In a first, photo gallery on TN?freedom fighters

Chennai: The range of uniforms of varied ranks of British Ar­my, cannon balls and artillery, medallions, spli­n­ters of shells fired at in the attacks during World Wars and incidents on the founding of Chennai, to name a few in the exhaustive list, give a profound insight into the life and times of British era Ch­e­nnai when one visits the historic Fort Museum he­re. But, the medley of artifacts, apart, as one takes the winding steps to the first floor, one enters the realm of freedom fighters gallery, which at once evokes patriotic fervour.

Nadadur Sadhu. Vara­da­chari or N.S. Varadachri po­pularly known as “No Shirt” Varadachari amo­ng his political friends and circle, was a lawyer who gave up his practice for the sake of country and joined the Gandhian Movement, N. Subrama­ni­an, who was part of the salt satyagraha, anti-liquor and temple-entry movement, K.S. Ekam­ba­ram, C. S. Mani, S. N. Som­aiyaujulu, N. Subrama­ni­an and the list is endless.

They are among the 1,000 rare photos of Indian freedom fighters, mostly from Tamil Nadu displayed at the gallery to which the Archaeological Survey of India authorities aim to add 500 more photos.

The gallery bre­at­h­es life into the sacrifices of unsung heroes who fo­ught for the liberation of the country from the imp­e­rial British rule. It is al­most a Herculean task, wh­ich the ASI had ach­ie­ved in collecting the ph­o­tos and details about the freedom fighters from this region.

And this is the first time in the history of the Fort Museum that the contribution to India’s freedom from Tamil Nadu is being showcased.

Both deputy superintending archaeologist, Fort Museum, ASI, K. Moortheeswari, in­strumental in putting up this unique gallery and Ne­eti Anilkumar, assista­nt archaeologist, ASI, had collected the photos and other particulars pertain­i­ng to freedom fighters.

Most of the photos have been contributed by family members of freedom fighters and public. “It is a continuous process,” a senior official said about the compilation on the role of freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu. It has been planned to put up a touch-screen kiosk to provide particulars on freedom fighters.

Efforts are on to collect books and journals that are out of print, to highlight the freedom struggle. Besides, there are photos of numerous popular personalities like Veera­pa­ndia Kattabomman, Subr­a­manya Bharati and na­tional figures like Ma­h­atma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and Gopalkrishna Gokhale.

Next: Heritage week expo celebrations Nov. 19

Heritage week expo celebrations Nov. 19

Chennai: With World Heritage Week around the corner, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and state museum authorities are gearing up to celebrate the event in a grand manner.

A massive photo exhibition on world heritage sites is being planned to be held here. The celebrations start on November 19 and last till November 25 every year.

The ASI had organised a photo exhibition of Chola temples at Big Temple and another at Mamallapuram last year. This time the officials have decided to hold the even on a large-scale to educate students and members of the public on the conserving the heritage monuments.

A painting of Mahatma Gandhi at the musuem.

This event will see the various sites across the globe and about 30 Unesco declared world heritage sites in India during the exhibition. According to sources, the event is being planned in coordination with the superintending archaeologist of ASI, Chennai Region, G. Maheshwari.

Tamil Nadu’s greatest asset is its forts and palaces and each one of them is a leaf from the history. There are over 410 monuments coming under the control of the ASI, which is facing a peculiar problem.

Staff crunch has been making it difficult for ASI to protect the monuments from defacement. “Among the threats to the cultural heritage is a feature of urban planning in post independent India is the tendency to develop ‘new’ areas instead of developing the places around the ‘old’ areas,” a senior ASI official said and called for concerted efforts by locals and agencies to conserve the monuments.