Early life

Alvapillai was born on 23 November 1905. He was the son of Kovindapillai and Seethevi Pillai (Thangam) from Thumpalai

Thumpalai

Thumpalai is a small town in Sri Lanka. It is located within Northern Province.-External links:*...

 near Point Pedro

Point Pedro

Point Pedro is the northernmost town of the island of Sri Lanka. The agriculturally active area around Point Pedro with fertile calcic red latosols is known for its cotton production. The eastern coast of Point Pedro is a 3-mile-broad beach with huge sand dunes up to 100 feet height, extending...

 in northern British Ceylon

British Ceylon

British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka.-From the Dutch to the British:Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for...

. Alvapillai had an elder sister (Nagaratnam), younger brother (Sathasivam Pillai) and younger sister (Theva Yogam). His father died when Alvapillai was ten years old. He was educated at Hartley College

Hartley College

Hartley College is a boys private school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries. The school is named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. Hartley.-History:...

, Point Pedro. He passed the Senior Cambridge

Senior Cambridge

The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Jamaica. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations.-India:...

 examination with distinction and honours. He then went to Ceylon University College. After graduation he went to the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 from where he graduated with a first class honours degree in mathematics.

Alvapillai married Kanagammah, daughter of V. Nallathamby and Vallipillai from Tellippalai

Tellippalai

Tellippalai or Thellippalai is a small town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka.It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission came to Sri Lanka in the 19th century. It was known as Tillipally in ACM documents...

. They had two sons (Vijayaraghavan and Senthilkumar) and a daughter (Bhavani).

Alvapillai was the President of the Colombo Vivekananda Society and Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of Colombo Hindu College.

Career

On returning to Ceylon Alvapillai joined the Ceylon Civil Service

Ceylon Civil Service

The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...

 in 1929 as a cadet. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Food Purchase in 1942. In 1945 he was appointed Director of Food Supplies. Later he became Food Commissioner. In 1953 he was appointed Permanent Secretary

Permanent Secretary

The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...

 to the Minister of Agriculture and Food. In 1959 he became Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Commerce and Trade.
During his career Alvapillai worked for some of the leading ministers in post-independence Ceylon: Oliver Goonetilleke, Philip Gunawardena

Philip Gunawardena

Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a national hero, known as 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'.-Early life & education:...

, T. B. Ilangaratne

T. B. Ilangaratne

Tikiri Bandara Ilangaratne was a Sri Lankan politician, author, dramatist, and theater actor he was Member of Parliament for Kandy, Galaha, Hewaheta and Kolonnawa in Colombo district...

, J. R. Jayewardene, A. Ratnayaka

A. Ratnayaka

Abeyratne Ratnayaka was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Food, Co-operatives and Home Affairs in independent Ceylon and the last President of the Senate of Ceylon, a Member of Parliament & State Council. He received his primary education at Dharmaraja College Kandy...

, Maithripala Senanayake

Maithripala Senanayake

Maithripala Senanayake was a Sri Lankan politician and Governor of the North-Central province. He first studied at St. Joseph's College, Anuradhapura then at St...

 and V. A. Sugathadasa. He retired in 1965.

After retirement Alvapillai served as Chairman of a number of state-owned corporations - Ceylon Petroleum Corporation

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is the national oil and gas company of Sri Lanka. It was set up as a state enterpise by Act. No. 28 of 1961 in parliament and further amendments carried out subsequently....

, Ceylon State Flour Corporation and Ceylon Shipping Corporation.