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His village didn't have a school so he went to school in a neighbouring village and often studied by kerosene light.
Even as India celebrates various milestones in the space sector, one state has enough reason to be proud.
It is Tamil Nadu, which has given India three scientists from Kanyakumari district who have become chairmen of the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO. This includes the new chairman, Dr V Narayanan, an expert in rocket and spacecraft propulsion.
On January 14, 2025, Dr Narayanan took over as ISRO chairman from Dr S Somanath. He was earlier the director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Valiamala, Kerala.
Dr Narayanan's beginnings were very humble. His village, Melakattuvilai in Kanyakumari distrct, did not have a school so he did his primary schooling in nearby Kilakattuvillai.
For his middle school, he went a mile away. The rest of his education was completed in the district headquarters, Nagercoil.
He then joined a polytechnic and got a diploma in mechanical engineering and then joined AMIE. He completed his MTech in cryogenic engineering and secured a PhD in aerospace engineering from IIT, Kharagpur.
I decided to visit his village to get the true essence of this scientist. Finding the village was not easy. Google left it 3 km away.
After asking villagers for directions, I arrived 30 minutes later at the sleepy village and located Dr Narayanan's house where I found an elderly gentleman fast asleep in a coconut grove.
He is Narayana Perumal, Dr Narayanan's uncle, his father's younger brother. Dr Narayanan, Mr Perumal informed me, has three brothers and two sisters, all educated and well-employed.
Dr Narayanan was married in Thiruvananthapuram and lived there till his current appointment. He comes to the village once a year during the temple festival, helps the village children to study and later, finds them jobs.
Dr Narayanan, his uncle said, had demolished his old house and plans to build a new home in its stead so that he can get his daughter married here.
The village is populated only by Hindu Nadars and it has a Kaniyallan temple where Pongal is celebrated in a big way.
Kilakattalai Selvamanickam kindled the future ISRO scientist's interest in science. Though Mr Selvamanickam is no more, Dr Narayanan still visits his wife and family when he comes to the village.
The village is full of coconut farms; Dr Narayanan too owns a few coconut trees. "We get drinking water from the panchayat, which is enough for our coconut trees," the uncle said.
Villagers with larger farms have their own wells. There is no river here. Water is found at a depth of 200 feet. Earlier, the village had palm trees, but as there was no one to climb that high, only coconut trees are grown now.
Dr Narayanan's first cousin, Advocate Dr V Selvakumar practices in the Nagercoil district court. "After completing his diploma, he worked for a cycle company before joining ISRO. He is ten years older than me and as a child when there was no electricity in the village, he would study with a kerosene lamp. Signs of his industriousness were sown early," Dr Selvakumar recalled.
Dr Narayanan's father was a coconut trader and his son used to help him when he was in school. He was a serious child and a committed student who topped his Class 10 exams.
His dogged pursuit of excellence was evident when Russia refused to share space technology with India due to American pressure. Dr Narayanan and his team developed a cryogenic engine in India. Even though it took them ten years, they pursued their passion and succeeded.
The villagers now wait for their celebrity son to come home. Meanwhile, his uncle sleeps peacefully on his coconut farm, a smile playing on his lips.
Edited by Shobha John
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com