Upcoming Birthday for MADRAS 375 Years

Madras has always had a deep relationship with higher education. It has sown the seeds for institutions of repute that impart learning to students; these institutions are still standing tall, right through the ages. Here, we profile colleges in the city that have, for about 100 years or more, moulded young adults and prepared them for the outside world. Some of these colleges have been around for over a century, notably College of Engineering, Guindy, which was started in 1794, and Madras Medical College, started in 1835. From these portals of education, have graduated fine men and women, who have gone on to be leaders, statesmen, judges, artistes, doctors and educationists, making their mark in their chosen fields. Chennai, today, still has a relatively high density of colleges, with several lakh students graduating every year. That is education; if you are willing though, living in this city will also prove a wonderful learning experience

                                             College of Engineering, Guindy  - 1794

Most students, even today, vie for a seat at College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG). What most people do not realise, however, is that it is one of the oldest colleges in the city.

CEG was initially a school for surveying started by the British government and was located near Fort St. George. Over half a century after it was formed, a school of civil engineering was set up, and called the College of Engineering from 1861.

Actor ‘Crazy’ Mohan, an alumnus, says the first time he met actor Kamal Haasan was during the prize distribution of an inter-collegiate competition at CEG.

“Even today when I have writer’s block, I go sit in the college canteen, order a bread omelette, and somehow, I feel like I can write again,” he says.

‘Crazy’ Mohan, actor: I can never forget the Vivekananda Auditorium in the college, where my team practised all our plays. My first foray into the field of drama and writing was also in college, during an inter-college competition.

                                                        Women’s Christian College -1915

This year, Women’s Christian College (WCC) kicked off their centenary celebrations with a candlelight singing session at midnight, making it part of the elite group of city colleges that are 100 years old.

The college, which started off with around 40 students, was established in 1915 by Eleanor McDougal, who was the principal of the college for over 20 years. WCC is located on College Road, and is the first private college in the city. In 1982 it became an autonomous college under the University of Madras. Some of the famous alumni from the college include the first lady mayor of Madras, Tarabai Cherian.

For Aswathi Jacob, who studied her intermediate in the college in 1949, the college was where she found her feet.

“When I joined WCC, I felt free for the first time. Since I joined right after school, the various activities in the college and the cross-section of people I met have shaped who I am today,” she said.

She fondly recalls the candlelight vigils and bi-monthly dinners at the college.

                                              Madras Christian College - 1837

Started as a high school with just over 50 students in George Town in 1837, Madras Christian College (MCC) today has nearly 5,000 students. Among the few arts and science colleges in this part of the country to have completed 175 years, MCC’s lush green campus spread over close to 400 acres is world renowned. Started by Scottish missionaries, it shifted to its present campus in Tambaram in 1937.

It was originally a patch of scrub jungle, and if it resembles a dense forest today, it is principally due to the efforts of Edward Barnes, who taught in the chemistry department, and his wife Alice, and later, other illustrious faculty members and students.

MCC has produced alumni who have made immense contribution in all walks of life, and they include former President S. Radhakrishnan, former Central ministers, chief of armed staff, scientists, academicians, economists, civil servants and numerous others.

“The college offered a good mix of academics and sports,” says K. Vijay Kumar, former Chennai city police commissioner. A resident of Bishop Heber Hall, he did postgraduation in English Literature before joining the Indian Police Service.

“There is nothing like our college campus,” he says. “We residents of the halls (hostels are called halls in MCC) competed hard with each other, but came together as one for the sake of the college.”

Mr. Vijay Kumar was the chief guest during the college sports day when a section of students protested, upset over a decision. He patiently waited till the students dispersed and addressed them.

On a single special moment during college, the former top police officer says he kept his selection to the IPS a highly guarded secret from his class of ’24, and informed only Thangapandian, his hostelmate.

Thomas A. Coke, who completed his studies in history from MCC in 1960, says, “I was very fortunate to have studied during the glorious and best days of MCC. The feeling of everyone being part of a single community was unparalleled.”

“We were among the last, or probably the last batch to undergo the intermediate and graduate courses in history,” he says.

Asked what he liked most about his college, pat comes the reply: A.J. Boyd. Professor Boyd served as principal of MCC for 18 years, till 1956. “He remembered every single student’s name, that was something remarkable,” says Mr. Coke.

                                                          Madras Medical College - 1835

For aspirants of medicine, Madras Medical College (MMC) has always been the top choice. MMC came into existence in 1835 as a medical school. It was upgraded to a college in 1850 and started to admit women in 1875. It produced the country’s first lady doctor — Muthulakshmi Reddy.

From its long-time home on Poonamallee High Road, next to Government General Hospital, the college moved to a new building, on the erstwhile Central Jail premises, last year. The anatomy block is one of the earlier buildings constructed in the early 1900s.

Senior diabetologist V. Seshiah says the college offered some of the most beautiful experiences in his life.

A student of the 1957 batch, he recounts how he was forced to contest for the post of class representative in the first year, and went on to win.

“There was a tradition called ducking. Whoever won the post was thrown into a small water fountain in front of the department of pathology, and I was carried and thrown inside,” he says.

Three doctors from the batch, including him, were recipients of the B.C. Roy National award.

                                                   Pachaiyappa’s College - 1842

Most of the alumni of the college say they studied in the ‘rowdy’ college. Despite the description, the college has a solid reputation that it has built over the years, from the time it was established in 1842. Pachaiyappa’s was intended to be a college for Hindus and was built using funds from Pachaiyappa Mudaliar.

For almost 100 years after it was formed, the college did not admit non-Hindu students. It was only much later that the rules were relaxed. The college is one of two that were formed before the University of Madras.

Damal Ramakrishnan, famous for his religious discourses, is an alumni of the college. He recalls how the student body elections in the college were a huge deal.

“During the elections every year, fire breathers and other entertainers were brought to the campus. It was the first time any of us ever saw such sights,” he says.

The reputation of the college was not something that bothered him. “Even though it was known as a ‘rowdy’ college, for the most part, college life was very peaceful,” he says.

                                                Government College of Fine Arts - 1850

Not many people in the city have heard of the Government College of Fine Arts, or the Madras School of Arts, as it was formerly known.

The college, which has produced some of the finest artists in the country, was the first arts college in the country. Alexander Hunter, a surgeon, founded the college in 1850. The college shifted to its current premises two years after it was formed.

When actor Sivakumar joined the college to study painting in 1958, very few people even knew of the college’s existence. “It was only when one of my teachers said I should study art that I looked out for arts colleges and read an advertisement in The Hindu about the college. Till then, I did not know of its existence,” he says.

“The college broadened my horizons. There were an equal number of men and women, and it was there I learnt how to interact with my women peers,” he says.

When he was in college, the students were taken to different parts of the country to study the art forms there, he says.

“We travelled to see the Elephanta, Ajantha and Ellora caves, and even Khajuraho. What I cherish the most, however, are the trips we made to Mamallapuram by cycle. We would cycle down, sketch for half a day, stay there overnight, then cycle back to the city,” he says.

“Those were the college’s glory days, and it is the reason I am what I am today,” he says.

                                         Government Arts College - 1901

What started out as a madrasa was, at the turn of the 20th century, converted into a college for Muslim students. Later, in the 1970s, it shifted from the old campus — where the Qaid e-Millat College for women is now located — to the Nandanam campus.

“The Government Arts College has always been known for taking up pertinent issues,” one of the college’s alumni, V. Ramamurthy, says.

One of the best memories of this 1984 graduate of the college is when the Sri Lanka issue was first starting up and Government Arts College led an inter-college strike bringing together all the colleges in the city.

He also recalls visiting the Tamil Nadu Housing Board canteen next door. “Often, we would all jump the wall of the college to visit the canteen,” he says.

                                                 University of Madras - 1857

Until very recently, almost all the colleges in Chennai were under Madras University, which, started in 1857, is older than most other colleges in the city.

The formation of various other universities, including MGR Medical University, Anna University, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University, meant that several colleges that were under the Madras varsity were transferred to these newer universities.

V. Shanmugasundaram, who was a professor in the department of economics from 1961 to 1987, says that for a very long time, examiners who were invited to the university were from colleges in the United Kingdom, including Oxford and Cambridge.

“The standard of education of the university was always very high, and it was very difficult for students to complete their Ph.D. and Masters programs unless they were very disciplined,” he said.

                                                      Presidency College - 1840

Presidency College and Pachaiyappa’s College were commonly referred to as the ‘High Schools of the Madras University,’ since they were both formed before the university itself, and did not offer diplomas and degree courses until they were affiliated to the university.

Formed in 1840 as Madras Preparatory School, Presidency College was established as the sister concern of Kolkata’s Presidency College.

Former Supreme Court Justice S. Mohan, who studied at Presidency from 1948 for his intermediate, recalls the day when former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai visited the college. “Many of the professors were afraid he would talk politics, and it was my duty as the head of the Tamil department to inform him that he should avoid the subject,” he said.

“When he was briefed on the situation, Mr. Annadurai turned around and said, ‘Are the teachers afraid?’ When I said yes, he immediately turned around and gave a lecture on fear (achcham) for 45 minutes, leaving the audience spellbound,” Mr. Mohan said.

The college itself was a wonderful place, with the students being allowed to flourish and develop their talents, he said.

                                                   Queen Mary’s College - 1914

Located on Kamaraj Salai, right opposite Marina beach, Queen Mary’s College is one of the landmarks of the city. The college, which is now 100 years old, has had many illustrious alumni.

The college campus, called Capper House, was the residence of a British Lieutenant Colonel and then a hotel, before it was converted into the college. Later, the building was demolished to make way for the modern ‘Kalaignar Maligai’ in 2010.

Malathi Rangaswamy, who studied her BA in the college from 1947, remembers a time when the college had teachers who were qualified in Oxford and Cambridge. “Although the student strength was only around 30 in each group, we had some of the best training available in the day,” she says

All the students were strongly encouraged to take up fine arts, including music and dance, which helped them further develop, she adds.

“When I completed my degree program, I had just delivered my son, and this was very common with women in those days. The college allowed that kind of leeway, since many of the girls studying at that time were married when they were in college,” she said.

                                             Madras Law College - 1891

The building of Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, also known as Madras Law College, was constructed in 1891 and represents the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, a combination of both Muslim and Hindu culture.

The old campus is a standing example of heritage, and was designed in the colonial era by government architect Henry Irwing.

Eminent personalities such as constitution maker Alladi Krishnaswamy, former President R. Venkatraman, former Supreme Court judges S. Mohan and Rathnavel Pandian, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, and former Chief Justice of India Pathanjali Shasthri are some of the alumni of the college.

Director Samuthirakani of ‘Nadodigal’ fame was also a student of the college, between 1994 and 1997. “I first got admission in Madurai. As I wanted to pursue my interest in cinema, I got a transfer to Madras Law College,” he says.

When he first entered the college, he felt like walking into a building from the time of the British empire, he reminisces, adding, “Each case that came up in the court was a story for me. We used to attend court sessions. There was a small gate that connected the college and the court.”

He missed many classes as he was also working as an assistant director then. “Even now I get enthralled when I pass by the college. Such is its majestic appearance,” he adds.

                                          Madras Veterinary College - 1885

‘Every thing starts small’ is a phrase most suited to the 129-year-old Madras Veterinary College (MVC), which was started as a small dispensary to treat horses in Saidapet.

In 1900, the dispensary moved to its present location in Vepery. Three years later, the institution started offering certificate courses in animal husbandry.

After becoming a full-fledged educational institution, it was affiliated to Madras University in 1935. The college has two distinctions: it was the first college in the country to be affiliated to a university and was also the first university in the country to offer a course in animal husbandry.

Initially, those who completed a course from MVC were referred to as a ‘’Graduate of Madras Veterinary College’, says R. Prabakaran, former vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

Rita Narayanan, an alumnus of MVC, says the institution was noted for its varied research projects. Researchers from other universities visit the college to make use of several facilities available here. It is also a pioneering educational institution not only in veterinary education, but also in extension activities that are very useful to cattle owners and poultry farmers in the State, she says.

Source from THE HINDU