The notable history of the Red Building

The notable history of the Red Building
by Poo.Ko. Saravanan
Translated by Azeefa

There are many prevailing general beliefs about an engineering college and the students who study there – that those nerds have no concern towards the community they are very serious people and the like. However, while reading through ‘CEG – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME’, one can understand that the history of the first engineering college in South India which has more than 200 years of legacy, is a very tasteful one. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the book is a delightful documentation of the finest chapters of the history of the hallowed institution.

When the British government was establishing itself firmly in India, there was a need for surveyors to work for the army. So, the decision to start a Surveying School was taken, based on the suggestion given by an engineer named Michael Topping and the college was started in St. George Fort in 1794. The main aim was to train the orphaned children of British soldiers who died in wars. Apart from delivering lessons in English, the students were also taught Hindustani. Books for the school were purchased with the fees received from students. Occasionally, the school was closed and again reopened due to various recurring issues.

Wood’s dispatch, the significant educational policy, opened the gates of higher education widely in India. It is because of this massive exposure, that in 1858, the Surveying School was transformed into a Civil Engineering College, which was shifted to Kalasa Mahal in Chepauk.  Professors from Madras Medical College came here to teach Chemistry. During these initial phases, no ranks or grades were provided to anyone.

When the Royal Engineering College was started in Surrey, England, several arguments were put forth stating that the Civil Engineering College must be closed once for all, because it had been used to train the downtrodden Indians only. Brushing aside these dissenters, the college continued to run. Following the Civil department, Mechanical department was introduced in the college. While the theory part for both the fields are the same, the difference lay in practical lab sessions.

The Civil Engineering College became ‘Engineering College’ at this time. Due to lack of space, in the year 1920, the college was shifted from Chepauk to Guindy, a place amidst lush thickets and forests. It was then, that the college was renamed as ‘College of Engineering, Guindy’. The college was designed by architect W.A. James, who conceived the building based on the Mughal and the Dravidian styles of architecture. With the surge and emergence of Electrical and Electronic sciences during World War I, the Electrical department was initiated. When America faced a steep economic collapse, a lot of workers from the public sector were out of their jobs and were forced to do carpentry, masonry and other jobs.

In 1959, engineering became a five-year course. Twenty-five years later, it was again changed into four years. In the system of five-year education, all students belonging to all the departments had to study the same subjects during the first couple of years. The classes

were named according to the number of years such as E1, E5, etc. The book records reveal that the electoral process allowed everyone to vote at the beginning, but it was changed after the 1965 presidential election, over which E1 and E2 were at deep loggerheads.

Raising a ‘Toast’ to the professors on their last working days and juniors bidding farewell to their seniors in the name of “Roast” had been a habitual practice. During these occasions, the audience would be regaled by hilarious and sometimes imaginary stories about those professors!

There had been ten mess halls in the college. There were also separate sections that served exclusive cuisines from Andhra, Kerala and the Northern part of India. Food was made in accordance with tastes that catered to those who had meat and those who didn’t. Cultural festivals were initiated under Professor Sugumaran, and during then, the trophies were given bearing his name. The early ones to bag the trophies were the MMC and Ethiraj College.

Tennyson’s poetic line, “RING OUT THE FALSE, RING IN THE TRUE” is engraved on the bell in the college. In the beginning, the huge bell required two people to handle and ring it! Now, the phrase “HARD WORK TRIUMPHS OVER EVERYTHING” is present in the logo of the college.

The principals, as well as the directors, have also registered their nostalgic experiences about the institution. Love, a principal, had only availed five days of leave in his vast career, spanning twenty-seven years. James, another principal, kicked off the Diwali lamps placed in the campus, and hence, the students protested against him which resulted in his ouster. Following him, Nagaratnam Iyer, became the principal of the college and he was the first Indian to hold that post.

When Nagaratnam Iyer became the principal, Indians held several important positions in the college, during the British period itself! In the 1960s, his statue was erected in the college, only to mysteriously disappear later. Its plinth was found recently in the cashier’s room and his statue was remade and erected again. Rudra, a Bengali Christian was another principal, who had the habit of declaring holidays so that the students could watch sports matches between the local teams. It was during his time that World War II began and several bunkers were built, as well as ponds to jump just in case of a fire accident. These ponds have been transformed into swimming pools now. The students of today may not even know that they are bathing in a place which is related to World War II!

There was this principal, Marley, who only awarded either a zero or a hundred during practical examinations – there was no in between! “There is no such thing as a ‘half-correct’ answer!”, he used to majestically exclaim.  K.P. Nambiar was a lecturer who excited the students by telling them, “If you’re not interested in the session, you may leave! I will mark your attendance as present”, decades back!

After Independence, Vijayaragavan, who served for a very long period as the principal in Karaikudi College, was placed here as principal. He had the maturity to refrain from micromanaging or involving himself too much, when it came to dealing with students.  Though his daughter had the eligibility to get a placement in the college, he denied doing any such perks till he was there. His daughter later becoming the head of EEE department is a different story altogether!

Satwinder Singh, an ex-cricketer and an alumnus of the college, fondly writes about his participation in the anti-Hindi protests. Two people, to whom the subject ‘Engineering drawing’ gave nightmares, went on to become famous personalities. G. Parthasarathi, fearing the subject, opted for EEE instead, and secured first position in the IAS examination at the national level and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mathan Karky, the lyricist, cleared the subject only in his fourth attempt!

Pranks such as making someone wait in a queue to buy a lath, lifting a sleeping person along with his bed and carrying him like a corpse and leaving him in the open ground all night, have also taken place! Several films were screened in the Vivekananda stadium. One such film was MGR’s Aayirathil Oruvan. The fans of MGR asked for “once more” of the songs of that movie and made everyone watch the movie for six hours! The incomes obtained through the screening of Hindi films were used to fund the lunch scheme. There was a place opposite to the canteen, known as ‘Marathadi’ (the shade under a large tree), where students used to crowd (in huge numbers!), chit-chat and have food. The shop was closed because of the overcrowded students in that place, which was also
opposite to the Women’s Hostel! During then, hopping on to the 5B bus was the only mode of transport to access the college.

As there was no Kottur bridge at that time, there was a need to cross the river to reach the other side. During workshops, the students were asked to wear sea-blue coloured pants. As the students wore jeans instead, the uniform was changed to Khaki coloured pants! Though the colours have changed, the red building keeps on enchanting us. A huge amount of effort and love has been put into this book that has been beautifully crafted by Madhuvanthi Mohan, Sibi Adhithya and others, who are alumni of the college.  The book is so compelling that one can finish reading it at a single stretch. Centuries of erstwhile sagas of the red building have been so wonderfully documented in this book. Do read it!

Poo. Ko. Saravanan, an alumnus of Guindy Engineering College is now an IRS Officer. This article was originally published in Vikatan.com and was translated by Azeefa.