Triple diamond gift

You would have seen it in that 1906 photograph of Mylapore. Seeing it over a century later, it looks different, yet the same. The real challenge these days is more in being able to see it, for the area around Kapaleeshwarar Temple is not the open field it was over a hundred years ago. The low wall behind the coconut trees in that photograph is gone, as are the trees (I think). That wall marked the boundary of the temple tank; today, entrance to the tank is zealously guarded, with a fence keeping everyone well beyond the periphery of the tank.

Also missing is the structure in the foreground (right) of the photograph. Even in the early 70s, that structure was a common sight in some parts of the city. It is a sumaithangi, the load-bearer, which travellers could use to rest their loads on. It makes eminent sense that something useful for travellers needs to be placed next to such a structure. You will notice that the photo shows a man sitting under what seems to be a water fountain; of course the first thing a traveller would do after placing his bundle of belongings on the sumaithangi would be to drink deep. And placing such a fountain under a canopy will ensure that travellers bless the far-sighted benefactor.

To find out who this benefactor is, you will have to peer intently above the arches; you might be able to make out the statement "Diamond Jubilee Gift - P. Subramania Iyer - 22 June 1897". That was the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne. While the occasion was marked by several performances and installations, a water dispenser in some form seems to have been a favourite. It is fortunate that Subramania Iyer's interpretation of that for Mylapore had the canopy added to it. Apart from providing shade, the canopy is all that remains of the gift, with the water fountain having run dry long ago and completely removed from this structure!

Leading lady

So there is at least one place where the lady still reigns supreme. Any guesses as to where this statue of Queen Victoria can be seen?

Public place

Madras celebrated Queen Victoria's golden jubilee in 1887 by raising two public buildings. Sadly, neither of them is in popular use today, but the Victoria Public Hall, in the photograph, is at least accessible and is used by a set of people belonging to the South Indian Athletic Association. Designed for use by the public at large, it has seen a fair number of gatherings, both public and private, under its roof. With a combined seating capacity of almost 1500, split across two levels, Victoria Public Hall was used for balls, stage performances and public meetings; all one had to do to hire the Hall was to persuade the board of trustees managing its affairs that the purpose was related to "moral, social and intellectual welfare" or was "rational recreation".

The building still looks grand from the outside, but the core is rotten. The stairs leading up to the first floor threaten imminent collapse, while the ones going up the tower have already carried out that threat. Designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm - who had also designed other grand buildings like those of the College of Arts and Crafts, the Senate House of the University of Madras and the Chennai Central Railway Station - and built by Namberumal Chetty, the masonry of the building looks sturdy enough to spring back to life. If you take a look through the open windows, you can see the coloured glass panes above the inner doors, giving you a hint of how wondrous it must have been in its heyday.

Maybe those days might yet come back, with the Corporation of Chennai having taken over this property from the board of trustees. Though they have brought down the perimeter wall - and the old sign saying "Victoria Town Hall", I hope they will restore this building in such a way as to open it up again for public performances!

This is my 500th post about Chennai (Madras) on this blog!

A faithful subject

Goday Narayana Gajapathi Rao has good reason to be thankful to Queen Victoria. It was she who, in 1881, elevated him from being a zamindar (holder of land) to being a Raja (King). The newly annointed Raja looked around for a fitting gesture of gratitude and decided on a statue in honour of the Queen Empress. And he timed it well; the statue took a while to be completed, but was ready in time for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

And so the statue was unveiled on June 20, 1887. It was placed near the main entrance to the Senate House (of the University of Madras), on its southern side, looking across the road to the Chepauk Palace. Initially, the gates were right next to the statue and everyone coming in to the Senate House had to pass her scrutiny. Over time, the entrance gates shifted westwards. The statue moved out of immediate line-of-sight and now, it takes an effort for the preoccupied passer-by on Wallajah Road to look up and see the Queen.

Raja Goday's gratitude thankfully did not end with putting up this statue. He also founded the Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medical School in Vizagapatnam. It is quite likely he would be very upset with the way things are today - his Queen's statue ignored and the medical school renamed as Andhra Medical College. I wonder what the faithful subject would say!