In this series, we take a trip down memory lane, back to the Madras of the 1900s, as we unravel tales and secrets of the city through its most iconic personalities and episodes.
A photo of the college during its early days and (right) some of the nuns who took care of the students
Chennai:
Stella Maris was not the first woman’s college in Madras. Queen Mary’s and WCC had been in existence for 40 years but it was still tough to get parents to send their daughters to college in Madras. There was a population boom in Madras during the post-war forties and many colleges were established during that time. Vivekananda, Ethiraj, and Stella Maris were a few mong them other than AC Tech and MIT.
During the 1870s, The Apostolic Vicariate of Madurai had plenty of dissension and 20 nuns had to walk away, reuniting at Ooty under the leadership of Hélène Marie Philippine. The ambitious and hard-working French nun obtained the authorisation from Pope Pius IX to establish the Missionaries of Mary. By the time she died, it grew into a worldwide organisation with 2,000 religious and educational establishments scattered across the four continents.
The Santhome institution was named Stella Maris after Virgin Mary - Our Lady, Star of the Sea being an ancient title for her. The Manueline tradition of naming and designing structures with connections with the sea was quite common in seafaring European towns.
Only 32 students enrolled into the one storeyed college as collegiate education wasn’t considered safe in orthodox Madras. The nuns had to go house to house in Mylapore and Santhome and cajole the parents to let their daughters join the new institution. Soon, as the confidence grew so did the number of students and soon, the college needed more space. It was becoming crowded in Santhome with the ten-year-old Rosary Matriculation School also in the same campus. So, in 1960 they moved to a set of buildings owned by the church – The Cloisters.
A garden bungalow with a small stream that flowed beside, the Cloisters had actually belonged to the ill-fated Demonte who, despite being the wealthiest man in Madras, was severely short of peace. His son died driving his wife insane and Demonte left his entire wealth to the church. In 1887 the Arch Bishops of Mylapore starting from Henriques da Silva stayed at the Cloisters a garden bungalow and thereafter it was maintained as a convent for 45 nuns.
It was a quaint little building with teak staircases, floor tiles from Europe and a little bit of French architecture to put them all together. The access to the Cloisters was then from Binny Road leading to Poe’s garden along with other garden bungalows.
The Cloister had recently been in news during the forties when the Collector of Madras fearing a Japanese bombing moved his office there. Everyone, not just the general public but even government offices were being moved away from the coast fearing a seaborne invasion.
In 1960, the Vice-President of India Dr S Radhakrishnan declared open the new buildings of the college classes, hostel and an open-air theatre.
But, running a girls’ college wasn’t easy for a bunch of nuns who took it very seriously. In the early 60s, nuns both Indian and expat, in white habits and headgear, glided throughout the college being ever watchful guardians. The nuns were strict to the extent that they were allotted perimeter duty which involved staring at the compound walls so that no girl could dare to scale it to communicate with outsiders. There was also a nun who stood next to the watchman to prevent the girls from bribing him.
Saturday afternoons was the time for girls to enjoy a day out but they had to be back by 6 pm. Most of the students, excited at the prospect of freedom, would rush off to Mount Road and the beach but returning on time was important. If someone returned a minute late, she was denied permission for outings for weeks.
The college was also conservative when it came to the students’ attire. The girls had to wear dresses that fell to their knees. For the nuns, the longer the skirt the better it was, and most of them had a pair of scissors on them to mercilessly remove the hems of skirts found too short.
The students, however, often found ways to break the strict rules. The day scholars brought romance books like the Mills and Boons with them and hostellers hid or clandestinely traded them for they were confiscated when discovered. But if there was something that the nuns hated more than romantic novels, it was male visitors. Especially those who introduced calling themselves as “brothers”. “Your brother is not her brother,” the nuns would say when girls tried to convince them of the depth of their sibling love.
Although students are handled differently now, but Stella Maris like its name, still shines a lofty star in the empowerment of women in Chennai.
The writer is a historian and author
It was on 15 August 1947 when the country severed its 300-year-old umbilical cord from the largest empire the world had seen.
And in a small way, Indians got to exhibit their aspiration in Santhome where a women’s college was started.
Stella Maris was not the first woman’s college in Madras. Queen Mary’s and WCC had been in existence for 40 years but it was still tough to get parents to send their daughters to college in Madras. There was a population boom in Madras during the post-war forties and many colleges were established during that time. Vivekananda, Ethiraj, and Stella Maris were a few mong them other than AC Tech and MIT.
During the 1870s, The Apostolic Vicariate of Madurai had plenty of dissension and 20 nuns had to walk away, reuniting at Ooty under the leadership of Hélène Marie Philippine. The ambitious and hard-working French nun obtained the authorisation from Pope Pius IX to establish the Missionaries of Mary. By the time she died, it grew into a worldwide organisation with 2,000 religious and educational establishments scattered across the four continents.
The Santhome institution was named Stella Maris after Virgin Mary - Our Lady, Star of the Sea being an ancient title for her. The Manueline tradition of naming and designing structures with connections with the sea was quite common in seafaring European towns.
Only 32 students enrolled into the one storeyed college as collegiate education wasn’t considered safe in orthodox Madras. The nuns had to go house to house in Mylapore and Santhome and cajole the parents to let their daughters join the new institution. Soon, as the confidence grew so did the number of students and soon, the college needed more space. It was becoming crowded in Santhome with the ten-year-old Rosary Matriculation School also in the same campus. So, in 1960 they moved to a set of buildings owned by the church – The Cloisters.
A garden bungalow with a small stream that flowed beside, the Cloisters had actually belonged to the ill-fated Demonte who, despite being the wealthiest man in Madras, was severely short of peace. His son died driving his wife insane and Demonte left his entire wealth to the church. In 1887 the Arch Bishops of Mylapore starting from Henriques da Silva stayed at the Cloisters a garden bungalow and thereafter it was maintained as a convent for 45 nuns.
It was a quaint little building with teak staircases, floor tiles from Europe and a little bit of French architecture to put them all together. The access to the Cloisters was then from Binny Road leading to Poe’s garden along with other garden bungalows.
The Cloister had recently been in news during the forties when the Collector of Madras fearing a Japanese bombing moved his office there. Everyone, not just the general public but even government offices were being moved away from the coast fearing a seaborne invasion.
In 1960, the Vice-President of India Dr S Radhakrishnan declared open the new buildings of the college classes, hostel and an open-air theatre.
But, running a girls’ college wasn’t easy for a bunch of nuns who took it very seriously. In the early 60s, nuns both Indian and expat, in white habits and headgear, glided throughout the college being ever watchful guardians. The nuns were strict to the extent that they were allotted perimeter duty which involved staring at the compound walls so that no girl could dare to scale it to communicate with outsiders. There was also a nun who stood next to the watchman to prevent the girls from bribing him.
Saturday afternoons was the time for girls to enjoy a day out but they had to be back by 6 pm. Most of the students, excited at the prospect of freedom, would rush off to Mount Road and the beach but returning on time was important. If someone returned a minute late, she was denied permission for outings for weeks.
The college was also conservative when it came to the students’ attire. The girls had to wear dresses that fell to their knees. For the nuns, the longer the skirt the better it was, and most of them had a pair of scissors on them to mercilessly remove the hems of skirts found too short.
The students, however, often found ways to break the strict rules. The day scholars brought romance books like the Mills and Boons with them and hostellers hid or clandestinely traded them for they were confiscated when discovered. But if there was something that the nuns hated more than romantic novels, it was male visitors. Especially those who introduced calling themselves as “brothers”. “Your brother is not her brother,” the nuns would say when girls tried to convince them of the depth of their sibling love.
Although students are handled differently now, but Stella Maris like its name, still shines a lofty star in the empowerment of women in Chennai.
The writer is a historian and author