The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Madras varsity launches a "manhunt"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 05, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Madras varsity launches a "manhunt"

Vani Doraisamy

GUIDED TOUR: Architect P.T. Krishnan of the Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage taking members of the UK delegation for higher education on a tour of the Senate House on Thursday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: The University of Madras' `historical gaze' is now turned Britain-ward. As the under-restoration Senate House is getting ready to show the world its renovated face, the varsity is now looking to trace its former British Vice-Chancellors.

From its inception in 1857 till now, the varsity has had 40 Vice-Chancellors, half of whom are British.

"We want them all with us when the Senate House renovation is completed next year. Should some of them not be alive, we want at least their family members with us when the Senate House is thrown open to the public in February next year. Their presence will make all the difference in the university's 150th year celebrations. We will be grateful if you could help us locate them,'' the present Vice-Chancellor S.P. Thyagarajan told Bill Rammell, U.K. Minister for Education, who visited the varsity on Thursday as head of a British higher education delegation. Mr. Rammell, for his part, assured Mr. Thyagarajan of all help in the search.

The university's first V-C was Sir Christopher Rawlinson (1857). The construction of the Senate House began under the stewardship of Sir Colley Scotland in 1869 and was completed under W Holloway in 1873. The masterpiece, a combination of the best of Indo-Saracenic, Byzantine and European styles, was the dream project of architect Robert F Chisholm.

Out of the Rs. 6-crore renovation budget, the university has so far raised Rs 4 crores from business houses, philanthropists and its alumnae while Rs. 1 crore has come as a grant from the Ministry of Human Resources Development. A $ 35,000 grant came from the U.S. Ambassador's Fund.

"We foresee no problem in finishing the restoration by the scheduled time of February next year,'' Mr. Thyagarajan said. After restoration, a Senate House Restoration and Maintenance Trust would take over the maintenance of the building and it would be made self-sustaining by renting it out conventions, conferences and music festivals.

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