation has been opting for management courses and prefers to set up their own businesses,” he adds.
The community is equally rooted into religious traditions. “The entire Ayyappa Samajam organizing body has Nairs as its members,” says DV Nair who heads it. “Festivals like Onam, Pongal and our dance festival Thiruvathirakali are all celebrated here in the city. There are 300 members in our temple organization, all Keralite Hindus. It is the Nairs who were at the forefront of building this temple in 1991 and we take all initiatives when it comes to organizing religious and festive events,” he adds.