Honouring Distinguished Alumni @ MCC

Distinguished Alumni Series | First Edition

A Report

The first edition of the Distinguished Alumni series got off to a grand start at the Anderson Hall to a bright-eyed audience, bubbling at the brim, breaching barricades to see their best and brightest alumni being honoured by their alma mater!

Two illustrious alumni of our college were honoured on the occasion – Mr. T. N. Seshan IAS, and Ms. Chandrika Tandon.

Others present included Dr. Besant C. Raj, Ms. Savithri Devanesan, Dr. Francis Sounderraj, Mr. K. Mammen and other well-wishers of the College.

The Principal Dr. Alexander Jesudasan, welcomed the gathering and said that MCC has the oldest alumni association in the India. He praised the Alumni Association of MCC, which was 'founded in 1891 by Rev. Dr. William Miller and has seen some of its greatest luminaries including the President of India and the Chief Election Commissioner in its Hall of Fame.

Lauding the achievements of our alumni, he said - 

“Prestige and esteem come to people who are in good positions, but our alumni have given prestige and esteem to the positions that they have occupied”.

Dr. Besant C. Raj commended Ms. Chandrika Tandon for donating a whopping $ 100,000 to her alma mater MCC, and also had a word of praise for Mr. T. N. Seshan.

A college which had a mere 15 women in its rolls in its founding days, now has women students outnumbering their men counterparts in all disciplines, which is a meteoric rise, and well-deserved,

he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mammen said –

It was Dr. Chandran Devanesan who inaugurated a separate office (APRO) devoted to the alumni in the mid 60s.

The dynamic growth of MCC is its 1) inherent strength to connect. 2) its achievements and 3).

Its resilience to face the challenges of the future.

Welcoming Ms. Chandrika who was his contemporary who was always seen with a guitar singing ‘Dum Maro Dum’. “Her secular work and her social responsibility has found echo in her soulful music,”

he signed off.

Mr. Davidar IAS, introduced Mr. Seshan. Eulogising him as the Father of Electoral Reforms in India, he said -

Mr. Seshan graduated in BSc Physics in 1952.

He was a resident of Selaiyur Hall, and then became a demonstrator of Physics in MCC for three years, when he was a resident staff in Heber Hall for one year and in St. Thomas’s for two years, and later joined the IAS in 1955.

After assuming a lot of important portfolios, he went on to become Cabinet Secretary which is the senior most position in Indian Civil Service hierarchy.

He received 40,000 + false election returns and disqualified more than 14,000 potential candidates.

From 1990 to 1996, he brought about a wide range of changes especially in Voter Awareness Campaigns.

For the first time ever, he appointed Expenditure Observers, who probed the expenses of candidates in elections.

He also took initiatives to ban graffiti. Moreover, under Shri T. N. Seshan there was, for the first time, a phased conduct of elections in India. He was also responsible for Shri Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to MCC in its 150th year,

he added.

Speaking on the momentous occasion, Mr. Seshan fondly remembered the events leading up to his admission in MCC. His speech was laced with his inimitable eloquence, charm and sense of humour. He said - 

Joining MCC was quite accidental. In fact, I made the mistake of scoring 150/150 in maths, physics and chemistry, and with such good marks, I thought I would get a seat in engineering, effortlessly.

You see, the gentleman who interviewed me for the engineering seat asked in Tamil,

‘Do you know Sivaji Ganesan.’

I answered, ‘Yes’. But unfortunately, in the very next question, he failed me.

Well, he had asked me, “How many movies did Sivaji star in?”

To this question I flunked.

Not having got an engineering seat, I rushed back to MCC. Back then, you could get your Master’s Degree for just Rs.30,

said Mr. Seshan.

Ms. Chandrika Tandon, recollected the adventurous ways in which she gained admission in MCC.

She said –

Well, I had to go on a kinda ‘hunger strike’ to get into Madras Christian College. Well, that’s because my mother had other plans for me. She wanted me to join Stella Maris College, which was quite close to my house, and she didn’t want me to go to MCC because, it was considered a boys’ college.

Since I was the first daughter of the house, and also since I had to take a long train journey to reach MCC, my mother was against my wishes. But again, I wanted to pursue my BCom in MCC, because, my father and my grandfather studied in MCC.

That’s how I was released into the wild of Madras Christian College.

But most of the credits I owe to my grandfather, as he was quite instrumental in getting me into college. My sister Indra Nooyi, who is also an alumnus of the college, and I would sit on a little brown stool and listen to him read original plays and poems,”

she said.

Picture Courtesy: Mr. Srinath, The Hindu