India’s Forgotten Geniuses: GD Naidu

Balaji Viswanathan

One of the most brilliant minds in India who is now forgotten is Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu or GD Naidu. Sitting in the small town of colonial era Coimbatore, this inventor used to drive a Rolls Royce — when only the Indian monarchs could afford them. He was prolific in inventing & improving a variety of things.

He lived in the colonial era and was way ahead of the times. Some of the stuff he built/invented include:

1. Super thin shaving blades operated by batteries
2. A projection TV.
3. Kerosene run fan.
4. Tamper proof electronic voting machine.
5. Mechanical calculator.
6. Ticket vending machine for buses.
7. A cotton tree [cotton growing in a tree rather than as a plant]

A four stroke ICE.

India’s first electrical motor.

A record breaking building of a house in barely 11 hours.

Built a two-seater petrol engine car that was then lost in government bureaucracy.

He helped setup India’s first polytechnic and was the principal of the Government College of Technology, Coimbatore. He was a firm believer that the 4 year education is way overkill for engineering ;-)

He was constantly hampered by a government that was incapable of appreciating innovation. Most of his innovations died in vain.

Some of the stuff he built are displayed in his museum: http://www.destinationinfinity.o...