Nation builder

What first caught the eye was the proclamation on the pedestal: "A National Leader...". Usually such bombastic terms are used for local politicians, so it was a surprise seeing these words for a statue inside the YMCA campus at Nandanam. But a quick search shows that Puthenpurayil Mathew Joseph is indeed a national leader for his work in the field of physical education, and he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1967. 

It seems to have been quite by chance that he got into that field. It was not that Joseph needed to be told about the benefits of exercise and sports; he was very much into it, even as a young chemist in Madras' leather industry of the 1920s. His daily sport and exercise routine at the George Town YMCA was what caught the attention of Harry Crowe Buck, who had founded the YMCA College of Physical Education in 1920. Buck persuaded the young Joseph that there was a future in sports and had him complete his course at the College. Joseph then went to Madurai as the Physical Education Director of the American College there. Buck encouraged Joseph to study further, and helped him receive a scholarship to study at Springfield College, Mass., USA where he met James Naismith (the 'inventor' of basketball). 

Coming back to India in the early 1930s, James joined Buck to teach at the YMCA-CPE, but moved out to become the first Principal of the Government College of Physical Education at Bombay. As India became independent, James, now back in Madras as the Principal of the YMCA-CPE, was tapped to be part of the drafting committee for the National Plan for Physical Education. Part of that plan was to set up institutions to train instructors and coaches; and in 1957, James left Chennai again, to go to Gwalior as the first Principal of the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, and stayed on there till his retirement in 1967. His love for sport and fitness must have been instrumental in his having a long life; he passed away in 1999, when he was 95 years old (I must get back to that strange coincidence of the dates!). The one person who beat him at that was his wife, who passed away in 2013, when she was 105!

Books all around

This gentleman was obviously very pleased to be at the Chennai Book Fair, which is in its 46th edition this year. The last day is today, and if you haven't gone over yet, do so as soon as you can. There are at least 700 stalls there - and there are a whole bunch of un-numbered stalls, so if someone tells me that there are 1,000 stalls there, I would believe it to be true - especially if you count all the booksellers on the pavement outside the YMCA Nandanam, who are there only because of the Book Fair, to also be book stalls. 

This year, for the first time, there was an exclusive International Book Fair built into the regular event. Although that was only over 3 days, it had publishers from over 30 countries participating. Didn't have a chance to see how that was, but from all accounts, it will be back next year. And a Sri Lankan publisher seems to have become part of the main event itself, so the international representation will continue even after the IBF has formally ended.

The other first for this event is an exclusive stall for LGBTQ+; works by and for members of the community, published by Queer Publishing House, an arm of the Trans Rights Now Collective. They have managed to stay on at Stall No. 28, which was the one originally allotted to them, despite attempts to push them out of sight. BAPASI, the association that has been running this Book Fair has certainly taken a leap of faith with letting them participate; hope they continue to keep the faith in the years ahead!

 

Track, field

Because today is the 120th anniversary of the modern Olympic games, here is a picture of a Chennai landmark that was instrumental in the birth of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Although India did not feature in the 1896 games at Athens, there was an 'Indian' who participated in the 1900 games in Paris. And then, for a generation, the Olympic games were of no consequence to the natives of India. It was in 1920 that Sir Dorabji Tata rushed in a team to the Olympic games at Antwerp - four athletes and two wrestlers. Thanks to that effort, Sir Dorabji was inducted into the International Olympic Committee. As a member of the IOC, Sir Dorabji made sure the selections for the 1924 Paris Olympic games were properly conducted, through the first Inter-State Athletic Meet at Delhi. 

The technical inputs for conducting the events was provided by Dr.A.G.Noehren who was then the Director of the YMCA. Thanks to the YMCA's School of Physical Education in Madras, Dr. Noehren knew what went into selecting athletes. The 1924 team had 8 athletes - and three of them were from Madras. It is likely that all of them trained at the Y's School of Physical Education, which has since become the College of Physical Education, with its campus at Nandanam.

The Chennai connection with the Olympics continues. One of the medal winners at the 2012 London games  - Gagan Narang - was born in Chennai, though he was a Hyderabad resident when he won the medal. Interestingly, the current President of the IOA, N. Ramachandran, is a Chennai resident. Maybe this year's Olympic games in Rio will see some medals coming to this city!

Sports college

The first person to represent India at the Summer Olympics was the Anglo-Indian Norman Pritchard, who, it is said, was holidaying in Paris at the time of the Olympics in 1900 and was therefore persuaded to represent the country at the games. For the next twenty years, there was no India at the Olympics. In 1920, Sir Dorab Tata spearheaded the mission to send a contingent to Antwerp. That contingent comprised six sportsmen, who did not do anything that was newsworthy. That wasn't a surprise, for they had been hastily selected, and their travel uncertain, what with the money pledged coming to only about two-thirds of the estimated cost. It was Sir Dorab's personal contributions that enabled the team to go. 

Four years later, Sir Dorab was at it again. But this time, he was better prepared. He had enlisted the help of a pioneering institution in Madras - the YMCA School of Physical Education, which had been founded in 1920 by an American, Harry Crowe Buck. The Director of the YMCA, A.G.Noehren was made the secretary of the Indian Olympic Association and the selection of the sportsmen was through the 'Delhi Olympic Games'. The final contingent of eight members was evenly split between 'natives' and British / Anglo-Indians. Three of the eight were from Madras: Lakshmanan (Hurdles), Heathcote (High Jump) and Venkatramaswamy (the Mile) and the others were from Bombay, Bengal (2), Patiala and the United Provinces. H.C. Buck was the chef-de-mission and while the athletes did not really cover themselves in glory, they acquitted themselves well enough to ignite the Olympic movement in India. 

Since 1920, India has not missed any of the Olympics. The school started by Buck has now grown into the YMCA College of Physical Education, working out of a 64-acre campus in Nandanam, in the centre of the city. The picture shows one of the fields on the campus. The runner appears to be more fitness enthusiast than Olympic hopeful!

Boys' Town

The concept of a "Boys' Town" was born in 1921 when Fr Edward Flanagan of Omaha, Nebraska, began to work towards building a boys' orphanage as a 'City of Little Men', emphasizing the development of socially useful skills which would help the inmates in making their livelihood once they had to leave the orphanage.


Since then, the model has been adopted by several institutions caring for orphaned children. The term has itself become so generic that there seem to be several Boys' Towns across cities, sometimes even within the same city. This one run by the YMCA near Fort St George is the oldest in Chennai, having had its origins as a Street Boys' Club. It was only in 1947, after the YMCA was given this space to provide accommodation for the children, that the Street Boys' Club came to be called Boys Town.


Today, the Boys Town provides secondary education for over 2000 children, followed by vocational training. That's apart from the orphanage services it provides. Hard to imagine so many of them in such a small space outside the Fort!

Men's building

I did say earlier that the YMCA building has a story to tell for itself, after my first attempt was hijacked by the 'founder' of the YMCA in India, David McConaughy. In the early days of its life, the Madras YMCA operated from the premises of the Church of England's Temperance Institute. Within five years, the YMCA was ambitious - and maybe wealthy - enough to think of an exclusive building for itself. Though the foundation stone for this building was laid in 1895, it took five years to be completed. When done, it was inaugurated by Governor Arthur Havelock, who had taken pains to provide constant, detailed inputs to the Government Architect, G.S.T. Harris who was in charge of designing this building.

Maybe those design inputs were a cause of the delay in completing this building, but the larger reason seems to have been a lack of funds. The YMCA then got in touch with John Nelson Wanamaker, a Philadelphia businessman and former Postmaster General of the USA (1889 - 1893), who in 1857 had become the first paid Secretary of the YMCA in the USA. It is said that John Wanamaker gave $40,000 for constructing this building; a biography of his, while it does not mention the amount, credits him as having "... erected YMCA buildings in Madras, India; Seoul, Korea; Kyoto, Japan; Peking, China; Calcutta, India..." and also having an interest in the Allahabad (India) Christian College. Be that as it may, the money helped Namberumal Chetty get on with completing this building.

The intricate detailing with red sandstone - from the quarries of Tada - ensure this building stands out from its neighbours on NSC Bose Road. One wishes that the YMCA ensures those letters (can you see them on the central balcony of the top floor?) also stand out as distinctly!

Male preserve

In over a century of its presence in the city, the Madras YMCA has established only 8 branches. Considering that two of the branches are the "Boys' Town" near the Fort St George and at Kottivakkam (which also houses the YMCA Working Women's Hostel), one assumes that the Young Men have been rather selective about where they would like to be present, even if they have been rather open minded about providing facilities for women.

Though the movement started in England, it is surprising that the request for an expert to help set up a YMCA in Madras was passed on to a certain David McConaughy in the USA. In response to that call, McConaughy arrived at Madras in January 1890 and within a month, the Madras YMCA was in operation. Though he was close to 70 when he arrived in Madras, he was not content with that one achievement. McConaughy set about organising the National Council of YMCAs of India and within a year, he had accomplished that, too. The National Council of YMCAs of India was formed in Madras on February 21, 1891. That was quite some speed, but you must remember that David McConaughy, for all his advancing years, was no doddering old man. He was a supporter of Abraham Lincoln, and had passed on vital information about Confederate troop movements to the Unionists, thereby playing a crucial role in the defeat of General Robert E. Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he not only organised the Gettysburg chapter of the YMCA, but also bought up land on Cemetery Hill, which was later to become the National Cemetery, at the dedication of which President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. In all likelihood, David McConaughy returned to his native Pennsylvania in early 1891; Madras does not appear to have held any fascination for him.

That tale has diverted attention from the building in the photograph, the headquarters of the Madras YMCA, overseeing the 8 branches int the city. Not included in the list of the branches of the Madras YMCA is the College of Physical Education, which was initially in this building, but went on to its own space at Nandanam. That is another story and will have to keep for another day!