From India's Digital Archives-10: Kasturiranga Iyengar

The Hindu turned 140 on September 20th. Its journey from an eight-page weekly in the 1880s to its current avatar has been a remarkable one with several firsts to its credit. That it has managed to achieve tremendous success despite many odds is thanks in no small measure to the spirit of the founders and the several men who have been at its helm over the course of its journey. The book featured in this issue is a biography of one such person, Kasturiranga Iyengar.

Born in 1859, Kasturiranga Iyengar had his early education in Kumbakonam, before completing his law degree from the Presidency College in 1884. On completion of his apprenticeship under the legendary Sir V Bashyam Iyengar, Kasturiranga Iyengar rather intriguingly chose to establish practice in Coimbatore rather than in Madras. He however established himself as a leading lawyer within a short span of time in the city which was then slowly starting to gain importance as an urban centre.

Kasturiranga Iyengar returned to Madras in 1894 after a successful decade in Coimbatore. Apart from achieving legal success, he had also held several public positions, having been elected to the Coimbatore Municipal Council and the Coimbatore District Board apart from being appointed Honorary Magistrate. Even during his apprenticeship, Kasturiranga Iyengar had displayed a keen sense of public spiritedness. He was one of the founders of the Madras Mahajana Sabha in 1884, a nationalist body which would serve as a platform for the Indians to air their grievances and come together to voice their views on matters of social reform. It was a successor of sorts to the Madras Native Association, a body that had been founded by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty in 1852 which had become inactive following his death in 1868.

The Hindu had been founded in 1878 by six young men, G Subramania Iyer, M Veeraghavachariar, N Subba Rau Pantulu, TT Rangachariar, PV Rangachariar and D Kesava Rao Pant, all of whom were members of the Triplicane Literary Society. It was started as a journal which would serve as a forum to represent Indian opinion, the lack of which was sorely felt when the British owned newspapers criticised the appointment of Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer as Judge of the Madras High Court. With their avowed purposes being similar, the Mahajana Sabha and The Hindu began a close association, with the Sabha for sometime even functioning out of the offices of the newspaper. It was but inevitable that Kasturiranga Iyengar too would become associated with the newspaper. Soon after his return from Coimbatore, he was appointed its Legal Advisor in 1895. His association was not confined to his legal capacity, for he was an active contributor to its columns on legal, political and social matters.

While the newspaper started to make its presence felt by being vocal on several issues of national interest, it was far from smooth sailing on its financial front. With little advertisement revenue to fall back on and a small circulation (with a good number of subscribers in arrears), it was largely dependent on the munificence of a few patrons who sympathised with its cause. The death of one such patron, Maharaja of Vizianagaram in 1897 threw the paper into deeper difficulties. Adding to its troubles was the fact that G Subramania Iyer (who was one of two remaining from the founding group) decided to withdraw from the newspaper, leaving M Veeraraghavachariar in sole charge. A failed attempt in 1901 at reconstituting the paper as a joint stock company (due to poor public response to the share issue) only made things worse.

It was in these circumstances that Kasturiranga Iyengar decided to purchase the newspaper. It was not a decision that had ready approval of his friends and relatives. Undeterred and placing supreme confidence in the growing popularity of the paper amidst the public, he along with Sir C Sankaran Nair and T Rangachari bought the paper for Rs 75000 in 1905. Thus began a two-decade association with the paper, one that would end only with his death in 1923.

Kasturiranga Iyengar faced several challenges within a short span of taking over. He lost the services of C Karunakara Menon, who had been with the paper since the 1880s and had served as its editor since 1898. M Veeraraghavachariar, who was serving as its manager and principal administrator too left due to illness. Undeterred by the challenges, Kasturiranga Iyengar brought in his nephew, A Rangaswami Iyengar who was a lawyer in Tanjore as Assistant Editor and manager of the paper and undertook several measures to put the paper in a strong financial footing. The pages were increased, which brought in more advertising revenue and arrears in subscription were dealt with by stopping supply of the paper to defaulters. On the news front, he subscribed to the Reuters and appointed more correspondents in the mofussils and North Indian centres. Under the stewardship of Kasturiranga Iyengar, the newspaper grew to become one of the country’s leading newspapers, not afraid of taking on Governors and public servants and championing several public causes, most notable amongst them being the Arbuthnot bank crash and its fallout. In many ways, it became the hub of political activity in Madras, which earned it the sobriquet “a den of conspirators” in the bureaucratic circles.

The book, written by VK Narasimhan who was the Deputy Editor of The Hindu was published in November 1963 as a part of the Builders of Modern India Series. The Series is an initiative of the Publications Division of the Government of India that dates to the 1920s. In its own words, the objective of the Series is the publication of short biographies of eminent people who have been instrumental in the national renaissance and the freedom movement. Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer has written the foreword of this book, which is a fascinating profile of the life and times of a multifaceted personality.

From India's Digital Archives-9: The Madrasiana

The book featured in this issue, The Madrasiana (WT Munro, 1868) turns 150 this year. It is an interesting compilation of all things significant in Madras.

WT Munro was the pseudonym of Rev William Taylor, a missionary and orientalist who played an important role in the analysis and cataloguing of the Mackenzie Manuscripts in the 1830s. Some of his other works include a memoir of the Amravati sculptures titled “On the Elliot Marbles” and “A Memoir of the First Centenary of the Earliest Protestant Mission at Madras” marking the centenary of the Vepery Mission.

The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 of the book contains brief profiles of the churches and chapels of Madras while Part 2 deals with the history of public places and monuments such as The Pantheon, The Mint, Banqueting Hall, Brodies Castle, the Cenotaph etc. Part 3 is titled Archaeological Notes and contains his writings on topics of philosophy and theology while Part 4 is a miscellaneous collection.

Parts 1 and 2 contain vivid descriptions of the various structures as they stood then and the stories behind their origins. For instance, he writes that the St George’s Cathedral was constructed as a church primarily for the aristocracy or the “big wigs of Madras” as he called them, as other churches were mostly out of bounds for them, though not officially. The site chosen was suitable, being “as central as possible to the residences of those for whose use it was principally intended”, alluding to the owners of the grand garden houses on the Choultry Plain. He hails its Iconic pillars and the portico, which was then a novelty in Madras. Writing of the Luz Church, he alludes to the well-known legend of a light coming to the rescue of Portuguese sailors caught in the rough seas and guiding them to the spot where the church now stands and says that it is the first footing of Christianity in the neighbourhood of Madras. As regards the St Andrews Kirk, which came up on the site known as “Ellis’s Cutcherry” Munro strangely makes no mention of the unique step well foundation, while delving on the acoustical issues it was faced with thanks to the steep dome and calls it the “worst in Madras as to the essential point of hearing”!

Amongst the many interesting descriptions of the various public spaces is that of The Pantheon, which had a history dating to the 1770s, when it was the residence of a civil servant. In the 1790s, it served as the Public Assembly Rooms. It served as the Land Customs house from 1830, when the Government acquired it from the wealthy Armenian merchant ES Moorat, to whom they had sold it in 1821. When the Central Museum was founded in 1851, it made the Pantheon its home and several additions were made to it. “To come at the original building, you have to remove the colonade, or portico, the upper story, and lastly the two sides, leaving only a small lodge on either side; and then the old building will remain which was once called “The Pantheon;” a building by no means handsome in external appearance, but erected more for use than show”, writes Munro. Today, it is virtually impossible to make out the remnants of the old Pantheon.

By far the most interesting article in Part 3 is the one prophesising the arrival of Veera Bhoga Vasanta Raya, said to be the Kalki Avatar. Munro writes of the Chenna Basaveswara Kala Gnanam by a poet named Chennappa and a few other works, which prophesise the arrival of a messiah to restore dharma. This legend seems to have been strong enough to merit a separate writeup in the Madras Times on his arrival and characteristics.

Two notable articles in Part 4 are the ones dealing with an account of three old Madras newspapers, the Madras Courier, the Madras Gazette and the Government Gazette and the Harbour project. Writing about the harbour project, he writes of the various pitfalls of the Madras coast and the constant threats of inundation. He gives instances of encroachments of the sea (such as the drowning of the Bulwark in 1820-22) and hopes that the entire project would receive careful consideration. Seven years from the publication of this book, the foundation stone for the harbour was laid.

From India's Digital Archives-8: Representative Men of Southern India

The book featured in this issue, Representative Men of Southern India by Govinda Parameswaran Pillai (1896) is a compilation of brief sketches of eminent personalities of the 19th century from the region.

Born in 1864, GP Pillai as the author was known was a multifaceted personality. Educated at the Maharajah’s College in Trivandrum and the Presidency College in Madras, he qualified as a barrister in England. He was one of the key members of the Indian National Congress in its early years, serving as its secretary in 1894 and 1898. Amongst his achievements as a political activist was the Malayali Memorial, which strove for reservation qualified persons at par with the numerical strength of the communities. In 1892, he took over as the Editor of the Madras Standard, a paper that had been founded in 1877. He came into close contact with Mahatma Gandhi, who used its pages to write extensively on the grievances of Indians in South Africa. In his autobiography Experiments with Truth, the Mahatma writes warmly about his relationship with GP Pillai, who passed away when he was hardly 39.

In the preface to the book, GP Pillai laments that “while the biographies of several eminent men of Bengal and Bombay have been published, India knows little or nothing of the greatest men of South India”. In an attempt to set this right, he started a column titled “Our Portrait Gallery” in the Madras Standard which contained brief biographical sketches of eminent Indians. This book is a collection of twelve of these sketches. While the book profiles some of those whose lives have been well documented, such as Sir T Madhava Row and Sir Savalai Ramaswamy Mudaliar, it also profiles people such as Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer, Rao Bahadur T Gopala Row, Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty (MM, Feb 1-15, 2011) and V Ramiengar, whose achievements and contributions have been long forgotten.

Born in 1832, Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer’s humble beginnings were no indicator of the fame and distinction he would achieve as a Jurist. Compelled to work at an early age due to his family circumstances, Muthuswamy Iyer completed his studies thanks to the benevolence of his employer, the village Tahsildar. Joining government service, he held several positions such as the Deputy Collector and Magistrate of Arcot and later Tanjore. Remarkably, he appeared for his BL Examinations during his time as a Magistrate and acquired a First Class. In 1878, he became the first Indian to become a Judge of the Madras High Court.

If Muthuswamy Iyer’s rags to riches story is remarkable, no less inspiring is the profile of Rao Bahadur Thandalam Gopala Row. Born in a Tanjore Marathi family, Gopala Row had little by way of formal education. Having learnt Marathi and Sanskrit from his father, he joined the Education Department as a First Assistant in the Provincial School at Kumbakonam. He graduated with a BA Degree in 1859 with a First Class. He was placed in sole charge of the Kumbakonam College between 1872 and 1874, where he became renowned as a Maths and English scholar but was never appointed its Principal. In 1878, he was transferred to the Presidency College, where he spent the last years of his life. He passed away in 1886. Rich tributes were paid by eminent personalities such as Rev Dr Miller, who wrote that “few of the educated sons of Southern India held so high a place in the regard of the Natives and English equally”.

Dewan V Ramiengar, hailing from the renowned Vembakkam clan was distinguished himself as a civil servant, serving the Government in various capacities during his career. He was the first Indian to serve as an official member of the Madras Legislative Council. On retiring from the service in 1880, he was appointed as Dewan of Travancore, where he is credited with having brought about several educational and revenue reforms and revamping the judicial system in the State.

GP Pillai brought out another book titled Representative Indians the next year, comprising the sketches of 40 personalities from across the country. It was published in London, with the preface by Sir Richard Temple. The Madras Standard got a new lease of life in 1914, when it was bought over by Annie Besant, who renamed it New India.

From India's Digital Archives-7: History of Freemasonry on the Coast of Coromandel

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest social movements, with its origins being traced to the times of King Solomon. Modern Freemasonry is however dated to 1717, when the United Grand Lodge of England, the body that has overseen much of the progress of freemasonry across the world was founded. The first lodge formed in our country was in Fort William in Calcutta in 1728. The movement took roots in South India in 1752, with the formation of the District Grand Lodge of Madras. The book featured in this edition, History of Freemasonry on the Coast of Coromandel (1895) traces the origins and early history of the movement in South India.

The book notes that most of the early lodges were what were known as travelling lodges. Owing to the fact that most of the early members of the fraternity were attached to regiments, the lodges shifted bases with the regiments. The fate of these lodges depended on the exploits of their members on the battlefields. Thus, the book records several instances of lodges going out of existence, only to be resurrected by surviving members a few years later at a different place. The year 1786 marked a watershed moment in the history of the movement in South India. It saw the coming together of the Antients and the Moderns, the two competing branches of Masonry that owed allegiance to their parent bodies in England. The Grand Union, as it came to be known was a momentous occasion which put an end to a period of strife and uncertainty surrounding the movement. Marking the Grand Union, a new Lodge, Perfect Unanimity No.1 was formed in 1787. It is the oldest lodge in continuous existence in Madras to this day. This lodge was the pivot around which the entire movement revolved in the region. It was at the forefront along with the Provincial Grand Lodge in overseeing the development of the movement in all aspects. For instance, it was the leader in the practice of the masonic virtue of charity, playing an active role in the founding of the Civil Orphan Asylum and Charitable Committee for the relief of the poor, which was the origin of the Friend in Need Society. The role of the Lodge in leading the search for a permanent home for the fraternity in Madras, which would culminate in the coming up of the present premises in Egmore in 1925 is another noteworthy contribution.

Over the period of its existence, several prominent personalities, both Indian and European who have contributed to the social, political, commercial and cultural landscape of the region have been members of the movement. Notable names from the latter section include that of Dr James Anderson, the botanist, FW Ellis (the Tamil scholar who propounded the Dravidian proof), RF Chisholm, the famous architect and pioneer of the Indo Saracenic style of architecture and GB Bruce, the Father of the Railways in South India. It is also interesting to note that three Governors of Madras, Lord Elphinstone, Lord Connemara and Lord Ampthill were at the helm of the fraternity in South India as District Grand Masters during their gubernatorial tenures.

Indian participation in the movement began to increase only in the 1850s, though the first Indian member, Umdat-Ul-Umrah, the Nawab of Carnatic had been initiated in 1775. In 1883, the first lodge to be exclusively formed by Indians, Lodge Carnatic came into existence. Over the years, the Lodge has had on its rolls several illustrious personalities such as Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, Sir C Sankaran Nair, C Rajagopalachari, Lodd Govindoss and TMS Mani, ICS (who developed the Neyveli township).

The book, written by Rev CH Malden, Garrison Chaplain of Fort St George and published by Addison and Co, Mount Road is a fascinating account of the early history of the movement. Containing short histories of the old Lodges, the book also has comprehensive appendices which list out the 69 lodges “ever warranted on the Coast of Coromandel” chronologically along with their places of meeting from 1752 to 1895. Malden also authored “A Handbook to St Marys Church” and two other comprehensive works, List of Burials at Madras from 1680 to 1746 and List of Burials at Madras (St Mary’s Cemetery) from 1801 to 1850.

From India's Digital Archives-6: Labour in Madras

Amongst the many distinctions that the city has to its credit is the fact that it was here that the first organised labour union in the entire country, the eponymous Madras Labour Union was founded in 1918. Commemorating the centenary of this pioneering movement, the book featured in this issue traces the origins and the early days of the Union through one of its torchbearers, noted Theosophist BP Wadia.

With the expanding industrial landscape of Madras in the late 19th and early 20th century, labour started voicing out its concerns and agitating against what it felt were unjust working conditions. As early as 1889, the workers of Binny’s Carnatic Mills went on strike demanding that Sunday be made a weekly holiday. Over the course of the next few decades, labour unrest would manifest in the form of sporadic incidents of agitations, such as the one in the Perambur Railway workshops in 1913.

In his foreword to the book, Wadia says that the idea for an association that would fight for the rights of the labour took seed when one day in early 1918, two workers from the Buckingham and Carnatic mills met him and complained about the insufficient time allowed to them for lunch in the factory. On observing the conditions, he found it fit to take up their cause and use it as an opportunity to form a movement that would be the voice of the labour class.

On April 13, 1918 the workers of the textile mills assembled under the auspices of the Venkatesa Gunamrita Varshini Sabha (probably a religious and cultural organisation) on Perambur Barracks Road. BP Wadia addressed the gathering and promised to study their troubles in full and arrive at a resolution. Two weeks later, at the meeting on April 27, it was decided that an association called the Madras Labour Union would be formed. A subscription of one anna was fixed and it was resolved that the Union would not be restricted to the workers of the textile mills alone. It was also resolved to invite several leading figures of Madras to visit and address the meetings. Wadia found a resolute comrade in the fiery orator, Tiru-Vi-Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar, who would translate the speeches into Tamil. In a special note addressed to Tiru-Vi-Ka in the book, Wadia acknowledges his mighty contribution towards the growth of the movement.

The book, published in 1921 is a fascinating account of the early days of the Union through the speeches of BP Wadia. The formation of the Union had unsurprisingly evoked a sharp response from the administration. While the Madras Mail, for long the voice of the Madras Chamber of Commerce wrote against the movement, the Governor of Madras Lord Pentland met Wadia and expressed his reservations on the grounds that the B&C mills were engaged in war work and that this would only serve as a means to disruption. It is interesting to read that at every meeting, Wadia exhorts that workers ought to cooperate with the management and not give them an opportunity to allege that the Union was instrumental in bringing about indiscipline.

Apart from Tiru-Vi-Ka and Wadia, mention also has to be made about the contributions of G Selvapathy Chetty and Ramanujulu Naidu, two businessmen who would be the first general secretaries of the Union. Selvapathy Chetty is remembered even today in a park named after him in Strahan’s Road, Pattalam. A striking feature of the park, which was opened in August 1948 is its beautiful art-deco clock tower. The Union’s own building, which stands in a derelict state even today was inaugurated in 1931 and is named the Selvapathy-Ramanujulu building. Another interesting piece of information, which is recorded in the Madras Labour Gazette of 1959 is that in a tribute to Ramanujlu Naidu, 12436 out of 14721 workers of the B&C Mills struck work on October 2, 1959 for less than a day to mourn his demise.

From India's Digital Archives-5: An outline of the Madras Presidency

The book featured in this issue is one of its kind, an overview of the Madras Presidency written in Gujarati.

The Gujaratis were amongst the earliest migrant communities in the Madras Presidency, their association dating to at least the mid-1500s. Over the course of this period, they have actively contributed to the development of the social, commercial and cultural landscape of the region.

The Malabar Samachar weekly, founded in 1925 was the first Gujarati magazine in the Madras Presidency. It was edited and published by Madhavrai Gigabhai Joshi, a businessman who settled in Cochin after retiring from successful venture in Rangoon. There is no information either on him or as to the trade he was engaged in. Madhavrai took a keen interest in Gujarati literature and wrote a series of articles suggesting several schemes for its promotion, especially for the benefit of Gujaratis living outside the State. He also wrote to the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (Gujarati Literary Council) requesting that the schemes be discussed and considered for implementation. However, nothing concrete was to come out of it. He was however undeterred by the poor response.

One important scheme proposed was to fix a centre annually from among the commercial centres of the country and to commission a work on that region covering in particular its mineral wealth and the consequential potential for growth. Madhavrai took it upon himself to present the first work, Malabar Pradesh-nu Ruparekha (An outline of Malabar Territory), which came out as the first annual number to the subscribers of the Malabar Samachar.

The suggestion for a similar book on the Madras Presidency was given by BG Anjaria of M/s PD Asher and Co of Tiruppur, well-known cloth merchants. Initially not so keen on the proposal, as he wanted to write a second edition of the book on Malabar, Madhavrai writes that he agreed as he saw the need to win the support of the different sections of Gujaratis who had settled in other parts of the Madras Presidency for business purposes. Thus, was born Madras Ilakanu Digdarshan.

The book comprises an overview of the Geographical and Trade aspects of the Madras Presidency. The trade section is particularly interesting, given the varied businesses the community had a presence in. In addition to a list of factories, tea and coffee estates, this section contains short sketches of successful Gujarati businessmen of the Presidency. Some well-known names covered in the sketches include that of Gocooladoss Jumnadoss and Co (cloth merchants, the family behind the creation of the Vallabhacharya Vidya Sabha which manages institutions such as the DG Vaishnav College), TB Mehta and Sons (diamond merchants), Lalubhai Velchand Desai (one of the earliest Gujarati cycle merchants and after whom a school is named in Bangalore), M/s Surajmals (jewellers) and Khan Bahadur Adam Hajee Mohammad Sait. Also of note is the involvement of the community in charities established and managed by them, such as the Madras Pinjrapole (established 1905) and the South Indian Humanitarian League (1926).

The book, which came out in 1928 was printed in Bhavnagar, at the Gujarati Punch’s printing press. It was clearly intended to be the first in a series, as Madhavrai says that thanks to the large volume of material gathered during his research, he had to restrict the book to the above two aspects. There is however no information as to whether subsequent volumes saw the light of the day.

From India's Digital Archives-4: Towers of higher education

The University of Madras was established by an Act of the Legislative Council of India dated September 5, 1857. It had its genesis in what was known as the ‘Magna Carta of English Education in India’, Wood’s Despatch of 1854. Similar institutions were established in Bombay and Calcutta.

The Despatch, a seminal documentation on education in India, recommended several measures to promote and administer education in the country, such as the establishment of a Department of Public Instruction in each Presidency and the establishment of schools and colleges as well as institutions for training teachers. Special emphasis was given for higher education, with the setting up of universities in each of the Presidency Towns being an important point. It was felt that the progress in English education in the preceding few years had indicated that it was time to establish universities that would offer a regular and liberal course of higher education. With the founding of the University of Madras, the High School of Madras, which had been established in 1841 was reconstituted and became the Presidency College.

The early years of the University were primarily as a body for conducting exams and conferring degrees on the successful candidates. The degrees for which candidates were examined included Degrees in Medicine, Law and Engineering besides Degrees in Arts. It functioned in a portion of the Presidency College building, where it continued to remain till 1873 when the Senate House was completed. The first entrance examination, known as the Matriculation, was held in September 1857, where a total of 36 out of 41 candidates who appeared, passed. The first graduates were C.W. Thamotharan Pillai and Vishwanatha Pillai, both from the American Missionary Seminary in Jaffna, who were the only two to take the University’s final BA exams.

By 1881, the number of colleges in the Presidency had grown to 24, of which seven were first grade and the remaining second grade. As the number grew, the University too started making changes in its administrative pattern and increasing the number of degrees in which examinations were conducted. In 1877, private candidates (students who had not pursued classes at a recognised institution) were allowed to take examinations with the consent of the Syndicate. In 1885, a Degree in Teaching was offered for the first time. The rules for affiliation of colleges were made more stringent and the Syndicate was empowered to refuse affiliation to colleges with inadequate infrastructure. The office of the Registrar was made a whole-time one from 1891.

The centenary of the institution was celebrated in a grand manner in January 1957. The events included a grand exhibition in the grounds of the College of Engineering, Guindy, a Science Symposium and a sports meet. A special convocation was held and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was conferred an honorary degree. He also laid the foundation stone of the Centenary building. Several committees were set up to organise the celebrations.

The Publication Committee, under the convenorship of K. Balasubramania Aiyar, noted lawyer, was entrusted with the task of bringing out an account of the growth of the University. Comprising two volumes, it was written by Dr. K.K. Pillay, Professor of Indian History and Archaeology, University of Madras. The first volume, comprising the history of the first hundred years, is an extensive documentation of the progress of the higher education in South India. The second volume comprises sketches of the various colleges affiliated to the University. Along with W.T. Sattianadhan’s History of Education in the Madras Presidency (1894), these volumes constitute a treasure trove of literature on the progress of education in South India.

From India's Digital Archives-3: Thomas Parry, Free Merchant

Thomas Parry was one of the most prominent merchants in the annals of the business history of the Madras Presidency. Arriving in Madras in 1788, he made the city and, by extension, the Presidency his home for the next three and a half decades before passing away in harness in Porto-Novo in 1824. The subject of this column is a book written in 1938, commemorating the 150th year of his arrival in Madras.

Born in 1768 in Leighton Hall, Welshpool, Thomas Parry arrived in Madras aged twenty and registered himself as a Free Merchant. His first business enterprise was in 1789, in partnership with Thomas Chase, a civil servant, who, besides his official duties, carried on a general banking and agency business. The partnership lasted for three years, before Parry quit in 1792 to strike out on his own. By 1795, he had become a known name in commercial circles, thanks to the success of his shipping business that he had begun in a small way during his partnership with Chase. His reputation led him to being appointed the Secretary of the Carnatic Insurance Co. and Examiner to the Mayor’s Court, positions that he described as “situations of respectability and emolument”. These, however, were short-lived ventures, as he entered the service of the Nawab of Carnatic as Captain in 1796. His job was in the Treasury, where he was in charge of collecting the duties. His private ventures, however, remained unaffected and moved from strength and strength, under several partnerships. His relationship with the East India Company was one that blew hot and cold, and he found himself perilously close to being deported to England in 1800.

Over the course of the next two decades, Parry’s businesses spread across South India. In 1805, he founded the first tannery in Madras, in San Thomé and, four years later, took over sugar and indigo manufacturing units in Chidambaram. He also established a shipbuilding business in Cochin, which by 1820 was building King’s Ships for the Royal Navy.

His commercial success meant that he owned substantial property in Madras. By 1819, he owned seven houses in Madras, one at San Thomé (Leith Castle), two in Nungambakkam (Wallace Gardens and Mackay’s Gardens) and four in Purasawalkam. The business was headquartered at the south corner of First Line Beach, a location which came to be known as Parry’s Corner. His most significant partnership was with John William Dare in 1819, one which would expand the empire substantially long after his death in 1824.

The book, written by G.H. Hodgson, a director in Parry and Co., is compiled from private letters written by Thomas Parry between 1806 and 1809 and ledgers and other records in the possession of the Company.

The first part of the book deals with Thomas Parry’s life, while extracts from the letters form the second part. These letters are of considerable interest, recording Thomas Parry’s views of various events and his business correspondence. Richly illustrated with drawings and photographs from the collection of the Company (including a perspective drawing of the new buildings that would come up in 1940), this book is a delightful account of the eventful and colourful life of Thomas Parry, Free Merchant.

From India's Digital Archive-2: Natesan and his Indian Review

The Indian Review, a monthly periodical “devoted to the discussion of all topics of interest” was founded in 1900. Over the course of the next fifty years, it gained renown as one of India’s leading intellectual journals thanks in no small measure to the fact that its contributors included the best of names from across the legal, political and literary spectrums. That it was able to attract a stellar list was due to the tireless efforts of the founder, the well-known publisher and nationalist G.A. Natesan.

Born in 1879 in Kumbakonam, Natesan graduated with a B.A. degree from Presidency College. A keen debater and thinker on social issues, he was the Secretary of the College’s Literary Society. Advertising as “G.A. Natesan, Student, Presidency College” in his search for lecturers and chairpersons, he was instrumental in organising lectures by several eminent personalities of the time.

Despite being offered a job in Government Service, Natesan chose to train as a journalist and joined the offices of the Madras Times as an apprentice under Glyn Barlow, its longstanding editor. Having learnt the ropes of journalism, he quit the newspaper when it was time to be employed, as important positions, especially in newspapers, were out of bounds to Indians thanks to the European ownership. He was unwilling to take up the small post that Barlow offered to create for him. With the knowledge gained out of his apprenticeship, he founded the eponymously named publishing house, G A Natesan and Co in 1897.

The idea driving the starting of The Indian Review was to bring out a journal that would be devoted to the welfare of India, but at the same time would be independent enough to ensure that both Europeans and Indians could contribute to its columns without any inhibitions. Reflecting this ideal, the design comprised a European and an Indian standing side by side. The motto, “Away with Ill feeling” was chosen by Glyn Barlow.

The magazine was a success right from its inception. Edited by Natesan himself, it covered topics of varied interests and championed several causes both within the country and abroad. Over the years, its contributors included the likes of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer, Rt. Hon’ble V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, V. Krishnaswamy Aiyer, C.A. White (Chief Justice of Madras), J. J. Cotton, Alfred Chatterton and R.C. Dutt.

G.A. Natesan as early as 1896 had been in touch with a barrister in Natal who had been fighting for better treatment for Indians in the colony. In 1915, when this barrister came to Madras, he stayed with G.A. Natesan at his residence in Thambu Chetty Street. Their friendship grew closer as the Independence movement gained steam and the barrister gradually changed his role to become known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Natesan passed away in 1949 and the magazine was edited thereafter for some time by his son Maniam Natesan. It wound up in 1962 and was resurrected in 1970 by T.T. Vasu, who bought the journal as a space for his father T.T. Krishnamachari to voice his views on the happenings of a young nation. Helping out in this venture was M.C. Subrahmanyam, veteran journalist and founder of the Public Health Centre in West Mambalam. After TTK’s death in 1974, Subrahmanyam kept it going for a few more years. His demise in 1982 brought about its closure.

The DLI has in its archives several editions of the magazine whose contribution to the Independence movement and in shaping the political and social discourse of the times through its pages largely remains in the shadows today.

From India's Digital Archives-1

The Digital Library of India (DLI) project, an initiative of the Central Government, aims at digitising significant artistic, literary and scientific works and making them available over the Internet for education and research. Begun in 2000 by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and later taken over by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it has to date scanned nearly 5.5 lakh books, predominantly in Indian languages.

The archives of the DLI contain a huge collection of books on old Madras and various institutions that were/are part of its landscape. While these include the more famous ones, such as the Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, Story of Madras by Glyn Barlow, and Madras in the Olden Times by James Tallboys Wheeler, several out-of-print publications too are part of the collection. This column will profile some of these.

The Pachaiyappa’s College Centenary Souvenir

The Pachaiyappa’s College had its genesis in the Last Will and Testament of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, a legendary merchant and philanthropist who died in 1794. A long and protracted legal battle broke out between his heirs over his estate in which he had left about a lakh of pagodas towards charitable and religious purposes. With a large part of the estate having been squandered away due to mismanagement, it was left to the Government to step in and salvage what was left. George Norton, the Advocate General of Madras, played a vital role in the recovery of funds, which amounted to around Rs. 7.25 lakh. This formed the nucleus of the Pachaiyappa’s Trust.

The commemoration volume records that a school was established in 1842 under the name of Patcheappa’s Preparatory School in the house of a Waddell in Popham’s Broadway for the education of poor students in the “elementary branches of English Literature and Science”. It moved to the Esplanade in 1850, when the historic building modelled on the Temple of Theseus, was inaugurated. Over the years, it grew to be one of the best known schools in South India and was the main feeder for those graduating from Presidency College and Madras University. It was raised to the status of a Second Grade college in 1880 and, in 1889, it became a First Grade college.

A small hostel for students was opened in 1899. Over the years, it grew in size and a site was purchased at Chetpet in 1914 to accommodate the growing numbers of hostellers. On April 1, the Governor of Madras, Lord Pentland, laid the foundation stone for the new buildings. The construction was completed in 1921. During the time of construction, the hostel was moved from George Town to Doveton House in Nungambakkam (the rentals being borne by Annie Besant and Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar) and subsequently, in 1915, to Dare’s Gardens adjoining the new hostel site.

By the 1930s, the College had outgrown its Esplanade campus. When the University Commission reduced the strength of the institution to 800 due to the space crunch, it was decided to shift the entire College to the hostel campus, an idea that had originated at the time the site was bought. In 1935, the Residential College Scheme was drawn up and an appeal made to the public and alumni of the institution for funds. A raffle conducted at the College raised a sum of Rs. 50,000 towards the Building Fund. In 1939, the Governor of Madras Lord Erskine laid the foundation stone for the College buildings, which were declared open in 1940 by his successor Sir Arthur Hope.

The section dealing with the origin and growth of the institution compiled by the renowned Sanskrit scholar, T.M.P. Mahadevan, Head of the Department of Philosophy, is a comprehensive account of its journey. The book also contains a profile of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar and an account of the legal battle following his death, written by the noted historian Rao Sahib C.S. Srinivasachari, an alumnus. The section on endowments and scholarships acknowledges the contributions made over the years by several well-known names of the times, such as Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetti, Raja Goday Narayana Gajapati Raju, Dewan V. Ramiengar (an alumnus), T. Subbaroya Mehta and Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar.

This post was first written for Madras Musings