மைசூர் ராஜ்யத்தில் முதல் தலைமை நீதிபதி திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி ராயலு ஆரோக்கியசாமி தம்பூ செட்டி

மைசூர் ராஜ்யத்தில், தென்னிந்திய பூர்வீகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஒருவர், முதன் முதலாக தலைமை நீதிபதியாக நியமிக்கப்பட்டது, திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி ராயலு ஆரோக்கியசாமி தம்பூ செட்டி எனும் T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty அவர்கள். இவர் தென்னக வணிகக் குடிகளின் ஒன்றான கவரை வளஞ்சியர் பிரிவைச் சேர்ந்தவர்.

இவர் வளர்ந்தது அன்று கறுப்பர் நகரம் நகரம் என அழைக்கப்பட்ட இன்றைய சென்னை பாரிஸ் எனும் ஜார்ஜ் டவுன் ஆகும்.

 

பெண் கேட்டு வந்த, மதுரை நாயக்க இளவரசருக்கு பெண் தராமல் இவரின் முன்னோர்கள் 5 குடும்பங்கள் மதுரை விட்டு நீங்கினர். பின்பு, வீரமாமுனிவர் எனும் ஐரோப்பிய தமிழ் அறிஞரின் சமயப் பணியால் இவர்களின் முன்னோரான கம்பில் நாயுடு வைணவ சமயத்திலிருந்து கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்தவத்தை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டனர். கிறிஸ்தவ சாமியார் ஒருவர் இவர்களில் குழந்தை ஒன்றை தொடர் இரத்தவாந்தி எடுப்பதை தடுத்து, உயிரை காப்பற்றியதால் இவர்கள் கிறிஸ்தவத்தை தழுவினர் எனக் கூறப்படுகிறது.

 

தமிழகத்தின் மிகப்பழமையான கிறிஸ்தவ கோவில்களில் ஒன்றை, திருச்சி துறையூருக்கு அருகில் உள்ள கோட்டப்பாளையத்தில் (உப்பிலியபுரம் அருகே) அமைத்தனர். பின்பு அக்கோவிலை இவரின் சந்ததியினர் துணைக் கொண்டு புதுப்பித்தனர். https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._R._A._Thumboo_Chetty

EARLY LIFE
Trichinopoly Rayalu Arakiaswamy Thumboo Chetty was born in Madras? or Trichinapoly? In April 1837 of Roman Catholic parents. (page 1)

T. R. A. Thumboo chetty lived his early years of his life in Malayappan Street, George Town, Madras, Tamil Nadu. (page 283)

In the Year –/04/1894 we see the Residence of T. R. A. Thumboo chetty at N° 58 Thumboo Chetty Street, Madras. (page 157)

Thumboo attended the pial school (vernacular education : Telugu and Tamil Language?). (page 2)

A pyal School near Vepery. Location: Madras Date: 1862-76. Source : http://dsal.uchicago.edu/
* Students were taught on the raised porch at the front of their home (tinnai), later called their schools tinnai-ppalli-kkutam “porch schools”.
~ 1849: Thumboo Chetty lost both his parents at the age of twelve. He was brought up with care and attention by five executor, One of the principal executor was Mr Ponnoo Chettiar, whom afterwards became his father-in-law. (Page 2)

Madras Christian College in George Town, Parrys Corner.
Esplanade, 1906. At left are the High Court buildings and in the extreme right is the College House. Next to it is the Madras Christian College building. The dome is the Anderson Hall which was earlier the Anderson Church, where the college assembly and other functions were held. Next to it is the Anderson Church built between 1881 and 1906. source : http://www.frontline.in

Mr. Thumboo Chetty was one of the earliest pupils of this institution. (page 89) . The history of MCC began in June 1835 when two Scottish Chaplains in Madras Rev. Lawrie and Rev. Bowie started a school in the vicinity of St. Andrew’s Kirk, Egmore. On their request the Church sent Rev. John Anderson, who, on April 3, 1837, relocated this General Assembly School with 59 boys to Armenian Street in Black Town. With the arrival of his friends, Rev. Johnston (1839) and Rev. Braidwood with his wife (1841), Rev. Anderson was able to run many branch schools successfully in Madras and its suburbs. Source : www.mcc.edu.in ; http://www.thehindu.com/

Gifted with a graceful figure and action, a clear and powerful voice, he used to repeat, with singular facility, the stanzas of that celebrated sage, Vemana, whose Satliakam may be regarded as a book of Indian wisdom, not inferior in excellence to Solomon’s Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Thumboo’ s home was one in which the precepts and counsels of the Christian Gospel were scrupulously attended to, so that he was trained in those practices of piety and virtue, which afterwards developed themselves remarkably in his life. (page 8)

Ample provision was made, out of family funds, for giving Thumboo, after leaving the pial school, a sound and liberal education in English, and he received his early English education in that celebrated school, known as ‘The Free Church Mission Institution,’ and which is now familiar to us as the Madras Christian College, situated close to that picturesque part of the city, of Madras, where, on one side, are the attractive charms of the sea and the shore… (page 8)

Group portrait of students, Madras Christian College.
Group portrait of students under the instruction of the Reverend William Miller of the Free Church of Scotland Mission at Madras. The large group of students are standing in front of a building, with two Europeans, one of whom is the Reverend Miller, seated in the centre. The Mission School later became the Madras Christian College Dr. William Miller was appointed Principal. source : http://www.bl.uk
~ 1846 : Thumboo Chetty received his English education for eight years from the Madras Christian College.

Thumboo Chetty is one of the earliest pupils of the institution. (page 8, 89). Thumboo had always a grateful remembrance of the unwearied care and attention bestowed on him by the original founders of the institution, Rev. John Anderson, Rev. W. Johnson and Rev. J. Braidwood, M.A., and their assistants, Rev. P. Rajagopaul, Rev. A. Venkataramiah and Rev. Ethirajulu who worked hard in imparting instruction to those who were anxious to undergo a course of sound and liberal education.(page 3) .

–/–/1854 : Thumboo received the first prize for general proficiency, Madras Christian College. (page 3, 6)

Portrait of the Rev. P.Rajahgopaul of the Free Church of Scotland Mission, Madras.
Full-length seated studio portrait of the Reverend Rev. P. Rajahgopaul of the Free Church of Scotland Mission, Madras. This photograph was taken in the 1860s. The Reverend P. Rajahgopaul was Presbyter to the Indian population from 1858. source : http://www.bl.uk
In December 1855, three vacancies for clerkships in the office of the Quartermaster-General of the Madras Army were advertised, and out of about 150 candidates Thumboo Chetty, after undergoing a departmental competitive examination in precis-writing, composition, etc., was appointed clerk. He rapidly rose, in the course of four or five years, to be the cash keeper and indexer of the office. (page 9)

~ 1861 : Thumboo Chetty married Rajamma, celebrated in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Refuge in Popham’s Broadway, Madras. (page 13)

– for nearly four years and half Thumboo Chetty was the Manager of the Legislative Departement, Madras. (page 14)

– Thumboo Chetty’s eldest son was born, Royalu Chetty (Thumboo Chetty father’s name).(page 17)

– At the suggestion of J. D. Mayne, while still employed in the Legislative Departement, Thumboo Chetty joined Law Class, Presidency College, Madras, during three years. (page 18)

The Honorable Mr. John Dawson Mayne.
The major portion of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty’s public career was in the judicial line, and that the foundations for his legal attainments were laid by that eminent Jurist, the Hon’ble Mr. John Dawson Mayne, of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, formally Officiating Advocate-General of Madras, and Author of “A Treatise on Damages”, “The Criminal Law of India,” etc., whose esteemed pupil T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty had the good fortune to be. Source T. Royaloo Chetty
In 1865 at the final examination Thumboo Chetty obtained the first prize for the proficiency in law. (page 18)

– In 1866, for nearly nine months, Thumboo Chetty was the Judge of the Court of District Munsiff of Purghi, in the Zilla of Bellary, on the recommondation of J. R. Kindersly, the then Civil Judge of the District. (page 18).

* District Munsiff Court (alternate spelling = District Munsif Court) is the court of the lowest order handling matters pertaining to Civil matters in India…

The Honorable Mr. Justice J. R. Kindersley. source : T. Royaloo Chetty
In 1867 transfer to Bangalore, and promoted to the post of Sheristadar of the judicial Commissioner’s Office .

The Hon. Mr. J. R. Kindersley wrote on 20th November 1867 : — T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty served under me first as District Munsiff of Purghi in the District of Bellary and afterwards I appointed him Sheristadar of the Judicial Commissioner’s Office at Bangalore. He has always given me the most complete satisfaction as a public servant. He has great talent for business combined with an amiable disposition and uprightness of conduct, such as are seldom found united in any one person. I trust that he will always maintain the high character which he has now attained. (page 24)

* Sheristadar : A sheristadar is the chief officer in Indian court entrusted with the tasking of receiving and checking court pleas. The word has been derived from the Persian word sarishta-dār meaning “record keeper”.

Source :

– The book “A brief sketch of the life of Raja Dharma Pravina, T.R.A. Thumboo Chetty” by T. Royaloo Chetty

FAMILY
Trichinopoly Rayalu Arakiaswamy Thumboo Chetty was born of Catholic parents in April 1837. His father, Desayi Royalu Chetti Garu, was the head of his caste. He was an honourable and upright man, well versed in accounts and highly respected by the Native Christian community in Madras. His mother, whose maiden name was Kitheri Ummah (or Catherine), was a woman of great piety; mildness, courtesy and serenity marked her life ; and to her care and prayers in his tender years, Thumboo owed the correction of the froward propensities peculiar to childhood.

He was the sixth child in his family; he had three elder sisters and one younger brother and a sister, all of whom lived long enough to see his progress and advancement and to realise the prediction of his beloved mother made at his birth, namely, ” The sixth, being male, will rise to be a great man and rule over people? He had, however, the misfortune to lose both his parents at the very early age of twelve, but he was brought up, with great care and attention, by no less than five executors to whom the probate of his mother’s Will was granted by the Madras High Court, the principal of whom afterwards became his father-in-law. (page 1; T. Royaloo Chetty)

The European Durbar at the Marriage of the Maharaja of Mysore.
This photograph of the European Durbar at the Royal Marriage taken in 1900 by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection’s ‘Souvenir of Mysore Album’.A durbar is the court kept by an Indian ruler; a public audience or levee held by a native prince, or by a British governor or viceroy in India. This is a formal group portrait with Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar and his bride Maharani Pratap Bai seated beneath the canopy in the durbar hall, with European and Indian officials gathered round. source : http://www.bl.uk.
Thumboo’s marriage

Thumboo’s marriage was celebrated (~ 1861), with great éclat, in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Refuge in Pophan’s Broadway, Madras, of which the young couple were special benefactors and in which the exceedingly beautiful golden alter (their subsequent gift) stands to this day admired for its excellent workmanship. After returning from the church in a grand procession, accompanied by a large number of relations and friends and residents of the town of Madras, the ceremonies and festivities at home were performed and kept up as usual for seven days, terminating with the feeding of the poor and the presentation of cloths—two of the largest items of expenditure in a Hindu marriage – which generally entail a large cost and considered unavoidable even in poor families, tradition enjoining the same as a work of exemplary charity on such joyous occasions. (page 13; T. Royaloo Chetty)

Father and mother of T. R. A. Thumboo chetty

Rayel Chetty and kitteriammalle

Brother and Sisters of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty

T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty had three elder sisters and one younger brother and sister, all of whom lived long enough to see his progress and advancement.

1. Condammalle married Savarirayal Chetty

2. Sinnammalle married Ponouchetty

3. Peria Ammahy married Arokiassamy Chetty

4. Girl

5. Girl

6. T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty married Rajamma

7. Sinna Ammahy married Arokiassamy Chetty

8. Girl

9. T. R. Dannassammy Chetty married Tayammalle

Children of T.R. A. Thumboo Chetty

While employed in the Legislative Department Thumboo Chetty’s eldest son was born and was called after the grandfather’s name, Royalu Chetty, at whose christening there was great rejoicing. (page 17; T. Royaloo Chetty)

Thumboo Chetty’s advent into Mysore was also contemporaneous with the birth of his eldest daughter named Amarapathy, who bore a remarkable resemblance to her mother. (page 23; T. Royaloo Chetty)

In June 1868, Mr. Thumboo Chetty’s second son, Dharma Raj, was born. An addition of sons to a family is generally preferred to an increase in the number of daughters. Hence, there was great rejoicing on the occasion of the birth of the second son in the family. (page 32; T. Royaloo Chetty)

While in Kolar, Mr. Thumboo Chetty was blessed with a third son, who was named Sathya Raj, and whose birth was, in a couple of years, followed by the accession to the family of two more daughters, named Sathiavathy and Dhanavathy, thereby enhancing the cares and responsibilities of their loving parents. (page 42; T. Royaloo Chetty)

Subsequent to his appointment as Assistant Secretary to Government, Mr. Thumboo Chetty was blessed with a fourth son, who received his father’s name. He took the B.A. degree of the Madras University, taking Sanskrit as his second language. (page 51; T. Royaloo Chetty). Trichinopoly Thumboo Chetty, T. Thumboo Chetty entered the service under the Mysore Government in the year 1904 as an Assistant Commissioner. He rose in the service and in 1914 joined the Palace Administration, in 1922 occupied the high office of Huzur Secretary to His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore, and later occupied the High office of Private Secretary to His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore (1942 – 49). https://sites.google.com/site/thumboochetty/t-thumboo-chetty

In January 1882 Mr. Thumboo Chetty was blessed with a fourth daughter, Baghavathy, who, by her accomplishments in music, contributed materially to his domestic happiness and recreation during leisure hours. (page 69; T. Royaloo Chetty)

***

One feature of Telugu names, they often affix the termination “Amma”, even for Male names. Ethnographic notes in southern India (1906), Author: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935, http://archive.org/stream/ethnographicnot00edgagoog#page/n634/mode/2up/search/telugu

Source : The book “A brief sketch of the life of Raja Dharma Pravina, T.R.A. Thumboo Chetty” by T. Royaloo Chetty

Trichinopoly

They must have come from the Tiruchirapalli District Tamil Nadu. Where the Ancestors of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty lived in this District from a very long time, before coming and settling in Madras around 1800.

Does it mean that the ancestors of Mr. Thumboo Chetty came from the town of Trichinopoly? or was he born in that town? There is a good reason to think that they established themselves near the town of Trichinopoly before coming to Madras. It is very common in south of India, to name a person after well known localities.

There is also a tradition in our Telugu community, where the women gives birth in the native place of the mother, so it could be that Thumboo Chetty was born in Trichinopoly? where Kitheri Ummah (or Catherine) was from?

It is very likely that the ancestors of Mr. Thumboo Chetty lived earlier in that town or near that town. [TR]

Kottapalayam Tiruchirappalli District
It is also said that “Mr . Thumboo Chetty’s ancestors by name Kampal Naïdu from Kottapalayam who was a Hindu by religion, was the first in the family to embrace the catholic faith, converted by Saint Francis Xavier himself in 1545. According, to the first Register of Baptism, of the church of Kottapalayam, Mettur district via Thuraiyur, Tiruchirappalli District”.

source : family tree / Xavier de Condappa.

https://sites.google.com/site/kottapalayamchurchhistory/home/xavier-de-condappa

we recently found a Tamil book published in 1929 written by one A. Ponnusamy Naidu, the R. C. School Head Master of Kottapalayam, who has written the full History of The first Saint Mary Magdalene’s Church of Kottapalayam and the Family History of Gowri Koolapathi Kampal Naidu.

A. Ponnusamy Naidu the Head Master of the R.C. School from Kottapalayam writes that Mr. T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty is a descendant of the Family of Kampal Naidu, he writes “Our Koolathipathy Great Man and also from the Mysore Dynasty under the Title of Dewan the late T. A. Thumboo Chettiar, C.I.E. as well as his brother T. R. Dhana Samy Chettiar and their father Rayalou Chettiar are Gowri Koolathipathy Christians attached to the great Kampal Naidu family “.

He says that the Ancestors of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty were living in the Village called Kottapalayam for the past 300 years, they were the first to establish them self in that Village, before that they Lived in the Town of Madurai. He writes “It was in Madurai that Kampal Naidu family along with 6 brothers and one sister lived. They were well known for ruby and pearl business and were wealthy mirasdhars…Kampal Naidu left Madurai and went into exile in the late 16th century to Uppulipuram and then to Kottapalayam. »

source : Tamil Book. A. Ponnusamy Naidu. History of Mary Magdalene Church Kottapalayam. 1929

Book : https://archive.org/details/History-Church-Of-Mary-Magdalene-Kottapalayam

Translation : https://sites.google.com/site/kottapalayamchurchhistory/

Religion
The first Roman Catholic mission to South India was that led by St. Francis Xavier, who came from Portugal to Goa in 1542 and preached the Gospel in several of the southern districts. He is said to have visited Negapatam; but it is not likely that he ever reached Trichinopoly, which was probably not of much importance then. Towards the end of the sixteenth century the Jesuit Fathers took up the work which Xavier had commenced In 1606 Robert de’ Nobili established the famous Madura Mission, and in 1623 he founded a settlement at Trichinopoly.

Extracted from Trichinopoly by F.R. Hemingway.Published 1907 by Superintendent, Govt. Press in Madras

http://www.archive.org/stream/trichinopoly01madr#page/n9/mode/2up

Dated 9th December 1900, Mr. Thumboo Chetty in a brief note:– My forefathers embraced the Catholic Faith some centuries ago through the instrumentality of the Jesuit Missionaries who, I remarked, wisely tolerated the observance of caste and Hindu social manners and customs, in so far as they were not repugnant to the precepts and tenets of the Christian religion. Southern India, which was the scene of labours of those zealous missionaries, is now inhabited by a very large number of Catholics, the descendants of whole families originally converted, who, notwithstanding the lapse of centuries, have clung to caste and social usages and are in touch with their non-Christian Hindu brethren. (page 258; T. Royaloo Chetty)

Missions in South India : visited and described (1854), Author: Mullens, Joseph, 1820-1879; London Missionary Society. http://archive.org/stream/missionsinsouthi00mull#page/n5/mode/2up

Desayi : Job Title
They could have followed the Vijayanagar expansion south, and settled in these districts. The ancesters of Mr Thumboo Chetty could have acted as the chieftain of a part of the town of Trichinopoly since the father was a Desayi and this appointment is hereditary. [TR]

Thumboo Chetty’s father, Desayi Royalu Chetti Garu, was the head of his caste. He was an honourable and upright man, highly respected. (page 1; T. Royaloo Chetty).

” The word Desayi means of the country. For almost every taluk in the North Arcot district there is a headman, called the Desayi Chetti, who may be said in a manner to correspond to a Justice of the Peace. The headmen belong to the Kavarai or Balija caste, their family name being Dhanapala a common name among the Kavarais which may be interpreted as ‘ the protector of wealth”. In former days they had very great influences, and all castes belonging to the right-hand faction would obey the Desayi Chetti.

Extracted from Castes and tribes of southern India. Author: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935; Rangachari, K.

http://archive.org/stream/castestribesofso02thuriala#page/n5/mode/2up

Rayalu

The earlier kings of this dynasty had conquered all Southern India before the end of the 14th century ; but they left many of the original kings (e.g., the last Pandyas) undisturbed for a time ; in the 16th century they had their deputies (called Nayaks) at Madura (from about 1540). Tanjore and Gingee (Sinji). In the 17th century these Nayaks acted as independent sovereigns.

The Vijaya-nagara kings are always styled, not Rajas, but Rayas 1 , though the meaning is identical. Raya in Tamil is pluralised as Rayar, in Telugu as Rayalu, and the plural, as is usual in the Dravidian languages, is used honorifically for the singular.

Extracted from “A political and general history of the District of Tinnevelly, in the Presidency of Madras, from the earliest period to its cession to the English Government in A. D. 1801.” Published 1881 by Printed by E. Keys, at the Government Press in Madras . http://www.archive.org/stream/apoliticalandge00caldgoog#page/n4/mode/2up

1 The Rayas of Vijaya-nagara having long been the greatest paramount power in Southern India, Rayar is used in the Tamil New Testament as the equivalent of “Caesar” with the meaning of emperor.

The founders of Vijaya-nagara were Telugus and made Telugu the language of administration throughout their dominions. The district of country in which they established themselves (Hampi), though not a portion of Mysore, was a portion of the Kannada country or country in which Canarese was spoken. Right in the heart of this Canarese district a new Telugu dynasty- set up a Telugu court, supported by a Telugu army, and sending forth Telugu colonies and expeditions into all parts of the south. This explains the position occupied by the Telugu lieutenants of Vijaya-nagara at Madura, and also in part the position occupied by Telugu Poligars and settlers throughout the Trichinopoly, Madura, and Tirunevelly Districts. It was during the reign of Krishna Rayar (Rayalu) that Vijaya-nagara rose to its greatest importance. He reigned from 1508 to 1530. It is certain at least that his reign fell between these two dates. The state of Vijaya-nagara was the most powerful Hindu state that ever existed south of the Krishna, and Krishna Rayar (Rayalu) has the reputation of having been the ablest, most enlightened, and most successful of the rulers of that state. He is celebrated as having been a magnificent patron of telugu literature. About 1520 the Muhammadans sustained from him a severe defeat, in consequence of which they were kept in check for a considerable period. After his time the kingdom began to decline.

Trichinopoly by F.R. Hemingway.Published 1907 by Superintendent, Govt. Press in Madras .http://www.archive.org/stream/trichinopoly01madr#page/n9/mode/2up

It must be observed, that each of these princes is spoken of by the title of Rayaru, the Karnataka plural of Raya. This same word with the Rylu, or Rayalu of the Telingas, contracted by Mussulmans into Ryl, and commonly applied exclusively to the kings of Vijayanagara and the princes of all the great dynasties that have governed karnata are commonly called Rayaru by its native inhabitants. However, In the south, every person of very high rank is spoken of in the plural number .

Source : A Journey from Madras Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar: Performed Under the Orders of the Most Noble the Marquis Wellesley, Governor General of India, for the Express Purpose of Investigating the State of Agriculture, Arts, and Commerce … in the Dominions of the Rajah of Mysore, and the Countries Acquired by the Honorable East India Company …Higginbotham and Company, 1870

Madraspatnam

The English East India Company established itself at Madraspatnam as a favourable location for trade in 1639. The presence of the English traders quickly attracted Beeri Chettiars, the pre-eminent trading caste of Tamil north, who were members of the left-hand section of south Indian castes, and Komatis, a premier Telugu-speaking trading caste, who were members of the right-hand section of castes. The Komaties were closely allied to the Balija Naidus, also a merchant caste.

Extracted from The Meaning of the Local: Politics of Place in Urban India, Par Geert De Neve, Henrike Donner (Temple and charity, Mattison Mines)

Photograph of Madras (Chennai)

Photograph of Madras (Chennai), in Tamil Nadu, taken by an unknown photographer during the 1880s, from an album of 62 views of India and Ceylon. This is a view from the lighthouse on the esplanade looking northwards over the rooftops of the city. Madras lies on the Bay of Bengal in the north-east corner of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1639 by the British East Madras 406237. India Company and was the first important English settlement in India. The city expanded around Fort St. George, constructed on the seafront in the early 1640s as a trading post and base for European residents. By 1690 it contained a population of over 300,000 and remained the centre of English influence in the East until the rise of Calcutta in the late 18th century. It was laid out on a grid plan, the earliest example of English town planning on a large scale in India, and by the late 19th century had developed a legacy of grand colonial architecture, such as the buildings in the foreground of this view. source : http://www.bl.uk

Komatis

A characteristic of the Komati caste in Madras is that through the years poor Komatis have migrated from the Telugu north to Madras in hopes of making fortunes. Many family stories begin by describing how an ancestor first came to Madras as young child and thought dint of hard work and good character became a successful merchant.

Extracted from The Meaning of the Local: Politics of Place in Urban India, Par Geert De Neve, Henrike Donner (Temple and charity, Mattison Mines)

Balija or Balija Naidu

Balija.—The Balijas are described by Mr. Francis as being ” the chief Telugu trading caste, scattered throughout all parts of the Presidency. It is said to have two main sub-divisions, Desa (or Kota, a fort) and Peta (street). The first of these includes those, whose ancestors are supposed to have been the Balija (Nayak) kings of Madura, Tanjore and Vijayanagar, or provincial governors in those kingdoms ; and to the second belong those, like the Gazulu (bangle sellers) and Perike (saltsellers), who live by trade. In the Tamil districts Balijas are known as Vadugans (Telugu people) and Kavarais.

The descendants of the Nayak or Balija Kings of Madura and Tanjore claim to be Kshatriyas and of the Kasyapa (a rishi) gotra, while the Vijayanagar Rais say they are lineal descendants of the sage Bharadwaja. Others trace their ancestry to the Kauravas of the Mahabharata.

” The Balijas,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,* ” are the trading caste of the Telugu country, but they are now found in every part of the Presidency. Concerning the origin of this caste several traditions exist, but the most probable is that which represents them as a recent offshoot of the Kapu or Reddi caste.

The general name of the caste is Naidu (corruption of Nayakdu). The title Chetti is by some used in preference to Naidu.

Extracted from Castes and tribes of southern India (1909) Author: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935; Rangachari, K Volume: 1, (A and B)

http://archive.org/stream/castestribesofso01thuriala#page/n5/mode/2up

Kavarai (Kavara Balija Naidu or Gavara Balija Naidu).”Kavarai is the name for Balijas (Telugu trading caste), who have settled in the Tamil country” as per Thurston of Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Kavarais call themselves Balijas (Born from fire).They use the titles Naidu, Nayakkan, Chetti or Setti and Nayak. Gajula Balija is the largest sub -division of Kavarais. The equivalent name for Gajula Balija in Tamil is Valaiyal Chetti. (The meaning of Tamil name Valaiyal in Telugu is Gajulu (Bangles). Gajula Balijas attained this name as they were involved in manufacturing and selling bangles initially though they made their mark in various other fields later.

Extracted from KapuSangam.Com http://www.kapusangam.com/history.php

– Balija Chettis or Shettis ( Chetty Balija or Shetty Balija): They have been mentioned in several Vijayanagar accounts as wealthy merchants who controlled powerful trading guilds . To secure their loyalty, the Vijayanagar kings made them Desais or “superintendents of all castes in the country”. They were classified as right-hand castes .

– Gajula Balija / Kavarai Balija / Sugavansi (pure) Balija: Myth is that Siva’s wife Parvati did a severe penance in order to look beautiful for Shiva. A man sprung from the sacrificial fire bringing forth cosmetics and this person was the ancestor of the Gajula Balija .

Extracted from Balija Community Information, http://www.telaganadu.com/History/Balija%20Caste_History.html

NOTE: Thumboo Chetty descends from the Balija (Kavarai) community. His ancestor should have migrated earlier from Andhra Pradesh and settled in the Tamil region for political or economical reason. I see many people in the family having the title Chetty, Chettiar, Naïker, Naïdu. I also see many people in the family named as Bangaru, The name Bangaru is said to refer to the custom of the women of this sub-division (kamma) wearing only gold nose ornaments (bangaramu). I heard one day my grand mother say that she comes from the Valaiyal community, a sub-division of Kavarai, i.e., the Tamil equivalent of Gazula (glass bangle) Balija. TR

The Social Setting

From the first, Beeri Chettiar merchants were one of the main trading castes of Madras City. Their arch-competitors in the early years of Black Town were the Balijas and the Komati Chettiars, who were the dominant trading castes of the surrounding countryside. This competitive opposition reflected the organization of castes into rival right-hand and left-hand moieties in this region of post-Vijayanagar influence. The Komatis and Balijas were both Telugu-speaking, Vaishnavite castes belonging to the right-hand caste division, while the Beeris were predominantly Tamil-speaking Saivites, belonging to the left-hand section.

Extracted from “Public Faces, Private Voices” Community and Individuality in South India, Mattison Mines, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxfordsource : http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6v19p0zf;brand=ucpress

Vue générale de Madras
Vue générale de Madras. 1914.
Bibliothèque nationale de France. source : http://gallica.bnf.fr/
George Town, 1800-90
One of the most important changes from the perspective of George Town sociality was that, at the beginning of the century with the founding of the independent judiciary, the Company moved the locus of authority to decide civil matters among caste members from headmen to court.

Alternative lifestyles were being made possible by western-style education, foreign travel, new civil service jobs and then new opportunities in administration and in shared governance. Christian College, which proved highly influential among Indians, was founded in George Town in 1837.

Extracted from The Meaning of the Local: Politics of Place in Urban India, Par Geert De Neve, Henrike Donner (Temple and charity, Mattison Mines)

Thambu Chetty Street, Chennai, Tamil Nadu?
The Float Festival is also associated with two of the Town’s most venerable legendary Beeri Chettiar big-men, Thambu Chetti and Lingi (sometimes Linga) Chetti. Two of Muthialpet’s main streets today bear the names of these former leaders. In the eighteenth century, the Kachaleeswarar temple was sometimes called “Tambi Chetti’s pagoda” (Love 1913, 2:541-2), and according to British East India Company records, the temple and its tank were built by Thambu Chetti in 1725, when he was one of the Company’s chief merchants and the premier headman or chief of the Town Beeri Chettiars (Love 1913, 3:387-8, 391). He built the temple on land that had belonged to Lingi Chetti, a contemporary headman-merchant and in the mid-1700s.

Extracted from “Public Faces, Private Voices” Community and Individuality in South India, Mattison Mines, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxfordsource : http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6v19p0zf;brand=ucpress

NOTE : There is no any direct connection between T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty and Thambu Chetti. Thumboo Chetty belongs to the Balija community, and Thambu Chetti to the Beeri Chettiars. They both lived at different periods of time, But they both lived in the same area, George Town, Madras. Living in the same place where Thambu Chetti lived earlier, T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty could have been named after one of the big men. [TR]. Google map : Thambu Chetty Street, George Town, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India : http://g.co/maps/wq2dr

The house in Malayappen Street, wich was the humble abode of his youth
A few months before his last illness T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty visited Madras (1907)…Even when paying this visit he seems to have felt that this would be his last visit, and he not only visited all his relatives and bade them good-bye, but went over tenderly every corner of the house in Malayappen Street, wich was the humble abode of his youth and every article in it wich was allowed to him by the associations of his early years. He seems to have returned full of serenity, and elevated by his contemplation over the scenes of his childhood, recalling to mind all those who had gone before him and whom he was soon of meet in the next world. (page 282; T. Royaloo Chetty). Google map : Malayappan St, George Town, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India : http://g.co/maps/gdf2x

Mr. Thumboo Chetty in his judicial robes as Chief judge of Mysore. source : T. Royaloo Chetty
The Law Courts, Mysore. his photograph of the Law Courts, Bangalore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection’s ‘Souvenir of Mysore Album’.This note taken from the Album reads, "The courts of the district and sessions judge, the sub judge, and the munsiff (a junior-grade judge) are held in these buildings, which are built in the new portion of the city named Chamarajpuram after his late Highness."

The Law Courts, Mysore.

This photograph of the Law Courts, Bangalore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection’s ‘Souvenir of Mysore Album’.This note taken from the Album reads, “The courts of the district and sessions judge, the sub judge, and the munsiff (a junior-grade judge) are held in these buildings, which are built in the new portion of the city named Chamarajpuram after his late Highness.” source : http://www.bl.uk

 

RAJAMMA THUMBOO CHETTY
“Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave”.

Baron Brougham Henry 1778-1868.

EDUCATING BANGALORE
Among the best known facets of Bengaluru is its trained manpower, and by extension its emphasis on education. The underlying imaginations of what education should achieve does however reflect a number of very distinct choices. There is a distinct preference for education in English over learning in the mother tongue. This preference is itself related to a focus on higher education over mass literacy. And these preferences can themselves be traced to imaginations that date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The imagination that created the Cantonment necessarily had a prominent place for English education, at least for its British residents. And this imagination was provided a twist by the emergence of Anglo-Indians.

By the middle of the nineteenth century there were young children in this community that did not have access to education or to church. In 1853 a chaplain of St Marks, Rev Possnet, decided to set up a small room that would act as a school in the mornings, a reading room in the evenings and a church on Sundays. When the British government was approached for support they initially did not think too much of the idea; but the Army which employed some of these children as drummer boys decided to step in. This was the beginning of an imagination that provided English education to the poor. The setting up of schools with some competence meant the focus was on some level of quality in education rather than a rudimentary mass literacy programme.

Rajamma and T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty
Rajamma Thumboo Chetty and T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty
Photo Source : Condappa Family

Maharani’s Girls’ College, Mysore. source : http://www.bl.uk.
This imagination, not surprisingly, extended to educating others who were underprivileged. As Rajamma Thamboo Chetty’s piece in this section tells us an effort was made at Zenana education that tried to get teachers into traditional households so that they could reach girls who were not allowed to step into a regular school.

The involvement of prominent local families as well as support from England ensured that this education too provided a place for English. Here again the imagination that led to reaching out to the underprivileged had place for the elite within it.

The imagination in the City at this time had as prominent a role for education and was no less concerned about the underprivileged. But it was an imagination that also had a prominent place for science and technology. By the beginning of the twentieth century Mysore was already working to get electric power to Bangalore. And there was a great emphasis on developing an academic culture that would be able to generate technology of its own. This mixture of concern for the underprivileged with high technology is perhaps best reflected in the speech by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar when he laid the foundation stone for the building of the Indian Institute of Science in 1911. If the Mysore government’s contribution of land and other resources to the institute was a sign of its commitment to research, his suggestion for scholarships in that speech was a tribute to his sensitivity to the less privileged that was evident in a number of his actions. This imagination was also reflected in the scholarships that were offered for education abroad. In the city too the emphasis was not on mass literacy but on making higher education available even to the underprivileged. The emphasis on quality also ensured there was some attention paid to the process of learning as well. Questions about the role of examinations were, for instance, raised by Dewan Mirza Ismail in the 1930s.

Extracted from the book :Bengaluru, Bangalore, Bengaluru : Imaginations And Their Times by NARENDAR PANI, SINDHU RADHAKRISHNA, KISHOR G BHAT (2010).

Rajamma Thumboo chetty. Source : T. Royaloo Chetty
B May-1848 – D – Feb-1934
Image source : T. Royaloo Chetty.
MISS MANNING AND ZENANA EDUCATION
The term Zenana refers to the part of the house where women were kept in seclusion. While the term has Islamic origins it was also practised by Hindu families. Women who were Zenana Missionaries gained access to these parts of the house in order to provide health care and education. In the initial years their activities were suspect as they also sought to proselytise. Later some of them developed a less sectarian character and gained greater acceptance. Elizabeth Adelaide Manning achieved a great deal of influence when she headed the National Indian Mission due to her insistence on non-interference in religious and social customs. She was noted for her tact and avoidance of public recognition, and she rigidly excluded politics and religion from her work and writing. Miss Manning visited Bangalore in August 1888 as a part of a larger tour of India. In keeping with her rather low profile her meeting in Bangalore was organised at Rugby Hall in the Cantonment, the residence of Mr Thamboo Chetty, a senior government official. Her host, Mrs Rajamma Thamboo Chetty, who presented her the address given below, was herself keenly interested in education and started the Rajamma Thamboo Chetty School for Girls.

Extracted from the book :Bengaluru, Bangalore, Bengaluru : Imaginations And Their Times by NARENDAR PANI, SINDHU RADHAKRISHNA, KISHOR G BHAT (2010).

Maharani’s Girls’ College
This photograph of pupils attending Maharani’s Girls’ College, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection’s ‘Souvenir of Mysore Album’.A note with the photograph reads, “This College, named in honor of H.H. the Maharani-Regent, was established in 1881. The institution is unique in its class in Southern India, educating, as it does, young ladies of the middle and higher classes of the high caste Hindus, and providing new walks of life for their widows…A Lady Superintendent selected in England, with University honors, presides, and the standard of education includes the first in Arts Degree of the Madras University. There are also special classes for preparing Brahmin widows for the Education Department and for the instruction of married ladies in subjects of domestic economy and accounts.”. source : http://www.bl.uk.
RAJAMMA THUMBOO CHETTY
It affords me a great deal of pleasure to welcome you this evening in the presence of so many happy faces around me, who all heartily join in greeting a noble lady like yourself. Your philanthropic exertions to promote the education and to improve and develop the moral and social condition of my country-women, the very great assistance you have been, and are still, rendering by devoting both your time and money towards the advancement of the same cause, and the many virtues and good qualities that adorn you, have endeared you to us all, and have won for you our highest esteem and respect. I can only say that I am but feebly expressing the immense pleasure and joy with which we receive you on this auspicious occasion, and although we cannot give the same magnificent reception accorded to you both at Bombay and Madras, we can offer you equally warm hearts and cordially wish you God-speed in your good and most useful work. The Zenana teaching, introduced into Bangalore under your special patronage, is progressing, tough slowly, but steadily. There was great difficulty in inaugurating and working this system owing to various causes, the chief of which was the want of competent teachers of good caste, who could easily gain access to Zenanas of respectable families and make themselves familiar with the Home students. We hope, ere long, to surmount this difficulty, as Her Highness the Maharanee’s Girls’ School at Mysore and some of the Girls’ schools in Bangalore, will soon be able to supply our want. The system of Zenana teaching is still in its infancy, but, with continued exertion and co-operation on the part of those interested in the movement, the system will gradually expand and develop itself to the permanent advantage and interest of this country. The earnestness and devotion which characterize your labours on behalf of the women in India, entitle you to our gratitude and strong and lasting love. Your conduct is worthy of emulation, and I doubt not that you will regard this gathering of intelligent and principal Native ladies of Bangalore to welcome you as a proof of the high estimation in which you are held by them, and of their willingness to support that cause which you have deeply at heart. We shall always speak and think of you as the best and dearest friend of India. You will carry our good wishes to your distant native land, where, we fervently pray, you may long continue to enjoy every happiness and the well merited respect of my country-women.

Extracted from ‘A Brief Sketch of the Life of Raja Dharma Pravina TRA Thumboo Chetty’ by T. Royaloo Chetty, Madras: Bob and Co, 1909, pp. 129-130.

Rajamma Thumboo chetty. Source : T. Royaloo Chetty
B May-1848 – D – Feb-1934
Image source : T. Royaloo Chetty.

THE RAJAMMAH THUMBOO CHETTY GIRLS’ SCHOOL, CIVIL AND MILITARY STATION, BANGALORE.

It may be observed that Mrs. Thumboo Chetty, who admired the nobler exhibitions of mind and cultivated intellects of both Miss Manning and Miss Garland, was herself induced to do something in connection with female education. The Rajammah Thumboo Chetty Girls’ School was opened in the year 1898 in a building in Narrain Pillay Street, which was made over by Mrs. Thumboo Chetty to the Roman Catholic Mission. It is under the management of a European Head Mistress, Sister Marie Cesarie of St. Joseph’s Convent (who has passed her examination in Europe), assisted by six native nuns. The strength of the school at present is 160 pupils, who belong to different castes, most of whom are Mudaliars and Mahrattas. There are also some Brahmins, Lingayets and Native Christians. The school, which is in a crowded locality in the station, attracts all castes. There are classes from the Infants up to Form I. In each class all the subjects according to the Madras Education Code are taught, besides needle and fancy work, Kindergarden and singing.

Extracted from ‘A Brief Sketch of the Life of Raja Dharma Pravina TRA Thumboo Chetty’ by T. Royaloo Chetty, pp. 131.

” The Thumboo Sindhamani ” Being A Poetical Sketch Of The Life Of Raja Dharma Pravina, T. R. A. Thumboo Chettiar, C. I. E. by A. Venkatasubbu Pillai. [1905]

1. “The Thumboo Sindhamani” is a poetical sketch, in Tamil, of the life of Raja Dharma Pravina, T. R. A. Thumboo Chettiar, C. I. E., who retired, from the service of His Highness the Maha Rajah of Mysore, as Officiating Dewan. The author, Pundit A. Venkata Subbu Pillai, has composed the work, comprising 12 chapters of 930 verses, with grace and elegance, in spite of the many difficulties that attend the treatment of a modern subject on the model of the old classics like the “Jeevakha Chintamani.” The work attains, in certain portions, to an excellence, combined with Wordsworthian simplicity, that is admirable.

2. The preliminary chapter opens with a stanza, invoking the help of that Divine Light. the fountain of all knowledge. This is followed by a few verses referring to that noble Sovereign Lady, Her Most Gracious Majesty the late Queen-Empress Victoria, to His Highness the late lamented Maha Rajah, Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar Bahadur, G. C. S. I., and to his amiable consort, Her Highness Vani Vilas Sannidhana, C. I., Maharani (late Regent), under whose auspices, the subject of this Sindhamani, received honors and distinctions. Allusion is then made to the present Young Maharajah, His Highness Sri Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar Bahadur, whose ruling motive the welfare of his subjects has already won the affection of the five millions of people committed to His Highness’ care.

3. The remaining portion of Chapter I, and Chapter II, treat of the parentage, birth and early education of young Thumboo. Having had the misfortune to lose both his parents at the early age of twelve, his patrimony had to be managed and administered by five Executors, one of whom was his future father-in-law. The Pial School, where Thumboo was taught the vernacular languages, the subsequent English education he received in the Free Church Mission Institution, now known as the Madras Christian College, the part he took in the Debating Classes and Literary Institutes, the contributions he made to the local journals, on subjects such as sanitation, social reform, female education, evils of early marriage and the undesirable exclusion of the non-caste from public schools, are all described in a manner which is most interesting and instructive.

4. Chapter III narrates how, after leaving school, Thumboo Chetty first apprenticed himself to a Mercantile Firm, Griffith’s and Co., (where his revered father, Desai Royaloo Chettiar, filled the responsible post of Chief Book-keeper), and, in December 1855, entered Public Service as Clerk, Cash-keeper, and Indexer, in the office of the Quarter Master General of the Madras Army, Thumboo Chetty showed remarkable intelligence and industry which secured for him the approbation of his official superiors.

5. Chapters IV & V give an account of Thumboo Chetty’s marriage, and the ceremonials observed on such occasions, and of his sojourn in Ootacamund. The description of the scenery there is realistic. Soon after his return from the Nilagiris in January 1862, he became the Manager of the office of the Madras Legislative Council, of which Mr. John Dawson Mayne was Secretary. While this eminent Barrister was Professor of Law in the Presidency College, Thumboo Chetty was induced to study and pass in law. This paved the way for his future advancement. The laborious work he had to perform in the Legislative Department, and the proposed legislation, to legalise Hindu Wills, and to amend Section 498, of the Indian Penal Code, for bringing the adulteress also within the purview of the penal provisions of that Section, so as to maintain the high ideal of chastity and virtue enjoined upon a married woman, are all graphically described by the Poet.

Catalogue of the Tamil Books in the Library of British Museum (1909)

http://archive.org/stream/catalogueoftamil00brituoft#page/182/mode/2up

6. Chapter VI describes how Mr. Thumboo Chetty acquitted himself, in his judicial capacity, as Munsiff of Purghi, in the Zillah of Bellary, how he coped with the heavy litigation of his subdivision and helped the poor during the Famine of the year Akshaya and averted a grain riot, and how he endured the privations of a village life in an unhealthy station, in spite of the comforts and conveniences he had been accustomed to in a city like Madras.

7. Chapter VII gives an account of his transfer to Mysore on the first of February 1867, as Registrar under Mr. (afterwards the Hon’ble) J. R. Kindersley, Judicial Commissioner; the formation of the Mysore Bar; his employment in the graded rank of Assistant Commissioner in the Revenue and Judicial Branches, and as Judge of the Bangalore Court of Small Causes; the detection, during his tours, of defalcations in the Revenues; his promotion as Head Sheristadar (or Dewan, Revenue Department) and Assistant Secretary to the Chief Commissioner; and the valuable services he rendered, in connection with the Great Famine of 1876/1877 and as a member of the Mysore Retrenchment Committee.

8. The next Chapter VIII contains a narrative of the ceremony connected with the Rendition which took place on the 25th of March 1881, the presentation of an address by the Catholic Christians on that occasion, in which Mr. Thumboo Chetty took a prominent part; the constitution of the Mysore Council and the appointment of Mr. Thumboo Chetty as senior Ex-Officio Member.

9. Chapters IX, X & XI refer to the formation of the Chief Court plurality of Judges, one of whom was Thumboo Chetty, who was, subsequently, promoted to the responsible office of Chief Judge of the State and to the several occasions on which he was appointed to act as Dewan.

Maharaja of Mysore Sri Krishnarajendra Wadiar
Reign 1902 — 1940
B 1884 D 1940
10. The last Chapter XII alludes; in pathetic terms, to the much lamented demise of His Highness the late Maharajah, to the establishment of a Regency Council under the able and enlightened administration of Her Highness the Maharani C. I., and to the important duties which devolved on Mr Thumboo Chetty as Senior Councillor, Chief Judge and Officiating Dewan till his retirement in March 1901. It then proceeds to describe the Installation of His Highness the present Maharajah and his (Mr Thumboo Chetty’s) accompanying His Highness to the grand Delhi assemblage held on the first of January 1903, to commemorate the coronation of His Most Gracious Edward VII, King-Emperor of India, an event, unparallelled in the history of the world, which Mr. Thumboo Chetty had immense pleasure in witnessing, having, also, had the good fortune, in 1875, (as a Member of the Mysore Deputation,) to personally pay his homage to this Great Sovereign.

11. As to various other matters dealt with by the Poet, such as Mr.Thumboo Chetty’s views on Education, Famine, Plague, Sanitation, &c., the reader is referred to the list or contents in Tamil which is appended.

12. This biography of one, whose official life covered a period of half a century whose connection with Mysore dates back to 1867, must be of interest to a wider circle of readers than those who could read this poetical composition. To those it will be welcome news, that this biography will, also, be published, in English prose, early. Having had occasion to see through portions in Tamil work while in progress, I acceded, with pleasure, to the request of the talented author, to write an introduction, in English, to the work, which deserves well of those to whom it appeals.

31st January 1905, Chamarajendrapet.

S. Krichnasaswami Aiyangar, M. A.

Source :

From the Book Written in Tamil, ” The Thumboo Sindhamani ” Being A Poetical Sketch Of The Life Of Raja Dharma Pravina, T. R. A. Thumboo Chettiar, C. I. E., by A. Venkatasubbu Pillai, Head Tamil Pundit, Saint Joseph’s College, Bangalore. Printed at the kalaratnakaram Press, MADRAS, 1905.

Titles and Honours :
– 1877 : Certificate of Honour & Delhi Medal

The Delhi medal presented to him at Bangalore by Lord Lytton in person. (page 52; T. Royaloo Chetty)

1st January 1877, durbar in the Public Offices at Bangalore, a certificate of honour was presented to Mr Thumboo Chetty, Sir James Gordon addressed him as follows: For the past two and twenty years you have well served the State, unaided, you have risen, through your high ability and equally high character, to the honourable, and responsible position you now occupy. By the intelligent, upright and thorough discharge of your duties you have well earned this recognition, which it gives me sincere pleasure to bestow in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress of India.

– 1892 : The Pope’s Medal, Mr Thumboo Chetty was admitted to the order of ‘proecclesia et pontifice,’ and received the jubilee Medal of His Holiness the Pope Leo XIII.

– 1893 : Title of Raja Dharma Pravina, proclaimed by his Highness the Maharajah of Mysore Chamaraja Wodeyar, conferring this title on Mr Thumboo Chetty.

Mysore Gazette Extraordinary :— ” On the 7th day of Asvija Sudha of the year Vijya, on Tuesday, corresponding to the 17th October 1893, during the Dassara Durbar, in honour of the date of ascension, His Highness the Maharajah of Mysore was pleased to confer, with suitable presents, the following titles and honours on the following gentlemen: — 1… 2. Trichinopoly Royaloo Arogheaswami Thumboo Chettiar, Raja Dharma Pravina.”, (page 134; T. Royaloo Chetty)

 

The London Gazette

The Queen has been graciously pleased to make the following promotion in, and appointments to, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire: -to be Companions. Trichinopoly Rayalu Arakiaswamy Thumboo Chetty, Member of the Council of Regency, Mysore. Source : THE LONDON GAZETTE, MAY 25, 1895

– 1895 : Companion of the Indian Empire, in may 1895, the Queen-Empress of India was graciously pleased to create Mr Thumboo Chetty a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.

Companion of the Indian Empire.— In May 1895, Mr. Thumboo Chetty’s name was included in the list of the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The announcement that Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress was graciously pleased to create him a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire was made to him personally by the then British Resident, Mr. (after- wards Sir Wm.) Lee-Warner, through whom he tendered his most grateful acknowledgments for the honour conferred. Numerous were the congratulations he received from his many European and Indian friends, and foremost among them was a communication which Her Highness the Maharani Regent, C. I., was very pleased to send, through Her Private Secretary. It ran as follows : —

” Her Highness, while congratulating upon your well- deserved honour, feels proud that one of her own Councillors should be the recipient of such honours at the hands of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress. The fact merely indicates that your merits are recognized not only within the Province, but abroad, reaching the very ears of Her who is the fountain head of all Titles and Honours. Her Highness has already felt assured that the confidence she has reposed in you has been rightly placed, and that you will justify it.” (page 134; T. Royaloo Chetty)

The Golden Book of India
TRICHINOPOLY RAYALU ARAKIASWAMI THUMBOO CHETTY, CIE., Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Mysore, and Member of the Mysore Council. “Was created a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire on May 25, 1895. Residence : Bangalore, Mysore. Source : The golden book of India; a genealogical and biograhical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire, with an appendix for Ceylon (1900). http://www.archive.org/stream/goldenbookofindi00lethrich#page/318/mode/2up
– 2008 : Unveiling the portrait of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty

Portrait of Sir T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty. Court Museum in Bangalore
Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph Unveiling the portrait of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty,
the First Indian Chief Judge of the Mysore High Court, at the Court museum in Bangalore on Friday.
(Bangalore Newspaper, Saturday June 7, 2008)
Thumboochetty’s portrait unveiled

BANGALORE: A portrait of T.R.A. Thumboochetty, the first Indian to become Chief Justice of India, was unveiled on the High Court premises here on Thursday.

Born in April 1837, Thumboochetty studied law and was posted as munsiff in Bellary. He was subsequently transferred as Registrar under J.P. Kindersley, Judicial Commissioner. Thumboochetty served as Assistant Commissioner in the Revenue and Judicial branches. Mr. Thumboochetty later became the Judge of Small Causes Court in Bangalore When the Mysore Council was constituted, he was appointed a senior ex-officio member When the Chief Court of Mysore was constituted in 1884, he was appointed one of the judges of the court. He became the Chief Judge of the then Mysore State and was in that post from March 1, 1891 to August 11, 1900 when he retired.

At the museum

The Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Cyriac Joseph, unveiled Thumboochetty’s portrait in the museum of the High Court.

(Saturday, Jun 07, 2008 edition)

Erratum : Mr. Thumboo Chetty was The Chief Judge of Mysore officially from july 1890 to Nov 1895. source (page 218-224; T. Royaloo Chetty)

www.hindu.com/2008/06/07/stories/2008060758270300.htm

Places named after Mr. T. R. A Thumboo Chetty :

 

Places which are named after this great statesman as a reminder of his contribution to the State of Mysore :

– The Raja Dharma Pravina Thumboo Chettiar Dispensary Bangalore (1895) — charitable institution, situated between the Bowring Civil Hospital and St. Paul’s Church, attached to the Bowring Hospital. This charitable institution, the foundation stone of which was laid by the philanthropic donor, on the 24th December 1893, was completed in 1895. (Page 156 T. Royaloo Chetty)

– Thumboo Chetty Road, Cox Town, Bangalore.

– T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty Circle, Frazer town, Bangalore.

– Thumboo Chetty Palya, Battarahalli, Bangalore.