Pudukottai’s heritage institution gets a makeover

Over a century after it was established, His Highness the Rajah’s College in Pudukottai is wearing a new look, thanks to a host of initiatives that helped the 143-year-old institution evolve with the times.

Over a century after it was established, His Highness the Rajah’s College in Pudukottai is wearing a new look, thanks to a host of initiatives that helped the 143-year-old institution evolve with the times.

The college, founded by the erstwhile Thondaiman royal family of Pudukottai in 1880, counts Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first woman physician of southern India, as its alumna, besides many other achievers from a rural background.

“We had not applied for certification by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for the past 13 years. Since we can apply for this only with all the criteria in place, we have been slowly working to upgrade ourselves,” Principal C. Thiruchelvam told The Hindu.

As a first step, an open drain running through the nine acre heritage campus was closed and diverted to the right channel outside last year. “The space that we were able to save has served as the site for a modern library. It is being built on a budget of ₹6 crore, with ₹2 crore from the Namakku Naame scheme,” said Mr. Thiruchelvam.

Energy saving ideas such as a 5KW solar power grid, and LED lighting have made the college cut down on electricity usage. The entire campus has been planted with Korean grass to increase the greenery.

The college has been mentoring its Botany and Zoology department students to explore ideas such as mulberry farming and silkworm rearing, vermicompost manufacture and farmed fish. “The Zoology department had started a pond to farm fish, along with a rainwater harvesting project. One of our students has reared fish sold his catch within campus for ₹3,500. Our in-house vermicompost plant run by students has produced stock of 1,000 kg which we will be selling this week in Pudukottai town,” said Mr. Thiruchelvam.