05 Princes of Presidency

So Bappa took the Madras Mail from Tellicherry, and arrived at the Madras Central Station during the summer of 1939. He enrolled himself in the prestigious Presidency College, that splendid 178-year-old building facing the Marina Beach. The Presidency College held a special place amongst the students of colonial Madras and a favourite ditty sang of the “Princes of Presidency, the Gentlemen of MCC (Madras Christian College), the Slaves of Loyola (run by the Jesuits) and the Rowdies of Pachiyappa’s”.

Bappa found himself staying in the red brick Victoria Hostel just behind the Presidency College in Triplicane. War clouds were gathering over Europe and the winds of war were about to be unleashed upon the world, but the leisurely student life in Madras ambled along. Bappa enjoyed the occasional filter coffee and the idlis and the vadais at Picchu Iyer’s small eatery near the College!

Bappa had opted for the BA (Hons) course in Economics and his Professor was Dr Franco. The then Principal of the Presidency College was the Rev. Dr. Harold Papworth, the last of the British Principals of the College. World War II had started and there was an eminent threat of Madras being bombed by the Japanese; and soon the College was closed and students including Bappa, left for their various hometowns. Bappa described to me the difficult train journey that he had to undergo to go to Tellicherry, as there was a massive exodus of people fleeing from the beleaguered city.

However after a couple of months, the College reopened and Bappa came back and to cut a long story short, completed his studies and got himself an MA in Economics. He wanted to join the Indian Civil Services but, as the war was still raging, the ICS exams were cancelled as they were normally held in London. With this opportunity out of the way, my Dad decided to go to Bombay and try his luck at getting a job!

In the meantime, as Bappa was busy swotting for his upcoming exams and going through heavy tomes written by Malthus, Hobbes and Keynes, my mother was growing up in Calicut being looked after by my great grandfather, the towering patriarch of Swargmadom. My mother’s and my father’s families were in fact related and they were cousins, living in Calicut and Tellicherry respectively. And soon both these families were going to be connected once more as we shall see later!