ENGLISH SUBBA RAO AND SATRAM SCHOOL
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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.
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| 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.
