A plea for Pachaiyappa’s Hall in Chennai

Now that the Victoria Community Hall has been restored and the restoration of that other famous case, the Bharat Insurance Building, has begun, my mind wanders to other grand buildings awaiting a better future. The GPO, shoddily restored after an entirely preventable fire, is at least functional, but the Bank of Madras (State Bank of India) Building in Rajaji Salai is not. I wonder what awaits him. I know that Gokhale Hall on Armenian Street will soon undergo restoration. But the place I am most worried about is Pachaiyappa Hall on NSC Bose Road. Due mostly to reliance on news of legal wrangling, little seems to be being done about this historic structure.

In terms of major public venues in the city, Pachaiyappa’s Hall stood first, at least as far as Indians were concerned. This was the first project of the eponymous trust, which was created to manage Pachaiyappa Mudaliar’s estate after decades of litigation. The foundation came into existence in 1832, but legal complications further delayed matters and the first meeting only took place in 1841. This resulted in the birth of the Patcheappah Central Institute in January 1842, which became the feeder of the Madras High School founded a year earlier. The second would be Presidency College.

The foundation stone of the hall was laid by Madras Attorney General George Norton on 2 October 1846. Photo taken in 2005 | Photo Credit: M. Srinath

Patcheappah Central Institute operated out of a rented building that appears to be where the Hall is now located. Records state that this place belongs to the Hindu Literary Society. In 1844 the trustees applied for land near the General Hospital to build a new schoolhouse, and when this application was rejected they purchased the land on which they had operated until then. The design was entrusted to junior military engineer Captain Ludlow. The need was for a building that could house a school and a hall. In response, Ludlow came up with a neo-classical design said to be based on the temple of Theseus in Athens. The foundation stone was laid by Madras Advocate General George Norton on 2 October 1846. He was one of the key factors behind interpreting Pachaiyappa’s will and making sure that its surplus was earmarked for education.

strong foundation

in his job Imperial Speeches, Indo-Britishes and South Indian Architecture (Yoda Press, 2007), Shanti Jayewardene Pillai gives us details on how Pachaiyappa Hall was built. Pits were dug deep and allowed to dry, upon which a bed of river sand was spread, which was then pounded to a three-foot rock-like consistency. Next came the foundation, consisting of bricks six feet deep; “each row was compacted and leveled to prevent cracks.” The scaffolding was installed independently of the structure being built within it, so there was no need to drill any holes to support it. The author concluded that this sensitivity is the reason why Pachaiyappa Hall still stands despite decades of neglect.

Pachaiyappa’s Hall continues to stand tall despite being neglected. Photo taken in August 2024 | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Completed on 20 March 1850 and declared open that day by Governor Sir Henry Pottinger, the building consists of two distinct parts: the auditorium, overlooking the road from the first floor, and the school behind, spread over two rooms, each standing around a central courtyard. Two schools operated here: Pachaiyappa’s, which became a college in 1889, and Arneri Govindu Naicker’s, which started education in 1865. Pachaiyappa’s College was moved from here to Chetput in the 1940s but it cannot be forgotten that perhaps its best-known graduate – CN Annadurai – was still studying while NSC was on Bose Road.

The auditorium, which was actually Pachiayappa’s Hall, was the venue for major public events. Madras’ protest against income tax in 1860 began from here. And in 1887, the Madras Jubilee Gayan Samaj was founded here, perhaps kickstarting the city’s journey towards organized fine arts. The hall, a massive rectangle protected from public view by a series of Ionic columns, is entered through a massive door with two doors made of rosewood. The floor of the hall is also wooden. High ceilings with fans provide coolness.

need for restoration

Today Pachaiyappa’s Hall is collapsing. The plaster in various parts fell away, revealing the bricks underneath. The windows are just frames and the interior is gloomy. The State government, which has done excellent work on restoration in recent times, should encourage the Pachaiyappa Foundation to carry out similar work on the hall and support it with funds if necessary. Considering its importance to the city, using state funds to restore a private building would be a pioneering effort. Once completed, the hall can be used for events and operated for its own maintenance. These should be such as to encourage the use of public transport as the Metrorail seamlessly connects Pachaiyappa Hall with the rest of the city.

(Sriram V. is an author and historian.)

It was published – 14 January 2026 07:00 IST