RAMAKRISHNA MISSION STUDENTS’ HOME MYLAPORE, CHENNAI-600 004 (A Branch of the Ramakrishna Mission with its Headquarters at Belur Math (P.O.), Dist. Howrah (W.B.) - 711 202) Established : 17th February, 1905 Affiliated : 1918 ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT 01-04-2016 to 31-03-2017 Issued by : The Secretary, RAMAKRISHNA MISSION STUDENTS’ HOME # 66, P.S. Sivasami Salai, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004. Phone : 2499 0264 / 4210 7550 / 4231 2830. E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.rkmshome.org CONTENTS Subject Page No. Managing Committee Inside Front Cover Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission 4 Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home : 5 Growth, Sub units, Present Strength, Care of Inmates under 10 Gurukula System of Education Celebrations, Events & Special Activities 12 Chapters of Old Boys’ Association 22 Honorary Workers 23 Ramakrishna Mission Polytechnic 28 College (Residential) Ramakrishna Mission Residential High School 41 Collegiate Section 44 Ramakrishna Centenary Primary School 44 Vocational Training Centre 46 We fondly remember (Obituary) 47 Appendix –“A” List of Donors 2016-17 (General Donation, Special Donation for Deepavali, Annadhanam, Akshaya Tritiya, Home Day & students educational assistance etc) (i) From Old Students of the Home 48 (ii) From Friends and Well-wishers 55 Appendix – “B” Endowments Endowments donations received during 2016-17 (i) From Old Students of the Home 77 (ii) From Friends and Well-wishers 86 2 Appendix – “C” Sponsorship donation under section 35AC for self financed two technical courses (i) From Old Students of the Home 93 (ii) Friends and Well Wishers 95 Appendix – “D” Donations for acquiring Moveable Property (80G) 102 Appendix - “E” (a) Foreign Contributions (General Donations) 2016-17 (i) Old Students of the Home 103 (ii) Friends and Well Wishers 103 (b) Foreign Contributions (Endowment Donations) (i) Old Students of the Home 103 (ii) Friends and Well Wishers 103 Appendix – “F” – Donations in Kind (i) Rice Donation 104 (ii) Vegetables & Fruits 104 (iii) Other items 107 Appendix – “G” Chennai Flood Rehabilitation Work 117 Appendix – “H” Receipts & Payments - Accounts of various sections 118 Appendix – “I” Auditor’s Report and Income Tax Exemption 130 Certificate for the Home Home Festival Calendar 131 Objectives of the Home 132 Form for New Endowments 136 Special Appeal for Donations Wrapper Rear Outer Side 3 RAMAKRISHNA MISSION STUDENTS’ HOME Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004 (A branch of the Ramakrishna Mission with its Headquarters at Belur Math (P.O.), Dist. Howrah (W.B.) Pin 711 202) Established: 17 February, 1905 Affiliated: 1918 HUNDRED AND TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT (01.04.2016 TO 31.03.2017) We have great pleasure in presenting before you the annual report of the Home highlighting our activities and accounts for the year 2016- 2017. With hopes, aspirations and desire to achieve new heights, we have completed our work in the year 2016-17 and solicit your continued support and guidance in future too. It may be kindly noted that during 2016-17 our Students’ Home has additionally embarked on flood rehabilitation work too on a massive scale by helping the flood affected Irulas Tribe families especially in Thiruvallur dis- trict by constructing nearly 74 self contained shelters with attached toilets. RAMAKRISHNA MATH & RAMAKRISHNA MISSION Sri Ramakrishna, whose noble name this institution bears, was born in 1836 at Kamarpukur village in West Bengal. He lived for just 50 years but during this short period he became the harbinger of world peace by peeping into the spiritual domain and discovering the truth “As many faiths - so many paths to reach God”. Several brilliant young men were attracted to him and became his ardent disciples. After this great master attained Mahasamadhi, his disciples, led by the illustri- ous son of India, Swami Vivekananda organised the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission with their Headquarters at Belur in Howrah Dist (West Bengal). Both the Math and Mission gradually ex- tended their spheres of activities resulting in a number of branches coming into existence in different parts of the country and abroad. 4 Though both the Math and Mission take up charitable and philan- thropic activities, the Math lays emphasis on religion and preach- ing, while the Mission is wedded mainly to social welfare activities like educational, medical, distress relief and rehabilitation activities, guided by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda who taught the world that service to fellowbeings is service to GOD. Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home – Origin and Growth Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct disciple of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna was sent by Swami Vivekananda to Chennai to spread the message of Sri Ramakrishna in the South. After starting the Math in Chennai, he felt the necessity for an orphanage where free board and lodging could be provided for orphan and destitute students. With his blessings and at his behest Sri C.Ramaswami Iyengar, an ardent devotee of Swami Ramakrishnananda started the Home on the 17 February 1905 with 5 orphan boys in a small building in Mylapore, given free of rent by Dr. M.C.Nanjunda Rao. It was shifted afterwards from one rented building to another to accommodate more and more boys. In 1916, Sri S.G.Srinivasach- ariar made a generous gift of a valuable building site of 15 grounds in Mylapore to the Home. Later, the adjoining piece of 11 grounds was acquired. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of the indefatigable C.Ramasamy Iyengar a massive building was constructed on this land. 5 Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, laid the foundation stone for this building on 6 May 1917, Buddha Poorn- ima, the birthday of Lord Buddha and he himself inaugurated the new building on Akshya Tritiya day on 10 May 1921. The Home was formally affiliated to the Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math in 1918. After Ramaswamy Iyengar’s death in 1932, his cousin Ramanujach- ariar took over as Secretary of the Home. During his stewardship the Home grew from strength to strength. The number of boys admitted in the Home increased to 295 as on 1955. The Home is the earliest educational institution of Ramakrishna Mission in South India and almost all educational institutions of the Mission in erstwhile Madras city have grown under its fostering care in their early years. Initially the objective was to provide free boarding and lodging for destitute and orphan boys allowing them to have their education in a nearby school. Later for a fuller realisation of the Gurukula ideal, a Residential High School was started in 1922. After sometime, vocational training was also started, which was later developed into a Residential Technical Institute imparting training in Automobile Engineering from 1932 onwards; initially this Licen- tiate in Automobile Engineering (LAE) diploma course was for a five years period and as per Govt’s directive this course was later changed as 3 year diploma course from 1949 onwards. In the year 1958 Govt of India gave permission for starting additional diploma course in Mechanical Engineering (DME). When DME was started in 1959 as per the advice of AICTE, full time LAE course was replaced by post diploma course of 18 months duration after DME. However this ar- rangement was stopped after few years and DME course alone was in existence. To commemorate the centenary of the Home in the year 2005 two new diploma courses have been started, viz., Diploma in Automo- bile Engineering and Diploma in Computer Engineering so that the Home can serve more number of orphan and destitute boys. The Technical Institute has now been designated as a full-fledged 6 Polytechnic College. During the Second World War, in 1942 the Residential High School was shifted from Mylapore to Uthiramerur as per the evacuation plan of the Government. Later in 1946, it was shifted to Athur (near Chengalpattu). In June 1958 it was brought back to Chennai. Our Home also provides free boarding and lodging facilities to deserving boys studying in Vivekananda College in its College Section. A non-residential Centenary Primary School was started in the year 1936 to mark the birth centenary of Sri Ramakrishna. It serves mainly the poorer children of the locality and is also attached to the Home. The Home thus runs 3 educational institutions, which are the Residential High School, Residential Polytechnic College and non-residential Centenary Primary School. 7 Vocational Training Centre (A) TALLY Training center: With the sole aim of enabling the unem- ployed youth find suitable employment, our Home is imparting free short term training in fields like Tally.ERP course etc. This is being done with the financial support of HCL Foundation. Start- ed in the year 2014, we have so far trained around 500 students of different age groups. More students are expected to undergo the above training during this year. (B) Ramakrishna Mission - Redington Smart Learning Cen- tre: Redington Foundation in collaboration with Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home has started career skill development training classes to unemployed youth. The current vocation- al programme is a two tier employment oriented programme being started by Redington Foundation – Under their CSR programme. It aims to educate socially backward and eco- nomically challenged students and make them job ready. As already mentioned, a free gift of 15 grounds of land in the main Sullivans garden road in the heart of Mylapore area in the year 1915 by Sri S.G.Srinivasachari, the then District Munsiff paved the way for raising our Home’s main building in 1921. We salute this greathearted noble soul for his invaluable gesture. Sri P.R.Subramaniam an illustrious old student of our Home and for- mer Vice President of our Managing Committee and his wife Smt. Rajam Subramaniam gifted on 24-02-2016 a house property of 3976 sq.fts at 4th main road, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai – 28 worth more than Rs.7 crores.