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 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 01-04-2019 to 31-03-2020 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 1 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 9 Gurukula System of Education Celebrations, Events & Special Activities 11-21 Chapters of Old Boys’ Association 22 Honorary Workers 23 Ramakrishna Mission Polytechnic College (Residential) 27 Ramakrishna Mission Residential High School 39 Collegiate Section Ramakrishna Centenary Primary School 42 Vocational Training Centre We fondly remember – Obituary List 45 Appendix –“A” List of Donors 2019-20 45 (General Donation, Special Donation for Deepavali, Annadhanam, Akshaya Tritiya, Home Day & students educational assistance etc) (i) From Old Students of the Home 46-51 (ii) From Friends and Well-wishers 52-71 Appendix – “B” Endowments Endowments donations received during 2019-20 (i) From Old Students of the Home 72-81 (ii) From Friends and Well-wishers 82-94 2 Appendix – “C” Donations for acquiring Moveable Property (80G) 95 Appendix - “D” (a) Foreign Contributions (General Donations) 2019-20 (i) Old Students of the Home 96 (ii) Friends and Well Wishers (b) Foreign Contributions (Endowment Donations) (i) Old Students of the Home 97 (ii) Friends and Well Wishers 97 Appendix – “E” – COVID-19 Relief Donations (i) Old Students 98 (ii) Friends and Well-wishers 98 Appendix – “F” Donation in kind (i) Rice and Other items donation 99 (ii) Fruits and Vegetables donation Appendix – “G” Receipts & Payments - Accounts of various sections 118-129 Appendix – “H” Auditor’s Report 124 Objectives of the Home 124 Home Festival Calendar 125 Special Appeal for Donations 126 Income Tax Exemption Certificate for the Home 128 Form for New Endowments 129 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 Fifteenth Annual Report (from 01.04.2019 to 31.03.2020) We have great pleasure in presenting before you the annual report of the Home highlighting our activities and accounts for the year 2019-20. With hopes, aspirations and desire to achieve new heights, we have completed our work in the year 2019-20 and solicit your continued support and guid- ance in future too. During the year under review, the Home has embarked on inculcating character oriented education to its students in the Home and also rural development and welfare activities in some of the slums in Chen- nai and backward villages in Thiruvallur, and Chengalpattu Districts. RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND 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 illustrious son of India, Swami Vivekananda or- ganised the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission with their Head- quarters at Belur in Howrah Dist (West Bengal). Both the Math and Mis- sion gradually extended their spheres of activities resulting in a number of branches coming into existence in different parts of the country and abroad. Though both the Math and Mission take up charitable and philanthropic activities, the Math lays emphasis on spirituality and preaching, while the Mission is wedded mainly to social welfare activities like educational, med- ical, distress relief and rehabilitation activities, guided by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda who taught the world that service to fellow beings is service to GOD. 4 Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home – Origin and Growth Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct disciple of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrish- na 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 boarding 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 Ramakrish- nananda 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.Srinivasachariar the then District Munsiff made a generous gift of a valuable building site of 15 grounds in main Sullivans garden in Mylapore to the Home. Later, the adjoining piece of 11 grounds was ac- quired. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of the indefatigable C.Ramasamy Iyengar a massive building was constructed on this land. Swami Brah- mananda, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, laid the foundation stone for this building on 6 May 1917, Buddha Poornima, 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 Ramanu- jachariar 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 erst- while Madras city have grown under its fostering care in their early years. 5 Initially the objective was to provide free boarding and lodging for des- titute 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 under the Home Management where the Home and the school would form part of the integral entity and the teacher and pupils would live together. Plans were prepared for a separate building for the High School adjoining the Home premises. The Management approached the Government for help. The Government agreed to share more than half the cost of building. The Nattukottai Nagarathar donated Rs.83886/-. Accordingly the school block was named “Nattukottai Nagarathar Vidyalaya” and it started functioning from 1922 within the Home campus. The Residential High School section which was temporarily shifted to Uth- iramerur in 1942 and subsequently to Athur near Chengalpattu during sec- ond world war time, was shifted back to Chennai and has been functioning in the main Home premises from 1958 onwards. After sometime, vocational training for the School students was also start- ed, which was later developed into a Residential Technical Institute im- parting training in Automobile Engineering from 1932 onwards; initially this Licentiate 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 arrangement 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 di- ploma courses have been started, viz., Diploma in Automobile 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-fledgedPolytechnic College. 6 College Section: The Home had provided free boarding and lodging facil- ities to deserving boys studying in various colleges in Chennai. At present students studying in Vivekananda College are given admission. A non-residential Centenary Primary School was started in the year 1936 to mark the birth centenary of Sri Ramakrishna. It serves mainly the poor- er children of the locality. The Home thus runs 3 educational institutions, which are the Residential High School, Residential Polytechnic College and non-residential Centenary Primary School. Vocational Training Centre TALLY Training: With the aim of enabling the unemployed youth find suit- able employment and impart skills to the unskilled workforce, our Home is imparting free short term 3 months training in fields like Tally.ERP course etc. This is being done with the financial support of HCL Foundation. Started in the year 2014, we have so far trained around 1800 students of different age groups. More students are expected to undergo the above training during this year. Munificent Donors Late P.R.Subramaniam an illustrious old student of our Home and former 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. The Home is highly grateful to Sri P.R.Subramaniam and his wife for their generous gesture. Ms.R.Chudamani, a great Tamil writer of short stories of yester years had be- queathed, before her death a will to donate all her possessions to charitable in- stitutions.