 Born the eldest child of 9 siblings to a land owning family in India's old Madras Presidency, Namasivayam left his hometown at the age of 5 with his mother to join his father who was employed by the Central Electricity Board as a foreman-mechanic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.Resettling in his new home at the Board's accommodation quarters in Bangsa Road (present-day Petaling Jaya), 6-year-old Namasivayam briefly attended a private school in the Brickfields vicinity run by the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).He was later transferred to a government Primary School at Batu Road, KL, after being recommended by a British engineer working with the Board, who spotted potential in him.