RAMAR PILLAI

“Please be there sharp at four o'clock”, Ramar Pillai told me over the phone. He asked me to wait in front of a Ganesha temple at Kodambakkam. I was there just before 4. The street was deserted. Suddenly my phone rings. Pillai was on the line. ''Have you reached?” “Yes'' I replied. Within seconds an auto arrives. Inside was Ramar Pillai, the person who shook the nation with the 'discovery' of herbal petrol. In a collared T-shirt and lungi, Pillai still has an air of innocence I followed his auto as it went down the streets of Kodambakkam and finally stopped in a deserted corner. I enter his auto. We began talking.

Hailing from Mamsapuram a village in small town Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu, Pillai studied up to the Std 9. But then he made a splash with his “magical remedy” for the fuel problem. His demonstrations were covered by the media, but the scientific community was sceptical. In fact, his demonstration at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, failed. He was accused of clandestinely adding petrol from the stick he used to mix his herbal mixture. His experiment was rejected by the Indian Institute of Petroleum(IIP) at Dehradun too. Pillai had to even face a CBI case while he was selling herbal petrol in Chennai. The case is still pending in the court.

''This herbal petrol was prepared with the knowledge gifted by the 18 famous Siddhars (Tamil ascetics)."

''I have sold 15 lakh litres of fuel. I've paid Rs 20 lakh as sales tax and central excise tax to the government from 1999 March to 2000 March. By the time the market price of petrol was Rs 35, I was selling it at Rs 15.50. But they slapped a case on me. I know all these obstacles will vanish. Wait for two months, you'll hear good news. In an analysis, my product has met European fuel standards."

Finally, the clincher from the 'Herbal Petrol Scientist' is: “If there is nothing in my product, why do you call me for discussions?”