Shanmuga Nadar was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n enterpreneur from the southern city of Sivakasi

Sivakasi

Sivakasi is an active town and a municipality in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the capital of India’s firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories, big and small, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output.It is also known as "kutti japan" meaning "small...

 in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. He along with his cousin Ayya Nadar

Ayya Nadar

P. Ayya Nadar was an Indian enterpreneur from the southern city of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. He along with Shanmuga Nadar is credited for transforming the small village of Sivakasi into a thriving industrial town...

 is credited for transforming the small village of Sivakasi into a thriving industrial town. He was the founder of Kakka (or Standard) firework industry. He was the chairman of Sivakasi municipality between 1952 and 1955. In 1922, he along with Ayya Nadar went to Calcutta to learn matchmaking and opened industries in Sivakasi upon their return.