LIFE SKETCH

Brahmasri Pennathur Subramania Iyer was born in March, 1860 in a respectable family at Chitoor, North Arcot District, in the then Madras Presidency. His father P. Veeraraghava Iyer was, towards the close of his official career, Deputy Collector of Tirunelveli. While he was still a student of the Junior B.A. class in the Presidency College, young Subramaniam had the misfortune to lose his father.

The unexpected loss of the parent, who was the mainstay of the family, made it impossible for him to complete his University education and take his B.A. degree. In order to discharge the onerous duties of supporting his mother and younger sisters, he had to give up his college studies and take up government service, which would give him a secure employment with reasonable remuneration.

He was appointed Sub-Registrar of Tadpatri in Bellary District in 1879, which office he held till 1883. A man of active habits and unusual vigor of intellect, P.Subramaniam found the monotony and routine of his office extremely dry and uninteresting. He was thinking of taking to a congenial sphere of work, when by providential grace he became acquainted with Sir S.Subramania Iyer, K.C.I.E, LL.D one of the brightest stars in the legal firmament of Madras at that time. Sir S.Subramania Iyer advised him to study law, finding in him the requisite capacity and talents congenial to the legal profession. Accordingly, Pennathur Subramaniam studied law but was not permitted to take the B.L. degree examination as he was not a graduate. So he had to content himself with enrolling as Solicitor in the Madras High Court. Very soon he came to prominence in his new sphere and was recognized as one of the leading Solicitors of Madras at that time.

He was a man of great courage, dedication and generosity. He was graceful and elegant in his manners and moved with great aplomb among the Britishers and other Europeans in the city at that time.

He was a great lover of Nature and maintained a very beautiful garden, with a large variety of flowers of variegated colours, fragrance and sizes, at his residence in Eldams Road, Alwarpet. Often he won prizes in the garden competitions conducted by the Madras Horticulture Society for "The best kept garden" in the city. In 1890, he entered the Chennai Corporation as a Commissioner for the Mylapore Division, which seat he retained till his death in 1901. It was at his instance and through his influence that the underground drainage works were begun and completed in the Mylapore Division, replacing the open drains that had existed before as a hotbed of infections of various kinds. Two or three years before his death, he purchased the Shrotriem Estates at Minjur on the northern outskirts of Madras City.

In 1899, he was seriously laid up with an attack of rheumatism, following the unremitting work he had to perform as a Solicitor commanding an unusually large practice. He foresaw that he was not to live long and that he should take quick steps for the disposal of his property in a way to benefit his country men. Having no male issue to inherit his fortune, he thought that the best use he could make of his wealth was to utilise it for the spread of knowledge among the rising generation.

With this object in view he made his last Will and Testament by which he set apart the Shrotriems of Minjur and Ariyanvoyal for the establishment and maintenance of a Sanskrit School or any other charity which his executors, Messrs. A.Sitarama Iyer and P.S.Ganapathy Iyer, with the approval of his friend Sir S.Subramania Iyer might fix upon. After prolonged illness, lasting for more than a year, he recovered but died suddenly of heart failure on the 1st of March 1901 when he was 41 years old. By his success in life, he has shown that one can make one’s way up by dint of energy, enterprise and application. More durably than in marble or bronze, he is enshrined in the hearts of generations of his countrymen in Mylapore by his large- hearted generosity in furthering the cause of education.

P.S. Temple Green Vidyashram, started in June 2012, is a constituent Unit of P.S.Educational Society, Mylapore, Chennai headed by Shri T.S.Krishna Murthy former Chief Election Commissioner as President. The Society has been dedicated to the cause of education since 1905 and the P.S. Temple Green Vidyashram is serving the rural areas adjoining Chennai city.

The School having an area of more than 3 acres has all the infrastructure, as required – airy and well-lit class rooms, a spacious library, SMART Boards in five class rooms, well-equipped audio-visual room, labs, etc. Apart from regular curriculum, Abacus, Yoga, and Rhapsody music lessons enhance the learning skills of the students. Participation in Science and Maths Olympiads from the last year has also motivated them to compete with confidence.