TIRUCHI
Historical vignettes seem to pop out from every corner of the ‘Thevar Vilas’ in Woraiyur’s Vandikarar Street.
Once the family seat of Congressman, freedom fighter, Tiruchi Municipality chairman and sports enthusiast P. Rathnavelu Thevar (1888-1948), also known as P.R. Thevar, the stately home’s most precious furnishings are perhaps the stories and artefacts associated with him.
“This house was built over 130 years ago. My great grandfather Palaniappan Thevar was a businessman and my grandfather was his only son. As Palaniappan’s brothers were childless, my grandfather was the sole heir of the family’s fortune,” said Rathnavelu Thevar, 73, who resides here now.
Visitors to Mr. Rathnavelu’s living quarters on the first floor can see the walls adorned with photographs of the senior Thevar with leading figures of the Indian Independence movement, and cricket memorabilia, among other mementos.
“Public service and cricket were my grandfather’s twin passions. He turned down job and business offers from prominent people, and preferred to spend his life and money in public service and promoting sports,” Mr. Rathnavelu told The Hindu.
As the founder of the Trichinopoly United Cricket Club (TUCC) in 1914, Thevar brought the game out of its exclusive British confines, making the city a hub of mofussil cricket in pre-independence India.
He spent his own funds to popularise the game through the annual ‘Indians versus Europeans’ matches.
The TUCC is still functional, albeit without a ground, and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association conducts the P R Thevar Trophy under-16 inter-district tournament.
The glory days of Thevar’s twin careers can be seen in the papers and photographs that Mr. Rathnavelu picks out from assorted cupboards and boxes. “We never really got to preserve these documents properly,” said Mr. Rathnavelu apologetically, as after much persuasion by his wife, he showed an autographed picture of Lala Amarnath and Don Bradman.
Another rare photograph is that of the very first Indian cricket team, taken in 1932, when C.K. Nayudu was the captain.
As the antique grandfather clock’s pendulum swings ceaselessly, Mr. Rathnavelu recalls anecdotes about Thevar. “He was a gutsy man. Though he was very thin, he had an unbending nature. He studied in SPG School, Tiruchi, and then in Madras Christian College up to Intermediate,” he said.
Thevar dropped out before completing his exams under pressure from his uncle to get married.
“Thatha would read books [mostly on cricket] voraciously late into the night, and mark the date when he finished them,” said Mr. Rathnavelu. “Sadly only one or two of the cupboards that used to house his book collection have survived.”
Thevar Vilas, which in its original plan had 10 rooms, has also hosted many leaders such as Pandit Jawharlal Nehru, who stayed here when he visited Tiruchi in 1936. Leading political figures of the day, including Sathiamoorthy, R.K. Shangmugam Chetty, Rajaji, Pasumpom Muthuramalinga Thevar and K. Kamaraj, were also closely associated with Thevar.
Pictures on the walls show Nehru having lunch at the mansion, seated in typical southern Indian fashion with Sathiamoorthy on his left. Another shows P.R. Thevar with leading Congressmen of the day, taken just as Nehru was entering the old District Board Office (which has now become the District Central Library) in Tiruchi.
He served as Chairman of the Tiruchi Municipality for a record five terms from 1924-46 and as a member of the Legislative Council for many years. He built the imposing Municipal Public Hall in Palakkarai (now known as Thevar Hall) in 1925 to promote arts and culture in the region.
Thevar was afflicted by meningitis in 1948 while in Sri Lanka from which he never recovered. Flown back to Madras in an unconscious state, he breathed his last at the General Hospital there. He was cremated before a huge gathering in Tiruchi on June 10, 1948.
As he put away the mementoes, Mr. Rathnavelu said, “My grandfather has been forgotten in public memory. I wish more could be done to commemorate this son of the city.”