Memoirs of Maharaja College, Mysore by Prof S. Naganath

"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but 
 to be young was very heaven" 
                                                               - William Wordsworth


Introduction

Maharaja College, Mysore (1920s)

The college finds its origins in the English-school known as "Maharaja Patashala" established by Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar III in 1833, at the request of a British officer, General Fraser. Subsequently it became a High School, and in 1868, after the death of Maharaja was handed over to the Government of Mysore. In 1879, the college was upgraded and became affiliated with University of Madras. The foundation stone of the present building was laid by Prince Albert Victor of Wales during his tour of India on November 27, 1889 in Mysore, during the reign of Chamarajendra Wadiyar X. It was upgraded to the first grade college in 1894. The college remained affiliated to the University of Madras till establishment of Mysore University in 1916 by Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Sir M. Visveswaraya. The college is 180 years old and the University is 98 years old. 

Personal Musings

When I joined Maharaja College in 1969 to do my B.A. degree in English literature &

R. K. Narayan and C. D. Narasimaiah

Political Science as my Major subjects and sociology as my minor subject, it inspired in us great expectations. In the year 1960, after the formation of the new Manasa Gangotri campus, almost all the post graduate departments were shifted to the new campus from Maharaja College. A few years before my admission, Jnanapeeta awardee Kuvempu and Padma Bhushana Prof C. D. Narasimaiaha were principals of this college. Kuvempu during his Vice-Chancellorship promoted Kannada language and literature. 

We had 22 boys and one girl student in major English class and about 80 students in political science. Prince Srikanta Dutta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar had chosen the same subjects and hence he was our classmate. My friendship with him lasted for six years, even after he branched out in Manasa Gangotri to do his M.A. in political science. I remained loyal to English literature and did my M.A. under the aegis of Prof C. D. Narasimaiah. 

To trace the history of Maharaja College and its hoary past, some of these books will be useful. 

1. "Memoirs of my college life" by V. Seetaramaiah (1917 - 1922)
2. "Nenapina Doniyali" - Kuvempu's autobiography
3. "Neralugalannu Bennathi" by Dr C. N. Ramachandra (1954 - 1959)
4. "Aaptaru Acharyaru” by Dr T. V. Venkatachala Sastry  (2005) 
5. "Sirigannada Saraswataru" by Prof G. Venkatasubbaiah and also in the writings of H. Y. Sharada Prasad, S. L. Bhyrappa, Dr U. R. Anantamurthy, Dr H. K. Ranaganath and Bapu Ramanna. 

The English Department

Maharaja College, Mysore (B.A. - 1972)

I was extremely fortunate when I joined Maharaja College in 1969 to come across the best English faculty who were of international standard. The English department was headed by Prof S. Gururaja Rao, the well known stage and film actor. I still remember the English play "The Importance of being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde staged by his troupe in CFTRI auditorium. He had acted in such Kannada films as "Chandavalli Thota", "Subba Bhatta" and "Kaadu". He taught us Ben Johnson and Bernard Shaw. Another famous teacher was Dr C. D. Govinda Rao who was the first person to take an English PhD from Mysore University. He had done research on an novel topic "The 19th Century British Fiction as a tool of education". He excelled himself in teaching us the 19th century fiction with reference to George Elliot, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. I can never forget a classroom quote of his - "Matrimony is a matter of money" in connection with Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice". 

Another teacher who impressed us most was Prof S. Anantanarayan. He was a freedom fighter

Prof S. Anantanarayan

who came to college wearing a Khadi panche and Khadi shirt. He was known for his sense of humor and informal relationship with students. He was a well known Kannada poet, essayist, novelist, dramatist and critic. He taught us Ibsen (An Enemy of the People), Galsworthy and Oliver Goldsmith. Another memorable teacher was Prof Mylari Rao. He took four months to teach us Thomas Gray's "Elegy written in a country churchyard". Through his theatricals he successfully converted Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and "Hamlet" into comedies. After the departure of Prof S. Gururaja Rao as Principal of Yuvaraja College, we received Prof Putmadappa as our Head of the Department.  He was known for his sartorial elegance with his collection of fifty odd suits and a permanent cigar in his mouth. He also owned race horses and was seen in race club. He was a pukka British gentleman. He taught us 20th Century modern poetry with special emphasis on Rupert Brooke, Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Smt. Sethu Savitri, another lecturer taught us the history of English language. Maj. Ramaswamy another colourful figure taught us George Eliot's "Silas Marner". We had formed an English literary club in Maharaja College. The following guest lectures were arranged by us :-

1. Prof Chanda on "A Passage to India"
2. Dr U. R. Anantamurthy on "William Blake"
3. Prof H. H. Annaiah Gowda on "Shakespeare" 
4. Prof Bhagavan (Maharani's College) "Odes" by Keats.

Political Science Department

The Political Science Department was headed by Prof K. B. Y. Thotappa who was also principal of the college. We were most impressed by Prof Rudregowda (who passed away a few months ago) for his erudition, memory and fluency in English. He taught us political theory in first year B.A. In final year B.A. he taught us five constitutions of the world - India, U. K., U. S. A, U. S. S. R and Switzerland. His memory was phenomenal and he would quote every article of the constitution without referring to the text. He was a strict disciplinarian. The department also had Prof Eshwarachar, Smt. Cauvery, Chambi Puranik, Gurumurthy and Ashwini Ranjan. Prof Eshwarachar was a senior experienced teacher with a friendly smile on his face always. 

Sociology Department

It was headed by Prof G. Narayan who came to the class dressed impeccably in his suit. He was known for sober teaching and helping us from the examination point of view. We were also met by Prof Kempegowda and Smt. Sumitra Bai. We admired our charming lady lecturer, who later married my classmate Devanur Mahadeva. The madam was punctual and meticulous in her teaching schedule. 

Kannada Department

Sharath Chandra Chattarjee

It was headed by Prof Nanjunadiah, the doyen of Kannada Classical literature. He made the poetry of Pampa, Ranna and Janna come alive in the class room. His sound scholarship impressed us all. Prof Narayana Shetty taught us the novel "Charitraheena" by Sharath Chandra Chatterjee. Dr Chandriah who was known as English Chandriah because he taught like V. Seetaramiah (Kannada through English). !! He also happened to teach us a book of criticism called "Kavi Kavya Drishti" by V. Seetaramaiah. Prof Anantaram had just then joined Kannada Department and he had visited 1970 Tokyo Expo as a student delegate. Today he writes on various topics including Philosophy. His work on South Canara is a monumental contribution. 

College Library

"Punch" Magazine

The original Maharaja College Library became finally the University library and later it was shifted to Manasa Gangotri. But the college library still held venerable old volumes. The library stacks made of teak wood on one and two tier basis resembled Bodleian library, Oxford. We could have walked in the upper tier aisle looking for a rare book. The college reference library situated in first floor contained rare and precious books. The college reading room used to receive forty newspapers and thirty magazines and fifteen journals. I always enjoyed reading "Time", "Newsweek", "Life", "Illustrated London News" and "Punch". I do not think any other undergraduate library received so many magazines and journals. 

Our Illustrious Classmates & Contemporaries

1. Prince Srikanta Dutta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar - four times M. P. 
2. Eshwar Daidota - Journalist and Editor
3. Magician Shankar
4. Narasimhaswamy - University Wrestler & Mayor of Nanjangud
5. Anwar Manipadi - Former Chairman of Minorities Commission
6. M. K. Shankarlinge Gowda - Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister S. M. Krishna
7. Reginald Wesley - Commandant of Special Protection Group in charge of Security of Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
8. Ashoka Vardhana - Book Seller & Environmentalist
9. Suresh Kumar Salian - Commercial Tax Officer and Body Builder.
10. Nadoja Devanur Mahadeva - Well known dalit writer

    

    Dr K. Shivaram Karanth

Luminaries who visited Maharaja Campus 

1. Jnanapeeta awardee Dr K. Shivaram Karanth
2. Jnanapeeta awardee Dr D. R. Bendre
3. Jnanapeeta awardee K. V. Puttappa
4. Jnanapeeta awardee Umashankar Joshi 
5. Jnanapeeta awardee Dr V. K. Gokak

All the great Carnatic Classical Musicians have performed in Maharaja College, Centenary Hall under the aegis of one cultural

organisation or the other. I wish to name some musicians who visited during our student days. 

M. S. Subbalakshmi

1. Bharata Rathna M. S. Subbalakshmi
2. Madurai Somasundaram
3. Lalgudi Jayaraman
4. Shemmanagudi Srinivas Iyer
5. M. L. Vasantha Kumari

Sports Environment

In my limited experience, no college in India offered such wonderful sports facilities as Maharaja College. The sports pavilion was a great attraction to students in the evenings. The best sports facilities for the following games were available. 

1. Akada for wrestlers
2. Gymnasium
3. Cricket Pitch
4. Hockey & Football grounds
5. Two Basketball courts
6. Kho Kho
7. Volleyball
8. Badminton
9. Shuttlecock
10. Table Tennis
11. Athletics - running track, hurdles long jump pit and high jump pit. 
12. Swimming
13. Tennis

In most of the sports events the college boys excelled themselves at the University, State and National levels. 

NCC

In the beginning NCC was compulsory to all students. But 1969 onwards it was made optional. I think Ashoka Vardhana was an under officer in NCC, who excelled in rock climbing and cycling. 

Socio-Political Environment

Jayprakash Narayan

The Maharaja College had on its rolls some three thousand students. We only had fifty girl students. The indiscriminate admission process had brought about a decline in the standard of education. We still had some foreign students like Sena Naike(Srilanka), Joseph MacManyala (Kenya), Olang bode Obobode (Nigeria) and Randir Bucha (Mauritius) etc. Later these students also got disillusioned with poor teaching and most of the teachers were not very fluent in English (apart from English department teachers). In India, during 1960s & 1970s it was two decades of social and political turmoil. The naxalite movement in West Bengal and student unrest in other parts of India was partly fuelled by overpopulation and unemployment. Jayaprakash Narayan in 1970s gave a call for "Total Revolution". The student agitation spread to other parts of India including Mysore. The Maharaja College students were politically more vocal and also had ambitions of becoming M.L.A and M.P. Hence, Strikes and agitations by students became the norm. The college student union elections acquired serious and mega dimensions. The following student agitations affected our education system.

1. Youth festival agitation
2. The anti-Hindi agitation
3. The Goa liberation agitation
4. The Expo 70 agitation
5. Gokak agitation
6. Busa Basavalingappa agitation

Because of these strikes routine academic teaching got affected. Hence my friend Ashok Vardhan calls Maharaja College as Maha - Raja (holiday) college!!! By 1984 all the Universities and colleges in Karnataka banned student union elections. It is also noteworthy that only colleges in Bangalore and Mysore were affected by these agitations. The colleges in Mangalore, Shimoga and Dharwad remained insular. 

Reasons for the decline of Maharaja College

1. Substandard faculty was recruited in 1960s and 1970s 
2. Indiscriminate admission of below average students 
3. No entrance exam for degree courses
4. Quality was ignored at the cost of quantity
5. Fanaticism concerning language and region
6. Reservation vs. Meritocracy
7. Lack of Vision and Goal
8. Deliberate neglect of Infrastructure like Library, Laboratory and Hostels.

Summing up

Prof S. Naganath

It is my wishful thinking that my old college must rank as one of the best in the country and the world once again. Except for Punjab University, none of our other Universities and colleges (including IITs) do not figure in international lists today. If good, competent and learned teaching faculty is recruited, they may need another thirty years to make Maharaja College a premier educational institution. A good faculty attracts intelligent and talented students. It is the teachers and students who make an institution great. Can we ever achieve this..? Is there any room for Optimism..? Shortly Mysore University is going to celebrate its Centenary year (2016). I sign off with grateful thanks to my Alma mater.

Yours Sincerely

Prof S. Naganath