MM Vol. XXII No. 22.pmd

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WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI
INSIDE
• Short ‘N’ Snappy
• An American’s search
• A public benefactor
• C.V. Raman’s team-mate
• Memories of Stanley
MUSINGS
Vol. XXII No. 22
March 1-15, 2013
The sad, sad state
of Chepauk Palace
Will it ever get better?
I
t is now more than a year
since one part of Chepauk
Palace, the Khalsa Mahal, was
consumed by flames. While its
proposed restoration has been
in a state of masterly inactivity
ever since, what is worrying is
that the rest of the campus continues to remain in a state of neglect, thereby giving very little
hope of a better future for what
is the cradle of the IndoSaracenic style of architecture.
A recent visit only served to
confirm that none of those in
charge of the place has learnt
from the conflagration of 2012.
The same conditions that
caused such extensive destruction continue to exist in the surviving wing of the palace – the
Humayun Mahal. All along its
outer corridor, a huge quantity
of discarded wooden furniture
has been stored. Inside, the
place is a rabbit’s warren of offices, wooden partitions, makeshift toilets and any number of
files filling every available spot.
Add to this, shoddy electrical
wiring, some ages old and several new and exposed, and you
have a deadly cocktail for another fire. And with the building being a structure that has
plenty of old timber in its makeup, the extent of damage can be
(By The Editor)
as much as that of Khalsa
Mahal. What is worse, a part of
the ceiling in Humayun Mahal
has caved in and the building
continues to remain in occupation!
The Khalsa Mahal presents a
very sorry spectacle too.
Through its arches it is possible
to see the fallen beams and
plenty of rubble. Even the molten plastic sheets from erstwhile
temporary partitions have not
been removed and hang precariously from the windows.
The north-western end which
The sorry spectacle that is Chepauk Palace.
dislodging them. There is plenty
of litter all around and Government employees do not think
twice before putting up posters
on any of the historic walls. The
entire area, though a very busy
place, appears to be quite content with its squalor. Does all
this give any indication of seriousness on the part of the Government to restore Chepauk
Palace?
Shortly after the fire, it was
announced that the building
would be demolished to make
way for fresh construction.
Then, following an outcry in
the media, this was shelved and
a three-member committee was
appointed to study the structure. It was pointed out even
then that the committee lacked
structural engineers but the
Government went ahead. It is
now almost ten months since
(Continued on page 6)
Will Metro moves threaten
Ripon Building, VP Hall?
A
recent newspaper report
reveals that Chennai
Metro Rail Limited (CMRL)
has moved its barricades 1.5
metres closer to Ripon Building.
This in effect means CMRL has
taken land over and above what
was allocated to it by the Government. While the procedural
“No, Amma, I don't need tea, the mosquitoes will make sure I stay
awake all night!”
CMYK
housed the area of worship (below which is the old marble
plaque that states that this was
the residence of the Nawab of
the Carnatic) has plenty of vegetation growing from its crevices. Windows are falling apart
and several gaping holes can be
seen. If at all there is one structure that still looks solid, it is
the tower that Chisholm built
to weld the two wings together.
Outside, the upkeep of the
precincts too leaves much for
improvement. Squatters had
taken over the portico of the
Khalsa Mahal and the fire appears to have not succeeded in
aspects may get sorted out,
what is clear is that Metro work,
including drilling and tunnelling, will be much closer to
Ripon Building and neighbouring Victoria Public Hall
than what was planned earlier.
G
belonged then to CMRL. These
were hastily removed. But another request from the Corporation is yet to be paid heed to.
This pertains to the impact of
tunnelling on the two heritage
structures. The Corporation
by A Special Correspondent
The impact of such work on
these two heritage structures is
yet to be assessed.
In 2010, the State Government allotted 4500 sq m of land
on the Ripon Building campus to
CMRL. The Corporation
Council gave its assent subsequently. In 2011, 1964 sq m was
taken from the Victoria Public
Hall campus for the same purpose. The Corporation took
umbrage over CMRL boards
being put up all around Ripon
Building claiming that the area
had in October 2012 asked
CMRL to begin submitting
monthly assessment reports.
CMRL is yet to do so.
Earlier this month, the barricades on the erstwhile grounds
of Ripon Building moved 1.5 m
closer to the structure. CMRL
now needs additional land for
traffic diversions and has taken
over the extra space it needs
without the Government permitting it to do so by means of a
GO. The Corporation Council’s
assent has also not been sought.
All this perhaps has something
to do with the judgement concerning the land belonging to
the Raja Sir Savalai Ramaswami
Mudaliar Choultry located opposite Central Station. That
space, with its heritage building,
was being eyed by CMRL which
put up barricades along the
property. But with the Court
ruling that the takeover can
happen only if proper compensation is paid, it is probable that
CMRL has given up that plan
and opted to take more land on
the northern side, from Ripon
Building and VP Hall.
The taking over of space is
however only a temporary facilitation with CMRL intending
to return the land to the two
precincts once it completes its
work. But what is worrying is
the silence regarding the impact
of underground work. The same
question has been raised in
(Continued on page 6)
2
MADRAS MUSINGS
CUMTA should
have a
wider role
T
he Metropolitan concept that evolved over much of the twen
tieth century emerged from the industrial urban forms, concentrated core oriented production that, by agglomerating industry and employment in a single centre and packing the population
around the centre and along radiating transport networks, provided a spatial solution to the problem of slow and expensive transport. The production and distribution of goods and an emphasis
on radial movement to and from the urban core gave way to the
rise of the service economy, with communication increasingly substituting for movement and movement occurring in all directions
at all times of the day and week. By and large, in a metropolitan
situation, now, there is a consequent need to constitute a unified
metropolitan transport authority to ease the traffic situation,
mostly for urban commuters.
Mega cities in low and high income countries have more in common with each other, irrespective of their locations. For example,
consider Bangkok and Los Angeles, both territorially vast, amorphous, multicentre regions with their populations residing in locations upto 100 km from the city core.
In recent years, many researchers have found that simple classification of central city, suburbs, and metropolitan area is not feasible. Researchers see an emerging pattern of settlement taking the
form of increasingly dispersed and decentralised centres of activity
and residential settlements.
In the Indian context, the national definition for a metropolitan area means an area having a population of ten lakh or more, in
one or more districts and consisting of two or more municipalities
or panchayats or other contiguous area, specified by the Government by public notification to be a metropolitan area.
According to the Census of India definition of an urban agglomeration, it should be a continuous urban spread constituting a
town and its adjoining urban growths or two or more physically
contiguous towns together with adjoining outgrowths. Each of such
outgrowths may not satisfy the minimum population limit to qualify
G
by Dr. K.R. Thooyavan
it to be treated as an independent urban unit but may deserve to be
clubbed with the principal town as part of an urban spread.
However, the definition of metropolitan areas adopted by the
planners in several cities is of much larger areas, including villages,
whether urban or otherwise, but which are at the periphery or are
intervening in an urban agglomeration. There are 53 urban agglomerations in India as of 2011 with a population of one million
or more, as against 35 in 2010.
If we look at urbanisation in India, Mumbai is the largest city;
Delhi NCR is the largest urban agglomeration; Bangalore is now
almost as big as Chennai; Jaipur has moved into the top 10 slot.
Among the next set of big cities, Bangalore, with an UA population of 8,728,906 (8,499.399 excluding Hosur) is now bracketed
with Chennai – 8,917,749 (8,696,010 excluding Kancheepuram).
Hyderabad, which was marginally bigger than Bangalore in 2001,
has now become the sixth largest city with a population of
7,749,334. Ahmadabad (6,352,254), and Pune (5,049,968) make
up the other larger metros. Surat (4,585,367) continues to grow
rapidly and has added over 1.7 million during the decade. Jaipur,
with a population of 3,073,350, has pipped Kanpur for a spot in the
top 10 slot.
Among the 53 cities listed as metropolitian cities, 13 are capital
cities which have wider influence over the region beyond what is
defined as the metropolitan area. The consequence of the influence deprives opportunities to the rural poor, resulting in income
disparity, conversion of agricultural land for urban use, elimination of agricultural produce much needed by both the urban and
rural population.
Based on the experience of Western countries and the nature
of operations being carried out, there is a need to establish a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) for proper coordination and to streamline the activities among the agencies and
to utilise the available infrastructure facilities and resources. To
start with, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore should establish UMTAs.
Act 44 of 2010 provided for the establishment of a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority for the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. This was called the Chennai Unified Metropolitan
(Continued on page 3)
March 1-15, 2013
Cut-out season
’
tis the season of giant cutouts for ’tis the season of
various important people in
the political firmament celebrating birthdays. And then
there are stars releasing
troublesome films as well. And
all this calls for cut-outs and
digital hoardings. The Man
from Madras Musings notices
that our city is full of nothing
else but these.
What with having to navigate and negotiate these,
MMM has had ample time to
study them. He realises that
the fixing of cut-outs, banners
and digital hoardings follows a
few simple rules. And these are
listed below:
G Every cut-out remains in
the place it was put up till it is
removed as and when those
who put it up think it necessary.
G The direction in which a
cut-out is fixed is parallel to
the footpath (if it exists), in the
direction of the traffic and
must block a traffic light or
two.
G For every political party’s
cut-out there is an equal (if
possible bigger) one from the
opposition.
These may be considered to
be the MMMian laws of promotion, directly inspired by
the Newtonian Laws of
Motion.
As these are strictly against
the law and as there is another
law that stipulates that if cutouts are put up, they need to
be removed within three days,
we must realise that these are
after all temporary structures.
And so they need to create the
maximum impact in the shortest possible time. How can this
be done?
Firstly, by ensuring that
they are put up at the busiest
possible place. The putting up
process is a ceremony by itself.
The hoarding/banner/cut-out
is laid flat on the road, occupying space meant for vehicles.
In the meantime, a group of
toughs loiters about to ensure
that those in charge of the law
do not interfere. A gang of
workmen then gets busy with
crowbars and pick-axes. This
is to dig and dislodge pavement
stones from the footpath (if it
exists) so that casuarina poles
can be firmly fixed. The removed stones are not thrown
away for they come into use for
steadying the poles that cannot
be fixed on the sidewalk (if
it…) but on the road which
unfortunately cannot be dug.
Then comes the task of nailing
the hoarding/banner/cut-out
in place. When this is done,
the toughs and the workmen
depart, leaving the debris behind – loose paving, nails and
yards of rope. These are their
gifts for the meek who, having
inherited the earth, have to
walk about on it, tripping over
the loose stones, getting
pricked by the nails and being
entangled in the rope.
Second, there is the shape of
the cut-out. The spherical one
is the most preferred for it occupies the maximum surface
area and so cuts off visibility in
all four directions. You cannot
bend low and walk under it either. The rectangular ones are
better for they permit walking
underneath rather like the Colossus of Rhodes allowed ships
to pass below. But these suffer
from a major weakness in the
eyes of physics. Their height
being far greater than their
width, they have a very high
centre of gravity. This causes
the Olympian leaders to gradually bend down and try and
mingle with the common folk
on the road. They also sway to
the breeze. All this stooping to
conquer gives motorists the jitters for you never know on
whom the grace of the leader
will fall. All in all, these are adventurous times for those on
the roads.
The Man from Madras
Musings notes that the children
are celebrating birthdays too,
though the mater familias has
expressed disapproval of events
of this kind. It is only that the
SHORT ’N’
SNAPPY
attempts at using Queen’s
English to sing of someone,
whose vocabulary is said to be
of the best, is rather amusing.
And so, what do you mean by
referring to someone as
‘Patritian’?
Lincoln is the spirit of the
times we all know. And so
some have also referred to
Imperatrix as the second Lincoln. The largest of the hoardings have been put up on a
route that the erstwhile pater
familias of the State shuttles
on. This is presumably to ensure that he does not miss this
assessment of leadership.
More on the emus
T
he Man from Madras
Musings has been badgered with phone calls, sms,
emails and messages on
Facebook asking about the
whereabouts and well-being of
the emus that he wrote about
last fortnight. MMM is happy
to report that they are doing
well. Last week MMM was out
walking when he saw the duo.
They have taken to running
along with the traffic and
MMM noted them merrily
keeping pace with scooters
and cyclists, the latter being a
great favourite. Two or three
were sent crashing into ditches
by these enterprising birds. No
question of any ennui with
these emi (or is it emus?) on
the roads. MMM regretted
that he was without a
camcorder, rather like those
big game hunters who regretted not having brought along
their guns the moment they
saw the emu. Or was it the
gnu? MMM is always confused
about this. And who knows?
Perhaps the gnu will make its
appearance on our roads too.
Not everyone is particularly
happy with the appearance of
the emu. The local TASMAC
has seen a marked dip in business. The birds apparently
have taken to jumping out of
dark corners the moment they
see anyone moving around
with unsteady gait. The sudden shock of seeing some tall
and ungainly creature leaping
at them has made many a
toper swear off his drink. The
political party whose scion
made it his business to put up
statutory warnings on alcoholic refreshments may as well
adopt the emu as its party symbol. Its fortunes may soar, but
then the emu is a flightless bird
and so it may not augur well.
The silent P
T
he tailpiece is very often a
photograph these days.
The Man from Madras Musings
is of the view that this will
more or less be a permanent
feature what with those responsible for road signs giving
plenty of grist to MMM’s mill.
The latest is down Sripuram
way, a quiet colony in the
Royapettah area. MMM noticed that the signboard does
not have a particular letter.
But perhaps because this is the
favourite corner for those with
full bladders, the painter decided to leave out the obvious?
– MMM
March 1-15, 2013
MADRAS MUSINGS
An American in search of
Mylapore memories
Easementary violations
I
n Madras Musings, January
16th, a Special Correspondent has said that in George
Town new buildings are coming up without any adherence
to fire safety norms. In this connection, it should also be stated
that they do not, in addition,
adhere to the laid down building rules which protect the
easementary rights of the
neighbouring buildings.
The violation soon becomes
a fait accompli and, later, gets
ratified by paying the fine under
the periodical ‘regularisation’
schemes of the Government.
This is injustice against the aggrieved householder whose
easementary rights are invaded
and right to privacy denied.
If such civic offences can be
‘regularised’ by payment of a
fine to the Government, the day
will soon come when criminal
trespasses too may be legalised!
This indicates a possible moral
decadence in the administration of Chennai.
C.G. Prasad
9, C.S. Mudali Street
Kondithope, Chennai 600 079
Congestion fee
I
n a bid to decongest some of
the busy business centres like
T. Nagar, Broadway, Purasawalkam, etc. in Chennai, and
similarly in other States, and to
encourage the use of public
transport system, the Union
Urban Development Ministry,
it was reported, had asked the
States to collect ‘congestion fee’
from those who would prefer to
travel to these places by their
own vehicles.
In shopping hubs like T.
Nagar, there is no space even
to walk – thanks to the encroachments, and haphazard
parking of vehicles at public
places. This apart, since most
commercial complexes do not
have parking space to accommodate vehicles of their clients,
the shoppers naturally turn to
3
A
fter a 42-year absence, I
recently returned to
Chennai to see some old
friends, walk down memory
lane, and explore new parts of
South India I had missed in
my previous visits.
The primary purpose of my
visit was to bring to the family
of Ramnad Krishnan (whom I
had the fortune to study with
at Wesleyan University and in
India) several previously unknown recordings I had made
of his concerts during 1968
and 1971, my times in Madras.
During the times I was in
Madras, I stayed about six
months each time at the
Suprabath Hotel (really a
boarding house) at 10, North
Mada Street in Mylapore, now
the site of the Saravana
Bhavan, it would seem.
The hotel allowed me to
live in South Indian style in an
inexpensive way, being a
young man pursuing his studies.
My rent was 150 rupees,
not a day, or a week, but a
month. How inflation and the
exchange rates have changed
in 42 years!
A vegetarian meal was 1
rupee 50 paise. The bicycle repair guy on the street would fix
your bicycle’s flat tyre for 25
paise, and the old sage palm
reader would give you a thoroughly researched two-page
14-point report of your fate
based on a careful imprint of
the side streets and other places
for parking. In doing so, they do
not bother to think of the inconvenience to others, particularly the residents. Thus, the
shoppers considerably add to
the congestion by parking their
vehicles at public places. Festival or no festival, T. Nagar
draws crowds from far and near
throughout the year. Hence,
there is every need to decongest
the area so as to provide a
breather to all the stakeholders.
CHENNAI HERITAGE
No. 5, Bhattad Tower, 30, Westcott Road,
Royapettah, Chennai 600 014
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DD/Cheque should be sent by Speed Post only.
G James (Jim) McConaughy walked the mada veedhis of
Mylapore on the eve of Pongal to soak in an atmosphere that he
had once experienced in the 1970s.
James, an American who now lives in Andover, Massachusetts, lived in Mylapore then to pursue an interest in Carnatic
music and interact with vidwans like the late Ramnad Krishnan.
James’ haunt in Mylapore was Hotel Suprabath on North Mada
Street, a place that provided him many different experiences.
That landmark has gone but James wants to reconnect with its
owners and other Mylaporeans he once knew.
your palm for just a few rupees.
While he was off the mark
that I would be the owner of
several movie theatres before
I reached my 65th year, I am
hoping that I meet or exceed
his prediction that I would
“live to the age of 90 years,
like Winston Churchill.” I
must remember to get back to
you in 2036 on that one.
North Mada Street and the
surrounding area were quieter
and much less congested than
I found it today. There were
no shops on the temple tank
side of the street, and you
could see all of the tank and
the Kapali Temple from the
front door of the Suprabath.
Motorcyles and cars, while
present, were a rarity, the
transportation being primarily
bicyle, cycle rickshaw, pull
rickshaw, bullock cart and the
red diesel buses that spewed
black smoke as thick as the old
steam-driven locomotives.
As it is a very sensible decision, it should be welcomed by
all. The authorities must implement this in true letter and
spirit as it will greatly help in decongesting the heavily crowded
places and avoiding traffic
snarls which are a routine affair.
This move will definitely provide great relief to the residents.
For the shoppers too, it will be a
significant savings on fuel.
V.S. Jayaraman
31, Motilal Street
T. Nagar, Chennai 600 017
First Indian doctor
I
read with great interest your
article ‘First Indian Doctor’ in
Madras Musings. Near the
Royapettah Hospital there is a
street branching off from the
main road. It used to be called
Andy’s Street and I think the
name has not been changed,
since it is a small street and no
politician would like it to be
named after him!
In the early 1930s and 40s
many Anglo-Indians lived
there. I often used to wonder
who this Andy was.
I wonder whether this street
is named after him.
Radha Padmanabhan
[email protected]
There were more goats,
cows and water buffaloes. Lepers on low wooden carts were
pushed down the street quite
regularly to seek alms.
Vellaikarans like myself were
seldom seen; maybe just two
or three a month would make
their way up from Luz Corner
to the temple area.
Trains and autos were vehicles firmly rooted to the
ground, not flying over it.
Traffic jams were caused by
napping or recalcitrant cows,
not by a plethora of vehicles.
And the Indian Bank on the
corner seemed like the most
modern building from my perspective, looking massive and
soaring.
As I made my pilgrimage to
my former abode in early
January 2013, I looked for
someone who might be able to
fill me in on what happened to
the Suprabath, its owners, and
any of those young bachelors
with whom I had many great
conversations. What had happened to the owner of the hotel, and the manager, such a
friendly man who lived there
with his family? And the staff:
Sashee and Raju, who dutifully kept the place clean and
ran simple errands? What
about the parade of young engineers who lived there, saving
money and building a career
before they ventured into the
demands of married life?
On this journey to India
from Andover, Massachusetts,
where I live in the United
States, I was able to return to
the place where my love and
appreciation of Carnatic music was nurtured and my connection to South India was
deepened.
While I successfully kept
up my pursuit of Carnatic music for a few years in the
1970s, I did not seriously continue my studies in the field,
taking a different direction
professionally. But the real
connection with India has
been the people I met who,
without exception, have
proven to be generous, genuine and a lot of fun to be with.
If anyone reading this piece
might be able to shed any light
on what became of the people
who worked at or stayed at the
Suprabath during 1968 or
1971, I would enjoy hearing
from you. Mail me at a
JLMcConaughy@ aol.com –
(Courtesy: Mylapore Times.)
Wider role for CUMTA?
(Continued from page 2)
Transport Authority (CUMTA). Its main functions include overseeing, coordinating, promoting and monitoring the implementation of various traffic and transportation measures, including promoting the cause of public mass passenger transport systems and
regulating their operations, besides implementation of certain traffic and transportation infrastructure of special nature in the
Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area.
Tamil Nadu State’s capital, Chennai, has got a wide influence
and, consequent to that, Tiruvallur, Arakonam, Kancheepuram
and Chengalpattu have got to play a vital role in provision of housing and infrastructure for absorption of population migrating to
Chennai and must strengthen the overlying agricultural area for
production of agricultural produce and protect rural employment.
The link of chain of Tiruvallur, Arakonam, Kancheepuram and
Chengalpattu to Chennai can well provide mass transportation of
persons and produce (flower, food and vegetables) in the region.
Therefore, CUMTA has got a wider role to play in the region to
establish a balance between urban and rural areas, by establishing
ring and radial routes connecting road and rail, including mass
transit systems. – (Courtesy: Our Building and Construction.)
MADRAS MUSINGS ON THE WEB
To reach out to as many readers as possible who share
our keen interest in Madras that is Chennai, and in response to requests from many well-wishers – especially
from outside Chennai and abroad who receive their postal
copies very late – for an online edition. Madras Musings is
now on the web at www.madrasmusings.com
– THE EDITOR
4
MADRAS MUSINGS
March 1-15, 2013
He took up a host
of public causes
R
ao Saheb K.V. Krishnaswami Aiyar (KVK) belonged to the band of lawyers of
the first half of the 20th Century,
who made it their mission in life
to take up public causes and
make successes out of them.
While most of them espoused a
worthy cause or two, KVK took
on a whole host of them, and ensured that they were placed on a
sound footing for future growth.
At least one of the institutions he
nurtured – the Music Academy,
Madras – has lived to tell the tale
and is going strong.
KVK was born in 1885 in
Kumbakonam into a family that
prided itself on being related to
the Tamil scholar U.Ve.
Swaminatha Iyer. Having studied in Kumbakonam at the Town
High School and the College
there, he moved to Madras
where he graduated in 1903 from
the Presidency College. He
qualified in Law in 1905. In
1907, he enrolled in the High
Court of Madras, rather coincidentally, according to legend,
with Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar
and T.M. Krishnaswami Aiyar.
All three Krishnaswamis were to
see a rapid rise in the profession.
In his memoirs, Justice W.S.
Krishnaswami Nayudu was to
remark that other lawyers had to
share among themselves whatever cases were not taken up by
the three Krishnaswamis.
Among the three, KVK was the
first to command a five-figure
income.
KVK apprenticed under S.
Srinivasa Iyengar and, according
to V.C. Gopalaratnam (A Century Completed, 1962), “developed the powers of his advocacy
naturally on the same lines as
those of his leader. There used always to be present … a sort of
explosiveness. His arguments
were always closely reasoned and
logical. He had a habit of speaking in court in a loud and clear
voice which could be heard even
from outside the court room. Another very fine characteristic of
KVK was the high level of dignity which he maintained at all
times when dealing with clients.
He fixed a standard according to
which he stipulated his fees for
the brief accepted by him, to
which he invariably adhered, a
standard which assessed his own
worth at a proper and a high
level. He always observed a very
high level of professional etiquette and ethics.”
The last aspect was one that
most seniors in the profession
took very seriously. The Bar
Council then had the practice of
inviting each year a senior lawyer to deliver a series of lectures
on the subject to the apprentices.
In 1939 it was KVK’s turn and
he went into it so deeply that it
was decided to publish his lectures as a book. Professional Conduct and Advocacy was released
in 1940 to great acclaim. Sir S.
Varadachariar, then a Judge of
the Federal Court, was to write
that the book was an apt illustration of KVK, in particular his
thoroughness. In 1945, the book
was reviewed in the Journal of
Comparative Legislation and International Law, thereby coming to
the notice of Lord Macmillan,
then Lord of Appeal in Ordinary,
G
By Sriram V.
Great Britain, and he praised it
greatly. The Oxford University
Press Madras published a second
edition in 1946. Another publication of KVK’s was on Proportional Representation by the
Single Transferable Vote, which
guided elections in various bodies for years.
Prosperity in the profession
meant shifting to Mylapore
where KVK took up residence at
Swaminatha Vilas, No 6, North
Mada Street. Widowed early, his
family comprised a son and a
daughter. His elder brother
Viswanatha Iyer moved in with
family to take care of the home.
KVK was, therefore, free to devote his considerable surplus energies to the world.
The first of these was tennis.
Labelled a stylish player, he was
formidable at the game, playing
in his usual garb of shirt and
dhoti! He was to win tournaments at the Mylapore and Cosmopolitan Clubs, and also at
Advocates’ Association. Of the
latter he was to become Secretary and in that capacity, he
fought long and hard to ensure
amenities in the High Court
building. Till he came along, the
vakils had to make do with a
cramped room in the north-east
corner, with no storage space or
recreation area. KVK convinced
the Chief Justice to give advocates three large rooms on the
top and middle floors on the
western side of the building. He
got lockers put in so that gowns,
coats and books could be kept.
The facility could be hired by
lawyers for a nominal rent. He
exercised great control over the
library of the Association and, as
C.R. Pattabhiraman put it, “Lawyers who built their libraries with
the Association’s books began to
fade away.” All this was achieved
within the one year he was secretary. The majority of the advocates did not understand the
man’s strict ways and certainly
did not brook his legendary short
temper. He stepped down and
within months chaos was to reign
once again in the Advocates’
Association.
KVK was elected a member of
the University Syndicate in
1923. The Tamil lexicon project,
set up in 1913, was then languishing. The tardy progress
meant embarrassing questions
being asked at the University
Senate and Syndicate and, to
save the situation, KVK was
asked to become Chairman of
the Lexicon Committee. M.A.
Candeth, Dy. Director, Directorate of Public Instruction, immediately remarked that the University would shortly hear of “suicides and resignations.” Sure
enough, KVK rammed his way
ahead. But he was careful to restrict his role to the administrative side and support the scholars all the way through. Periodic
review meetings, representing
the problems faced by the higherups and ensuring that action was
MADRAS MUSINGS
5
The illustrious scientist who
teamed with
C.V. Raman
Krishnan was born in
Vizhupanoor, spent his childhood in nearby Watrap and studied in the Hindu School in
Srivilliputtur, all in the same district of Madras Province. Among
his schoolmates were Ramaswamy Raja and Kumaraswamy
Raja (Rajas, a deviant of Rajus,
of Andhra Pradesh) who settled
in a place which took their name,
K.V. Krishnaswami Aiyar from a
1935 Ananda Vikatan cartoon by
Mali.
taken, all this and more became
matters of routine. Thanks to
this, men of letters, such as S.
Vaiyapuri Pillai, Narayana Iyer
and M. Raghava Aiyangar,
worked to produce the lexicon
which was released in six volumes, the last one coming out in
1936. Besides his work on this,
KVK was also to contribute as
Member, Board of Studies in
Law, and as Examiner for the ML
degree. For a time it was
rumoured, with the Rao Saheb
title in 1935 adding to the speculations, that KVK would become
Vice Chancellor of Madras University. That was never to be, but
he was to achieve success in several other passions of his.
(To be concluded)
K.S. Krishnan with the first flask of liquid helium produced at the Low-temperature Division of NPL, on September 29, 1952.
T
aking more than nine years
to complete, this 460-page
biography by two professors of
Indian Institute of Astrophysics
is ideal reading for researchers,
students and general readers.
What is significant for the ignorant is that their attention is
– An occasional article in a series by Dr. A. RAMAN
. Ramamurthi (BR) was born on January 30, 1922 in Sirkazhi
(where his father Captain T.S. Balasubramanian worked as an
Assistant Surgeon in the Government Hospital). BR had his early
education in Trichinopoly. His father and a friend of his father convinced BR to study medicine rather than prepare for the Indian
Civil Service examination.
Entering Madras Medical College (MMC) to do his MBBS, BR
passed out in 1943, winning the coveted Johnstone Medal. Working with N.S. Narasimha Iyer, he got his Master of Surgery degree
in 1947. He went to Edinburgh to get his Fellowship of the Royal
College of Surgeons, which he achieved in six weeks. On his return,
Surgeon Narasimha Iyer persuaded BR to specialise in neurosurgery, whereas BR was contemplating cardio-thoracic surgery. As a
step towards becoming a neurosurgeon, BR went to Newcastle (UK)
in January 1949, to train with G.F. Rowbotham. He subsequently
worked with leaders in European neurosurgery: Geoffrey Jefferson
in Manchester, Hugo Krayenbuhl in Zurich, Edward Busch in
Copenhagen, and Herbert Olivecrona in Stockholm.
BR then travelled to the Montreal Neurological Institute and
worked with Wilder Penfield. After successful neurosurgical training stints in Britain, Continental Europe, America, and Canada, he
returned to Madras in 1950 and in October that year was appointed
Assistant Surgeon in Neurosurgery, Madras Government General
Hospital (MGGH). He subsequently rose to the rank of the Director of the Institute of Neurology at MGGH – the post he held until
School of Srivilliputtur.
Krishnan, after passing the
Matric exam, joined the Fine
Arts class of the American College in Madurai in 1914 and excelled in Science, English and
Tamil. His first exposure to tennis was here, and developed into
a lifelong passion for the sport.
Krishnan left Madurai for
Madras and joined Madras
take the paper the next year to
get his degree. He then went
back to his native Watrap, and
took up the position of headmaster of the Hindu School where he
had studied. But soon, to his joy,
he was offered the post of Demonstrator in the Chemistry laboratory of MCC. He returned to
Madras, a city he had fallen in
love with, and lived in Linghi
Chetty Street. As Demonstrator,
he did more than what was required of him, stopping by at
each student’s table and explaining the details of the observations to be made and how to
record them in their notebooks.
If things went wrong, he would
‘‘The first four decades of the 20th Century were glorious years for science,
especially physics. Our view of the physical world changed forever with the
emergence of quantum mechanics and Einstein’s formulation of the theory of
relativity. India too contributed significantly to this scientific revolution with the
discoveries made by S.N. Bose, C.V. Raman and M.N. Saha, all in the space of
about a decade. Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan (1898-1961) belonged to
the same illustrious group. He was perhaps the only Indian physicist of his
generation who was equally adept in theory and experiment. Besides a life of
excellence in science, Krishnan’s destiny led him to be an able science policy
maker and administrator. He was also a great teacher, a humanist and a scholar
of Sanskrit, Tamil literature and philosophy.’’
Masters of 20th Century Madras science
B
March 1-15, 2013
drawn to the contribution of K.S.
Krishnan as the co-collaborator
in the discovery of the Raman
Effect which won for C.V.
Raman the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930, the first time any
Asian or non-White received the
prestigious award in Science.
– From the biography: K.S. Krishnan, His Life and Work by D.C.V. Mallik
and S. Chatterjee (Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2012).
Rajapalayam. Kumaraswamy
Raja later became Chief Minister of Madras. Ramaswamy Raja
established the first industries in
the region, today known as the
Ramco group. The two Rajas and
Krishnan are known as the
‘Great Trio’ of the Hindu High
Christian College (MCC) in
George Town. He took his BA in
1918, when he won the Aberdeen Prize awarded for the most
outstanding student of Physics.
He did exceedingly well in
Chemistry too but, strangely, did
not pass in English and had to
BR blazed new trails
his retirement in 1978. After that he spent his time at the Voluntary Health Service Hospital (Madras) developed by his mentor K.S.
Sanjivi, where he set up a sophisticated neurosurgical theatre. He
was also the principal of MMC and dean of MGGH before his retirement. BR, along with neurologists Jacob Chandy, S.T.
Narasimhan, and Baldev Singh, established the Neurological Society of India in 1951, which started functioning in Madras.
BR published extensively from the early days of his career. His
publications in the 1950s were on spinal extradural granuloma,
brain abscess, ventriculographic diagnosis of cysticercosis, and pituitary apoplexy. He presented an extensive commentary on brain
tuberculomas, based on his MGGH study involving more than 200
cases, at an international neurology congress in Brussels in 1957.
His early research pertained to the tuberculosis of the central-nervous system.
He blazed new trails by developing a specialised head injury ward
in MGGH – the first of its kind in India. He published prolifically
on the prevention of head injuries, strategies to reduce head injury
related death, management of intracranial hematomas, skull fractures, and their psychological effects.
During 1970-1975, his interest turned to studying cerebrovascular diseases and epilepsy and his studies were supported by PL
480 grants administered by the Indian Council of Medical
Reasearch. Between 1950 and 1975 his knowledge of the human
brain and nervous system was so profound that he was considered
by the public as both a neurosurgeon and a neurophysician. BR’s
contribution to science would be incomplete if I do not refer to his
pioneering stereotaxic surgical procedures. Besides using stereotaxic
surgery on patients suffering movement disorders, he extended its
scope in epilepsy management, pain relief, cerebral palsy, and drug
addiction, and even some psychiatric disorders. He explored neurophysiological functions of the amygdala, hypothalamus, and the
deeper-lying brain regions.
His publications included different dimensions of diagnoses and
treatments of a range of tumours (e.g. pituitary acenomas,
neurinoma, gliomas). He studied aphasia and the use of feedback
technique and tested the vitality of yoga in treating nervous system
disorders. At 60, he readily learnt and enthusiastically used microsurgical techniques.
BR strongly believed that a uniform postgraduate education system was necessary to maintain quality in medical education in India. This belief turned out to be a strong force behind the establishment of the National Board of Medical Examinations, the office of
which he presided over for several years. The National Brain Research Centre, Manesar (Haryana), was his brainchild. This centre
of excellence in neurosciences is a great gift to the nation. He and
Prakash Narain Tandon (then with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi) published the Textbook of Neurosurgery in
1980, which ran into a second edition in 1996. He was working on
his subsequent book Textbook of Operative Neurosurgery, which remained unfinished when death overtook him in December 2003.
often ‘demonstrate’ the precise
way of doing an experiment. After his appointment was made
permanent, he began going, in
addition to the daily ritual of visiting the college library, to the
Connemara Public Library in
Egmore to peruse the then-latest
scientific journals.
Along with international
names reported in these journals,
Krishnan also found the name of
C.V. Raman and S. Ramanujan.
The former had left a lucrative
accountant’s job to become the
Palit Professor of Physics at the
University of Calcutta. Students
in Madras aspired to work with
Raman some day, and one of
them, T.K. Chinmayanandam,
was already working with him
producing some original work in
optics. Krishnan found his papers
published in The Physical Review
and the Proceedings of the Royal
Society.
The biology students who
came to the chemistry practical
classes, soon came to know about
Krishnan’s proclivity for Physics
and he arranged for a class during tiffin break for students who
wanted his help in physics and
mathematics. Calamur Mahadevan, later to become a distinguished geologist, was a student
of Krishnan. Mahadevan writes:
‘‘I attended lectures that he
was giving to Biology group students in the mathematical problems of physics. The voluntary
A portrait of K.S. Krishnan.
class was always overflowing with
students not only from Christian
College but from Pachayiappa’s
and Presidency. I learnt more
Physics in Krishnan’s class than
during the regular lectures, as his
explanation of physical concepts
was wonderfully lucid.’’
With the express purpose of
working with C.V. Raman,
Krishnan reached Calcutta in
July 1920. On Raman’s advice,
he enrolled into the MSc Physics
class in the University College of
Science where Raman was
teaching. Krishnan never appeared for the MSc exam. Although he was a student of the
College of Science, his social life
revolved around the Indian Association for the Cultivation of
Science (IACS) in whose laboratory Raman did his research. In
November 1923, Krishnan formally became a research scholar
at IACS, and a research associate in 1926. Krishnan calls the
first five full years spent at the
Science Association under the
tutelage of Raman as his
Gurukula vasam, and recalls,
‘‘These five years turned out to
be a festive season in my scientific life.’’ In April 1927, with 12
research papers to his credit and
a recommendation from Raman,
he applied to the University of
Madras for a MSc. He was
awarded the Master’s degree the
same year.
Krishnan’s first scientific
paper titled ‘On the molecular
scattering of light in liquids’ was
published in the Philosophical
Magazine. Krishnan was to author singly or jointly with Raman
16 papers during the years
1925-28, before the Raman
Effect was discovered. In his first
research paper, Krishnan essentially repeated his colleague
Ramanathan’s experiments of
1923. The biography poses the
historic question why was the
Raman Effect not discovered in
1923 or 1925 and gives various
scientific, practical and sociological answers to the poser.
When Krishnan took the news of
(Continued on page 6)
6
MADRAS MUSINGS
(Current Affairs questions are
from the period February 1st to
15th. Questions 11 to 20 pertain to Chennai and Tamil
Nadu.)
1. Which Australian was the lone
million-dollor buy at the IPL auction held recently?
2. A Kashmiri rock band
‘Pragaash’, made headlines for all
the ‘wrong’ reasons. How?
3. What was February 13th observed as by UNESCO as a tribute to a communication medium
with the widest audience reach
worldwide?
4. Which team claimed the
honours in the inaugural Hockey
India League?
5. Rex, costing 600,000 Euros,
was unveiled recently at the Science Museum in London. What
is the Rex claim to fame?
6. In which State capital was the
world’s tallest statue of Mahatma
Gandhi, 70 feet in height, inaugurated on February 15th ?
7. Name the new association
formed by 30 major Indian software product companies breaking
away from the omnibus IT industry body Nasscom.
8. Which popular Indian singercomposer was honoured with a
Google Doogle on February 8th?
9. Name the new health intiative,
aimed at improving overall quality of life of children through early
detection of birth defects, diseases and deficiencies, launched
recently.
10. Because of which natural phenomenon did the Siberian town
of Chelyabinsk make news?
*
*
*
11. Name the Madras University
alumnus who has been awarded
the prestigious National Medal of
Technology and Innovation by
President Barack Obama, for
breakthroughs that enabled
LASIK surgery.
12. Which Tamil composer won
the first-ever National Film
Award for Best Music Direction
for his work in Kandan Karunai?
13. Theosophists in the city have
chosen February 17 th as what
‘Day’?
14. Which royal’s statue, now in
a temple, was originally opposite
the Raja Annamalai Manram?
15. Which Tamil literary giant’s
first book was a retelling of the
Jain epic Ceevaka Cintamani?
16. Which well-known actor and
film director of yesteryear lived
in the family house called
Canberra?
17. With which publication
would you associate Vasantha
Vilas in Mylapore?
18. Which famous ruler’s name is
said to mean ‘the man with the
charred leg’?
19. Which sage is considered the
guru of all ‘Siddhars’ with the
Siddha system believed to have
been handed over to him by Lord
Muruga?
20. Who was awarded the Sahitya
Akademi award for Tamil in
2012?
(Answers on page 8)
March 1-15, 2013
The scientist who teamed with
C.V. Raman
(Continued from page 5)
Arthur Compton winning the
Nobel Prize in Physics in
December 1927 to Raman, the
latter was delighted and felt he
was closer to India’s pathbreaking discovery.
February 1928 was the time
when Indian science moved towards making history. Under
Prof. Raman’s guidance, S.
Venkateswaran and Krishnan
experimented with the new
scattering phenomenon in a
number of liquids. On the 9th afternoon, when Prof Raman returned from the Science College where he was teaching,
Krishnan gave him a visual
demonstration of the ‘modified
scattering’ using sunlight as the
source. Raman was ecstatic. Between February 19th and 26th,
more experiments were conducted by Krishnan. On February 28th, Raman and Krishnan
discovered what has now come
to be known as the Raman Effect, and the day is now celebrated as the National Science
Day. The next day, the news of
the discovery was released to
the Associated Press. Within a
few weeks of Raman’s public
proclamation of the discovery,
Krishnan was able to photograph the ‘‘anti-Stokes lines’’ in
benzene and Raman was very
pleased. According to Sukumar
Sircar, Palit research scholar,
who was working on the Kerr
Effect in viscous liquids at Science College, Raman felt that
discovery of the anti-Stokes
lines was as important as the
initial discovery of the modified
scattering lines at lower frequencies, and he told Sircar
that Krishnan deserved half the
credit for the discovery and he
would share with Krishnan any
reward that came to him for it.
But Krishnan knew that although his contribution to the
discovery was recognised by
Raman and others in the Science Association, in the public
eye he was still playing second
fiddle. Raman was extremely
possessive of the discovery, ever
so wary of sharing the real credit
of it with anybody else. The fact
that Raman had sent the paper
titled ‘A change of wavelength
in light scattering’ to Nature
under his sole authorship without Krishnan’s knowledge bothered him. It was known in the
precincts of the Science Association that Raman was in correspondence with some eminent physicists in Europe trying
to get the nomination for the
1929 Physics Nobel Prize for
himself.
With a view to establishing
his own reputation, Krishnan in
September 1928 applied to the
University of Dacca for the post
of Reader in Physics. His application was accompanied by
glowing testimonials by his
teachers, including Raman. According to the authors, Raman’s
most generous official praise of
his colleague and student
Krishnan was in a testimonial to
the Andhra University,
Waltair, in 1932. It reads as follows: ‘‘If the Nobel award for
Physics made in 1930 had been
based on the record of the year
1928 alone, instead of on the
entire work on the scattering of
light done at Calcutta from
1921 onwards, Krishnan would
in justice have come in for a
share of the Prize.” This was
misleading, as Krishnan started
working with Raman in 1923,
and a substantial part of the
work prior to 1928 was on the
scattering of light on liquids.
While in Dacca for the next
12 years, Krishnan’s research
was in the study of magnetism.
In Dacca, he bonded very
closely with another South Indian, the Reader in the Mathematics department, T.
Vijayaraghavan, and was instrumental in the creation of
the Ramanujan Institute of
Mathematics
of
which
Vijayaraghavan became first director. A few years later, in December 1933, Krishnan rejoined the Indian Association
for the Cultivation of Science in
Calcutta as the first MLS Professor, a move to which Raman
contributed in no small measure
as he himself had moved to
Bangalore as the Director of the
Indian Institute of Science
(IISc). Krishnan’s next move
was to head the Department of
Physics at Allahabad in March
1942. In heading to Allahabad,
Krishnan moved closer to the
centre of national activity, and
in the ensuing years he assumed
a leading role in planning the
growth of scientific and industrial research of India and also
its atomic energy programme.
On June 13, 1946, Krishnan
was knighted in an investiture
ceremony at Buckingham Palace. In January 1947, Krishnan
was back in Allahabad after a
rejuvenating tour of Britain and
the United States. In June the
same year, he moved to Delhi
as the first director of the National Physical Laboratory
(NPL), hand-picked by
Jawaharlal Nehru and C. Rajagopalachari, the head of the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Meanwhile,
Krishnan’s Guru, Sir C.V.
Raman, was nearing his retirement at the IISc, Bangalore.
When Nehru sent word
through Krishnan that the Government was ready to give
Raman recurring funds for research in his retirement but asking for an annual report on the
progress and expenditure statement in return, Raman is said
to have flown into a rage over
the strings attached.
The NPL was formally inaugurated at its Hillside Road
(now Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg)
location on January 21, 1950.
Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel was the chief
guest. To help Patel, who had
difficulty in walking, to inaugurate the laboratory from the
dais, Krishnan built a wooden
replica of the building and
placed it on the dais. The snapping of a ribbon and an electrical wire, tied around the building, was to activate a switch
which was connected to a transmitter that sent a signal to be
picked up by a receiver placed
inside a building. The receiver
actuated in turn a relay circuit
that switched on electric motors which would force the main
doors open.
Krishnan lived his life to
the fullest. He pursued his interests in Physics till even a few
hours before his death on June
14, 1961. His last paper –
finalised on the day of his death
– came out a month after his
death.
T.K. Srinivasa Chari
Neglected Chepauk Palace
(Continued from page 1)
the committee submitted its
report, which incidentally
suggested a partial reconstruction, whatever that means. This
may not be entirely acceptable
as the study was completed in
less than a week, surely a very
short period of time for a
monument of such undoubted
historicity.
It was then heard that the
Government was wanting to
make the restoration of
Chepauk Palace an example of
how heritage conservation was
to be done. It invited ‘expressions of interest’ from conservation architects for working on
Khalsa Mahal. It also was understood that the Government
would be happy to get the restoration done on rates and
methods that were not those of
the PWD’s. This indicated that
the Government was willing to
consider that heritage conservation cannot be on the same
lines as new construction. All
that was in June 2012. Since
then nothing has been heard.
Has the request for expression
of interest been formally sent
out? Structural engineers and
architects appear to have not
received it. In the meanwhile
Khalsa Mahal continues to
moulder.
What is evident now is that
restoration is needed in all parts
of the Palace including the asof-now standing Humayun
Mahal. In fact a dedicated move
to document the entire Palace
would be the ideal first step,
mapping out what is an extremely confusing complex,
built as it was repeatedly over a
hundred years. With that in
place, a restoration attempt
would be more meaningful.
Hopefully, that should happen.
THREATS POSED
BY METRO RAIL
(Continued from page 1)
connection with CMRL’s activities near the LIC Building
on Mount Road and the Law
College near Esplanade. In all
cases CMRL has stonewalled
beyond a general assurance that
all would be well.
The continuing activity near
Ripon Building and VP Hall has
also put the restoration of these
two structures on the
backburner. This being Ripon
Building’s centenary year, it was
hoped that the Rs. 7.7 crore
restoration project would be
completed in time for a grand
celebration. That does not appear likely now. Similarly, VP
Hall is being renovated for over
four years now, at a cost of Rs.
3.5 crore. That too has slowed
down considerably. These
structures are clearly not the focus and all resources including
land are clearly to be harnessed
for a speedy completion of the
Metro.
While that is all to the
good, it is to be hoped that
heritage is not sacrificed in the
process.
March 1-15, 2013
MADRAS MUSINGS
7
From R’puram Medical School
to Stanley Medical College
(Continued from
last fortnight)
T
he predecessor of Stanley
Medical College was the
Royapuram Medical School
that was started in June 1903 as
a small school housed in the
Old Bullet Factory of the East
India Company. Between 1910
and 1920, Government started
medical schools in Calicut,
Vizagapatam and Tanjore to
make medical knowledge available to more people. But inefficiency and ill-equipped establishments resulted in all those
schools, except the one in
Royapuram, being closed down.
When the five-year LMP
course was inaugurated on
March 27, 1934 by the then
Governor of Madras Presidency, Sir George Fredrick
Stanley, the college, till then
known as Royapuram Medical
School, was renamed Stanley
Medical School in his honour.
Dr. V.C. Sudarsanam, Hon.
Ophthalmic Surgeon (with
more than 33 years of service at
Stanley from September 1930,
and who had studied in the
school before joining Madras
Medical College in 1934), remembers joining Royapuram
Medical School in 1920 to get a
diploma to practise medicine,
surgery and midwifery as a Licensed Medical Practitioner
(LMP). He says, “Students who
joined then had just finished
high school and were from various parts of the then Madras
Presidency. School work started
as early as 7 a.m. and, twice a
week, we had to attend physical
instruction class held in the
ground behind what is now the
ladies’ hostel blocks. At the appointed hour, correct to the
minute, we lined up and by that
time the Superintendent, an
IMS officer, would come riding
on his horse, sometimes in uniform, and inspect us. Col.
Bryson would pick out all coats
without buttons, shoes without
socks, open coats without tie, a
tuft without a turban, and unshaven faces and those so identified were ordered to be at his
office after class work was over.
The next inspection was outstretched palms. All palms felt
soft would be sent to the Gym
instructor with orders for practice on various bars; others
would do marching and physical exercises.”
Lecturers and teachers were
“very keen on maintaining discipline.” When students failed
to pay tuition fees or exam fees
on time, each would be questioned by the Superintendent in
private and in genuine cases of
poverty, he often paid from his
own pocket! The Senior
Anatomy class was taken by the
Sir George Stanley.
then Chief Lecturer, Dr. S.
Swaminatha Pillay, assisted by
Dr. Sivasubramaniam. Their
treatment of the subject was
“something marvellous, we
thought we were reading Arabian Nights!”. Pathology was
taught in the third year by
Dr. C. Chinnaswamy Pillai,
who was interested in many
subjects and who was a voluminous reader and constructive
critic. Third year students were
posted in the pathology department and would start the day at
7 a.m.
“All urine, blood, stools examinations had to be done by
students who were assisted by
an Assistant Lecturer. All examinations had to be conducted in his immediate presence. Every finding was recorded in separate sheets and
had to be ready before the lecturer arrived at 9 a.m. After we
read reports, we were asked to
write on the blackboard, and
handwriting checked for formation of dots, dashes, spellings,
punctuation, etc. Post-mortem
classes were very illuminating
and description of findings had
to be accurate. All measurements were made correct to the
tenth of an inch, including the
length and breadth of intestinal
worms! Dr.V. Kalyanaraman,
assisted him ably. Methodical
work was emphasised, test tubes
and slides washed, microscopes
cleaned and covered, and the
number of match sticks used to
be counted before we left
class!”, he further recalled.
Dr. Sudarsanam talks of two
giants, Dr. S.M. Trasi, whose
way “of putting sutures was so
quick and correct that both
hands worked like a machine”,
and his assistant, Dr. N.S.
Narasimha Iyer. “The hospital
had a very pleasant look, neat
with well-laid out gardens and
plenty of breathing spaces in
between wards. Stanley was the
first among all the medical colleges in the city to create a garden. Dr. P.F. Mathias, the Superintendent, was very focussed
on cleanliness. After hostel
rounds, there were rounds of
hospital gardens, where every
nook and corner was inspected.
Every wall in the wards would
be examined by the Superintendent and touched to see if they
were dirty!” He remembers that
once, when the Superintendent
Lt. Col. D.G. Rai was doing his
rounds in the Willingdon
Ward, the floors made of Italian marble were kept so clean
and polished that he slipped
and fell with a bang. He got up
smiling though!”
A milestone in the annals of
the institution was the
upgradation of Stanley Medical
School to Stanley Medical College in 1938 and also the introduction of the five-year undergraduate course in Medicine
and Surgery. Dr. T.S.S. Rajan,
an alumnus of Stanley, who
held the medical portfolio in the
medals was unrivalled in the
Madras Presidency!
In 1941, three medical and
surgical units were created. Permission to start MD and MS
courses was given in 1948. By
1950, the College became independent of Madras Medical
College. When the new
Anatomy and Physiology Departments were inaugurated in
the new college building (built
at a cost of Rs.9.5 lakh), it became a full-fledged college offering facilities for training students in all subjects of the medical curriculum. The number of
students admitted increased
from 72 to 100. There was also
an additional increase of 10 students to help Licentiate D M
Stanley Medical College.
first Congress Government of
Madras Province, inaugurated
the event on July 2, 1938. Admission to the DMS course was
discontinued a short while later
and the college was affiliated to
Madras University. The birth
pangs were many and varied for
the first batch of 72 students.
There was no college building
ready and preclinical teachings
in Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry were done at Madras
Medical College. The best outgoing student of the first batch
was Dr. T.S. Kalyanam, an outstanding student whose tally of
and S to undergo condensed
course before graduation.
By 1952, the Department of
Anatomy was upgraded with
courses for M.Sc and Ph. D in
Anatomy. The intake capacity
was 4 per year, chosen from
among students from all over
India. The institution of a Dean
to administer both the College
and Hospital was created the
same year. The first Dean was
Dr. Ananthanarayana Iyer who
established the Institute of
Anatomy at Stanley in 1955,
attracting students from all over
the country. He also established
the Anatomy Society of India in
G A peaceful students’ strike in 1920 resulted in “two important reliefs”. Till then, if a student failed in the final year three
times, he was “dismissed and career ended”. Students had to
secure 80 per cent attendance and pass in the selection exam
before being sent up for the Board Exam every year. After the
strike, the practice of detention by selection exam and dismissal
after three failures was stopped!
G The very first student journal of the institution, issued in
March 1933, was called The Royapuram Medico!
Dr. T.S. Tirumurthi – first Indian
principal of the Medical College.
1955 as a platform for research
and dissemination of information on developments in
anatomy at the annual conferences.
Four years later, a major addition to SMC was the newly
constructed (at a cost of Rs.32
lakh) Raja Sir Ramaswami
Mudaliar Lying-In Hospital
with 275 beds. By January 1963,
annual admission rose to 150.
There were by then seven medical and surgical units.
In a unique gesture in the
history of government institutions, old students and former
and the then-working staff of
SMC generously contributed
Rs.1 lakh towards construction
of the auditorium for the College. The Chief Minister of Madras, M. Bhaktavatsalam, accepted the amount and sanctioned another Rs.5 lakh for the
auditorium. The foundation
stone was laid by the then President of India , Dr. Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, on October 30,
1964, as a part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations.
“The whole campus of the
institution, comprising college,
hospitals and hostels extend
over 3 square furlongs or 27
acres of land, unfortunately cut
across by a busy road and surrounded by shrieking multitudes of railway engines, over
which even the Central Minister of Transport appears to have
no control,” stated a note from
Dr. K.C. Nambiar at that time.
Dr. A.N.K. Menon, Dean,
Stanley Medical College and
ex-officio Vice Chairman of the
Silver Jubilee Committee, recorded: “What started as a
medical school in 1903 in the
Bullet Factory of the East India
Company has now grown into a
full-fledged Medical College
giving training to both UG and
PG and occupying a remarkably
high place in medical colleges in
India. The attached teaching
hospital which started in 1790
as a Native Infirmary with 75
beds has developed into a magnificent modern teaching hospital accommodating thousands
of patients with facilities for
special treatment in all
(Continued on page 8)
8
MADRAS MUSINGS
March 1-15, 2013
Of war and wickets
Still Counting The Dead –
Survivors of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War: Frances Harrison
(Portobello Books, Rs. 399).
Once a tropical paradise
with virgin beaches and picturesque landscapes, Sri Lanka
soon became synonymous with
blood and gore as civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the
Government tore the country
apart and left hundreds of thousands of children, doctors, farmers, fishermen, nuns and other
civilians in a traumatised state.
Now, the United Nations
has launched an enquiry into
the war crimes, some of which
find their way into this book in
shattering detail.
Harrison, a former BBC
correspondent, who spent four
years in the war-ravaged nation,
puts together some interesting
insights into the decades-long
ethnic conflict and tries to fill
several gaps on what could have
gone on in the last five months
of war from the perspective of
LTTE activists/sympathisers as
well as innocent civilians.
The book tells the tale of
human suffering, the ugly face
of war and the futility of it all in
the voices of several – a U.N.
official, a pro-LTTE TamilNet
journalist, the head of the
LTTE Peace Secretariat
(Pulidevan) who was killed under controversial circumstances, a government doctor, a
nun, a teacher, an LTTE media
department woman functionary
with two children, an LTTE
fighter, a shopkeeper and a rape
victim married to an LTTE
fighter.
Significantly, most of the
people who have lived to tell
their story have “managed to
buy their way out of the island
nation by heavily bribing the
corrupt military, police and bureaucracy.”
The book is definitely for the
brave hearted, as some of the
truth can really wrench you.
But beneath the coldness of war
and the suffering, you glimpse
the triumph of the human spirit,
the courage of a people who
have moved on despite the circumstances. And that’s what
makes this a compelling read.
***
Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket:
Edited by: Suresh Menon with
Foreword by Sharmila Tagore
(Harper Sport, Rs. 499).
Dashing, smashing and one
of cricket’s early superstars,
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi,
whose other name was Tiger,
was perhaps one of the most distinguished and undisputed
‘Nawabs’ of Indian cricket.
A right-handed batsman, he
made his first-class debut in En-
gland, for Sussex in
August 1957, when
he was just 16. Tiger
was someone who
changed the way
cricket was perceived
and played. As the
youngest captain (he
was only 21) who led
India in 40 Tests, he
forged a national identity in a
team where that was sometimes
divided by regional lines, and
helped raise the bar of fielding
and bowling like never before.
Despite the handicap (he
lost one eye to an accident even
before he became a pro), Tiger
was a force to reckon with from
the moment he made his Test
debut against England in December 1961 till 1975.
This book is a compilation of
essays by fellow cricketers,
friends and family, summing up
Tiger, both on and off the field.
Some of the contributors in-
From Medical School to Medical College
(Continued from page 7)
branches. At present, the College has on its roll about 1120
students with 150 undergraduates taken in every year. At the
inauguration of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, a magnificent
three-floor OP block will be
opened, and will be one of the
best equipped and spacious OP
blocks in India, if not in SouthEast Asia.”
In the Diamond Jubilee Souvenir of the SMC (1963), M.
Bhaktavatsalam, the then Chief
Minister, wrote, “When the
Royapuram Medical School was
started 60 years ago, the area in
which the school was located
was girdled by palms and groves
and fields. Today, the city has
grown vastly and in all the three
directions. The Medical School
too has grown and developed
into the Stanley Medical College. The palm groves and fields
that once surrounded this area
have gone and in their place
stand factories, big and small.
Institutions which serve people
grow with the growing population.
It is a matter of pride that
Stanley Medical College, which
completes 25 years of life this
year, has been able to send out
every year medical men who go
out to heal the sick and the
wounded in different parts of
the State.”
Stanley Medical College’s
early rolls had many medical luminaries and administrators,
like Dr. T.S. Tirumurthi, the
first Indian principal; Dr.
Dinkar Rau, wonderful teacher
and principal; Dr. David, the
first Professor of Pharmacology
and the author of one of the
earliest textbooks on the subject; Dr. Ananthanarayana
Iyer, the well known Professor
of Anatomy; Dr. R. Mahadevan, eminent surgeon who
performed the first mitral valvotomy in the country; Dr. R.
Raghavachari, legendary surgeon and exemplary teacher
who operated on Shri Ramana
Maharshi for cancer in the fore-
arm; Dr. Kuttumbiah, well
known physician; Dr. Mannadi
Nair, the first Professor of Biochemistry in Madras Presidency; Dr. R.G. Krishnan, obstetrician and gynaecologist,
who made the outpatient departments and clinical services
at the hospital more effective;
Dr. M. Natarajan, renowned orthopaedic surgeon, and teacher; Dr. M. Vishwanathan,
well-known diabetologist; Dr.
Natesa Mudaliar, professor of
venereology and an excellent
teacher; and well-known physician, Dr. Rathnavel Subramanian, and many others!
– Shobha Menon
(To be continued)
clude Farokh Engineer, Abbas
Ali Baig, Bishan Bedi, Mike
Brearley, David Woolley,
Naseeruddin Shah, Sunil
Gavaskar, Ian Chappell, N.
Ram, Tony Lewis, Vijay Merchant, M.J. Akbar, Suresh
Menon, Ray Robinson, Mudar
Patherya, Rajdeep Sardesai,
John Woodcock, Rahul Dravid,
Robin Marlar, Ted Dexter,
Mike Coward, Saba Ali Khan
and Soha Ali Khan.
Who better than Suresh
Menon to be at the helm of this
book? A well-known sport journalist, Menon has edited books
on many sportspersons, including Sachin Tendulkar. A touching foreword by Tiger’s wife
Sharmila Tagore lends a personal touch.
– Savitha Gautam
Answers to Quiz
1.Glenn Maxwell, 2. Being an
all-girls’ band it was branded ‘unIslamic’, 3. World Radio Day, 4.
Ranchi Rhinos, 5. He (or it ) is the
world’s first bionic man, 6. Patna,
7. Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSpirt), 8. Jagjit
Singh, 9. Rashtriya Bal Sawsthya
Karyakram, 10. A streaking meteor
flashed across its skies injuring at
least 1000 people.
***
11. Rangaswamy Srinivasan, 12.
K.V. Mahadevan, 13.’Adyar Day’
14. Chitra Tirunal Bala Rama
Varma, 15. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer,
16. K. Balaji, 17. Law Weekly, 18.
Karikala Chozhan, 19. Agastya, 20.
Daniel Selvaraj for Thol.
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