TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 144

  ENGLISH SUBBA RAO AND SATRAM SCHOOL

Dewan Subba Rao

The Govt. Fort U.P. School, Manacaud, popular among the locals as 'Satram School', is a grand heritage edifice located on the eastern end of the Ramavarmapuram Gramom (Sreevaraham). Despite being a popular landmark, the locals are hardly aware of its history. They maintain that the expansive two-story building was formerly a Satram, and it's where young T. Madhava Rao was first lodged when he came to Travancore in 1849 as 'Tutor' to the nephews of Rajah Uthram Tirunal Martanda Varma.

Undoubtedly the most distinguished Maratha Brahmin to serve Travancore, Madhava Rao was but one among the many Paradesi Brahmins, who occupied coveted administrative positions in the State from the early 19th century. A brilliant bureaucrat, it did not take the young tutor to secure a dominant place in the administrative machinery, and in 1857 he secured the enviable post of Dewan (prime minister) of Travancore.

Credited for reforming the Travancore administrative system in modern lines, Madhava Rao orientated the Princely State towards an era of Colonial modernity. While the residents of Thiruvananthapuram still remember him with gratitude (thanks to the life-size statue of Rao right at the heart of the city), the history of the Satram goes well beyond Madhava Rao, to the reign of the celebrated Rajah Swathi Tirunal Rama Varma (r.1829-1846).

The Huzur records reveal that the mansion was actually constructed in the 1840s as the residence of Dewan 'English Subbrow' (alias Tanjore Subba Rao), who, like Sir T. Madhava Rao, started career in Travancore as a 'Tutor' to the young princes, Swathi Tirunal and his brother Uthram Tirunal.

A record from 1015 M.E. (c.1840 C.E.) mentions the amount accorded to purchase land in Ramavarmapuram for constructing a house for Dewan Subba Rao. Another record from 1018 M.E. (c.1843 C.E.) details the location of the mansion—on the central street, towards the eastern end of the Ramavarmapuram Gramom—as well as the amount sanctioned for the purchase of gifts on the occasion of house warming ceremony. The second record is particularly useful as it dispels any confusion regarding identifying the Satram School as Subba Rao’s residence.

The Satram School, Ramavarmapuram Gramom

With its robust cornice, arches, and moulded balusters, the building distinguishes itself from other structures of the era. Rather than exhibiting an affinity to the local construction practices, the Satram borrows architectural elements from the 18th and 19th century mansions of Tanjore and Madurai, where the neoclassical paradigm blends with the heavy stucco moulding.

English Subba Rao (b.1775-d.1848), the tutor from Tanjore, had lived a remarkable life. Before he became the Dewan of Travancore, Rao had a commendable career in Tanjore court of Rajah Serfoji II. A polyglot, Subba Rao served as tutor to three Travancore kings and authored the first play (Kishun Koovur) written by an Indian in the English language. Rahul Sagar, in his latest book 'Krishna Kumari, The Tragedy of India', shares previously unknown details of Subba Rao’s life. Check out the book for more details.