Heritage Walk_University of Madras _ August 2025
As always, being interested in the history of Madras, I was casually browsing through a monograph titled ‘List of Statues, Monuments and Busts erected in Madras in honour of distinguished servants of the State’, published in 1898 by the Superintendent, Government Press, when two entries therein caught my eyes - one was an entry regarding the statue of Queen Victoria and another about a bust of Vere Henry Lord Hobart located within the premises of the University of Madras.
I was under the impression that I had covered the Statues located within the premises of the University of Madras in my earlier write-up ‘Black Beauties of Chennai’ (https://sreekanthsangle.blogspot.com/p/statues.html), but when I went through the same, I discovered that I was wrong. I wanted to cover these also and was planning to visit the University of Madras some time. As if by a strange coincidence, I came to know about a Heritage Walk covering the University of Madras, in August 2025. ‘If I can join the Walk then I can not only add these two statues to my collection but also know more about the University of Madras’ I thought (The more the merrier!) but when I proceeded to register, I was told that registrations are closed. I was a bit disappointed but my request was accepted subsequently and I was permitted to join the Walk. Lucky me!
At the outset, let me place on record my sincere thanks and gratitude to The Madras Day and Dr. Jaisakthivel, Professor University of Madras, who conducted the Heritage Walk, for providing me this opportunity, enabling me to observe the University of Madras at close quarters and know more about it.
Before we commence the Heritage walk, it would be appropriate to know a bit about the history of the University of Madras and in this connection, the following excerpts from the article titled, ‘History of Education in Madras’ by Dr. P.J.Thomas, Professor, University of Madras in the book, ‘The Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume’ published on August 4, 1939 by Oxford University Press, makes fascinating reading:
‘The ‘University of Madras’ was incorporated by an Act dated September 5, 1857 “for the purpose of ascertaining by means of examinations the persons who have obtained proficiency in different branches of literature, science and art and of rewarding them by academic degrees as evidence of their respective attainments and marks of honour proportioned thereunto’.....The institution thus started was not for teaching but for conferring degrees.
.....At first, it was not distinct from the Presidency College. In fact, till 1874, when the Senate House was built, the University office was located at the Presidency College...
...It is well to recognise that although the degree-giving authority of the university dates only from 1857, the real University of Madras was inaugurated on April 14, 1841. Therefore, its centenary falls on April 14, 1941.
..... in 1857, there were only 47 students.
... Under the Act of 1904, the University had jurisdiction not only over the Madras Presidency but over the adjoining Indian States.
....Originally all teaching was confined to the colleges. After 1904, the need for advanced studies was felt and thanks to a special grant made by the Government, new University Departments in Economics, Indian History and Archaeology and Dravidian Philology were started.
.... The University Library which is also housed in thus building is the finest in South India and contains over 1,00,000 volumes.’
Thus, the University of Madras, organised on the model of London University, was incorporated on 5th September 1857 by an Act of the Legislative Council of India. The motto of the University is ‘Doctrina Vim Promovet Insitam’ (Latin) meaning ‘Learning promotes (one's) natural (innate) talent’.
The University of Madras has five more campuses apart from the one located opposite the Marina Beach (which will be covered in our Heritage Walk today). They are located at Chepauk, Guindy, Taramani, Chetput and Maduravoyal.
As per the University of Madras website,
His Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu is the Chancellor of the University.
The Vice-Chancellor who is appointed for a term is the Principal Executive Officer. The Registrar of the University, who is the Secretary of the Syndicate, is the custodian of all the records and Chief Administrator of the university. Yet another function, the examinations of the University, is managed by Office of the Controller of Examinations.
The University imparts both Under Graduate and Post Graduate Education through the Affiliated Institutions which are spread over the districts of Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram. Apart from teaching, research activities in Arts, Humanities, Science, Management and Technology shape the academic tenor of the University. A number of institutions affiliated to Madras University concentrate on research activities offering Ph.D., Programmes in their respective field of specialisation.
Assessing the need for educating a large number of people in the country, the University offers both Under Graduate and Post Graduate programmes through the Institute of Distance Education. The Institute is popularly called IDE of Madras University. Some of the courses offered by IDE has no parallel in this country to name a few,
· B.Music
· M.Music
· M.A. Vaishnavism
· M.A. Christian Studies
Now, shall we start our Heritage Walk?
The time was 3.00 pm and it was sultry because of the cloudy weather. Nevertheless, the Heritage Walk with Dr. Jaisakthivel as the Guide, started with an enthusiastic group of around 20, some young, some old and some in-betweens, at the Senate House, a monument of great historical importance. The All India Congress Committee was addressed by Mahatma Gandhi in this very building in the year 1927, I came to know later. At the time of our visit, due to security reasons we were not allowed to photograph the interiors and hence we had to contend with photos of the exteriors. Dr.Jaisakthivel, pointed out that it was designed by Robert Chrisholm, British Architect (Interestingly, it appears that there was a competition for the design of the Senate House organised by the Government of Madras in 1864 and Robert Chrisholm won*) and the architecture is an example of the Indo-Saracenic style as it blends Indian and Gothic styles. Domes, arches and figures which are the hallmark of this style can be observed. The interior is decorated with stained-glass windows, murals and painted panels.
* https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a13227-the-senate-house-chennai/
The entrance (Porch) leads into an expansive Hall and from the Hall steps lead to the upper floor where the Senate members used to occupy in those days, we are told. (For those interested in architecture and technical aspects of the Senate House, here’s the link to a nice article with beautiful photographs - https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a13227-the-senate-house-chennai/). Just imagine.....with the cool sea breeze from the Marina Beach opposite softly caressing the Senate House, adding to the calm and serene atmosphere, those who occupied this imposing structure could not have asked for more.
Tucked inside the Senate House, is the Sales Depot where University publications are sold. Sorry, they do not accept cash payments. Payment has to be made online and once the receipt is shown, the books will be delivered. After some time marvelling the interiors of the Senate house, we exited out through another entrance (Porch).
As we exit, the rear-side view of the Statue of Queen Victoria comes into focus. Here’s how the description in the monograph I was referring to at the beginning of this write-up reads:
Description:
Statue of the Queen Empress in bronze, set on a smoothly-dressed stone pedestal with a basement of Sholingur stone; hood of zinc sheeting supported by ornamental cast iron brackets and columns.
Transcript of any inscription thereon:
On South-side –
Victoria Queen Empress of India. This statue is erected in token of his loyalty, respect and admiration of Her Majesty’s many virtues by her faithful subject Rajah Goday Narayanan Gajputee Rao of Sree Goday Family, Vizagapatnam.
East-side –
Unveiled by the Right Honourable Lord Connemara, Governor of Fort St. George, June 20th 1887.
West-side –
Presented to the city of Madras in commemoration of Her Majesty’s Jubilee.
Imagine my excitement when I saw the Statue of Queen Victoria, in exactly the same condition as described in the monograph! There she was sitting gracefully, holding a sceptre in her right hand and a golden-coloured crown adorning her head, under the cool shade of a tree covered by a canopy; you have to see it to believe it!
Here are the visuals:
Here’s is a picture of one of the plaques with the text referred to in the monograph:
After marvelling at the wonderful work by Joseph Boehm, the sculptor, we started moving towards the next location – the Centenary Building.
As we moved away from the Statue of Queen Victoria, we crossed the University Centenary Auditorium, which we are told has a seating capacity exceeding 3000 and had witnessed many important events, performances and swearing- in ceremonies. For instance, Ms. J.Jayalalithaa’s swearing in ceremony as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu in the year 2016 was held here. However, as some construction work was going on, we could not have access to the interior.
On our way, Dr. Jaisakthivel showed us the various Departments of the University that were located in and around the Senate House, but because of time constraint we were not able to visit each Department.
Now we have come to the Centenary Building.
The Centenary Building was inaugurated by the then President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan on the 2nd of August 1961. Here’s an interesting account of ‘behind-the-scenes’ story relating to the construction of the Centenary Building (https://bft100plus.com/stories/bft-classics-1930s-madras-university):
At the turn of the century, the University was in dire need of expansion and thus plans commenced for a library and departmental buildings. Unfortunately, with the onset of the First World War in 1914, all plans were stuck in a limbo and repeated attempts at revival went through arduous stages of design reviews under a succession of Public Works Department architects. Finally in 1934, the well-known architectural firm of Messrs. Edward Reid and Booth from Ceylone, were appointed and plans were revised and amended - as many as 500 new plans being necessary. As per the new vision, a library, an examination hall and zoological, botanical and biochemistry labs were added to the Chepauk campus. The new buildings along with the Senate House formed a very handsome group of buildings. The Times of India reported that, “They (the entire complex) command a magnificent position and the buildings satisfy the eye from all view points, especially from the Marina and the island.” All the structures were stock brick in cement structures with cut stone dressings on their facade. At the time it was possibly the longest building on the Marina seafront. The structure made in the Indo Saracenic style had pointed arches made of granite and an octagonal dome.
Though the Centenary building was built not to ‘commemorate’ the centenary of the University but rather to accommodate the expanding needs of the University, the word ‘ Centenary’ nevertheless brings to my mind, some interesting info about the Centenary celebrations of the Madras University, which I would like to share.
Incidentally, though Prof. Thomas was of the view that the centenary of the University falls on April 14, 1941(refer supra), the Centenary celebrations were in fact held in January 1957. According to the book ‘Centenary Celebrations- an Account’, published by the University of Madras in 1959, the programme of the Centenary celebrations went on from 28th January 1957 to 1st February 1957 and some notable events which find mention in this book include
- Inauguration of the Centenary Celebrations by His Highness Sri Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar Bahadur, then Governor of Mysore
- Centenary address by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, then Vice- President of India,
- Address by Sir.C. V. Raman at the Science Symposium,
- Laying of the foundation stone for the Centenary Building by Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India,
- Conferring of Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws ( Honoris causa) on Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India.
During the Centenary celebrations there were cultural programmes and sports events too. One interesting mention which attracted my attention was as under:
‘Dramatic performances by T.K.S.Brothers and by N. S. Krishnan, T. A. Mathuram & party as well as M. G. Ramachandran and party were among the items which attracted large crowds of visitors.’
So, even before he became the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, MGR was a crowd –puller!
Hon’ble Chief Justice Shri.P.V. Rajamannar’s striking words, during his Welcome address, speaks volumes about the calibre of the students of the University of Madras in those days. :
‘To-day there are several Universities in India. Some of them are as old as the Madras University and some younger. If one were to ask me what particular qualities distinguish the products of the Madras University I would mention two such qualities, without meaning offence to any other University. One is that the average Madras University student excels in his command of language and capacity of expression. This may be particularly due to the South Indian genius for learning languages, extreme retentive memory, and incisive brain. The other distinguishing quality is the sense of discipline’.
A testimony to this observation is world renowned alumni of this great institution - Dr. S.Radhakrishnan, Former President of India, Nobel Laureates Srinivasa Ramanujan, Sir. C. V Raman, Dr.Chandrasekar Subramanyan and Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam , to name a few.
From the Centenary Building our next halt was at the Madras University Library . As you enter the Library you would feel as if you are transported to an era of the past – with the archaic wooden furniture, the large life-size paintings adorning the walls and a bust of Dadabhai Navroji beckoning you. Here is an interesting account of the history of the Library (https://bft100plus.com/stories/bft-classics-1930s-madras-university):
The Library itself was a prestigious wing of the University, having been established with a private grant by a Mr. Griffiths in 1907 and then receiving a Darbar grant from the Government of India. The library’s reading room was awe inspiring, with teak wall panelling, bulls eye windows and a soaring ceiling. The hansa and lotus capitals on the arcades and the lotus brackets under the balcony were special features of the building.
Here's a visual of the hansa and lotus capital:
Bust of Dadabhai Naoroji:
The Library subscribes to a lot of famous journals and publications (some online), in turn enabling, students, research scholars to access them at ease.
After entry into the Library, the corridor to the left leads to the bust of Lord Hobart, who was the Governor of Madras, from AD 1872 to AD 1875. Here’s the reason for the bust, from the monograph referred to earlier:
‘On the 27th of April, eight days later, Protestant Catholics, Roman Catholics, Mussulmans and Hindus knelt in united prayer round their Governor while his spirit passed away. As a memorial of Lord Hobart’s efforts to diminish taxation and establish a system of elementary education throughout the Presidency of Madras, this bust is presented by his widow Mary Catherine Hobart.’
Here’s the picture of the bust of Lord Hobart:
As we went through the Library, we found books, some even 100 years old neatly arranged for convenient access.
At one end, we could locate world famous encyclopaedias:
I remembered that there was an Oriental manuscripts library within the University campus in those days and when I enquired about it, Dr. Jaisakthivel clarified that the same has been shifted to the Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram.
Now we are at the University Post Office located by the side of the Clock Tower within the University campus.
Dr. Jaisakthivel informs that this Post Office having Pincode 600005 has the largest PPC. PPC is an acronym for Permanent Pictorial cancellation. Here’s what the Indian Philately Digest website says on PPC:
A Pictorial Cancellation is a postmark, which shows replica / photo / design or a picture highlighting a tourist, religious, historical or an important place or thing. Thus Pictorial Cancellations give wide publicity mainly to places of tourist interest and they are provided at the post offices which are located near such places of tourist attraction..... Pictorial Cancellations of permanent nature were first provided sometime in 1951.
The Clock Tower is another imposing structure within the University campus next to the University Post Office. Sadly, the clock appears to be functioning erratically. Efforts to make the clock tick again do not appear to be fruitful.
Here is the view of the Clock Tower from the Centenary Building:
Though the Clock in the tower may not keep up with the times, but time really flies fast. It is already 6.00 pm and time to bid farewell. As a parting gift, Dr. Jaisakthivel presented me with a postcard bearing a PPC (see below) and it’s going to be one of my prized possessions.
If you are a history buff like me and in Chennai but have not yet taken a heritage tour of the University of Madras, just grab if an opportunity arises, without a second thought. Particularly with a nice guide like Dr. Jaisakthivel, leading the way, it is certainly worth it.
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