The spirit of ancient Greece still pervades George Town in Chennai

Iconic Pachaiyappa's Hall in George Town, Chennai, traces its history to a philanthropist's vision from two centuries ago.

Walking through the stretch of N.S.C. Bose Road at George Town, one would rarely miss a glimpse of several iconic buildings emerging above the busy business outlets. But a majestic building, with a facade resembling the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, the capital of Greece, traces its history to almost two centuries.

The building has six tall Doric columns that support the pediment engraved with the word ‘Pachaiyappan’, referring to Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, a great philanthropist of the 18th Century. Though it is an eye-catcher, one would most likely miss the narrow entrance of Pachaiyappa’s Hall, what with the buzzing business outlets and chaotic parking of vehicles opposite the Broadway bus depot.

According to the records available with Pachaiyappa’s College, the genesis of the building was in the will of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, who was born into a humble family in 1754. He worked hard and rose to become a ‘dubash’ (translator) and amassed fortunes. In 1794, during his last days, Pachaiyappa Mudaliar made a will to donate his properties for charity work, especially towards religious services and establishment of educational institutions.

However, the execution of the will ran into legal challenges. After a legal battle that lasted decades, it was George Norton, an Advocate-General, who managed to recover much of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar’s properties to form a trust. In 1842, the board of trustees decided to start Pachaiyappa’s Central Institution, a school aimed at providing free education in English, besides Tamil and Telugu, to the weaker sections of Hindus.

Initially, the school — a precursor to Pachaiyappa’s College — functioned on rented premises. Later, on October 2, 1846, George Norton laid the foundation for the Pachaiyappa’s Hall at Esplanade. The iconic hall, resembling the Temple of Hephaestus, was thrown open on March 20, 1850, and the Pachaiyappa Central Institution started functioning at the new building. After a few years, the primary school was upgraded as a high school.

Considering the popular demand for higher education in Madras, which had only a couple of colleges, the board of trustees decided to make the institution a college in 1880, with affiliation to Madras University, to offer intermediate classes. In 1889, it was upgraded as a first-grade college and separated from the high school.

In 1892, Governor-General of India Lord Lansdowne presided over the Golden Jubilee of the institution celebrated at Pachaiyappa’s Hall. The century-old hall witnessed speeches of stalwarts and leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi. Madras Mahajana Sabha, one of the oldest political institutions formed in south India, conducted its inaugural conference at Pachaiyappa’s Hall in 1884.