Arrival of Swami Ramakrishnanandaji to Madras:
When Swami Vivekananda returned from the west, he exhorted the youth of the country to dedicate themselves to the service of the Motherland and ameliorate the distress of their fellow beings. In Madras his call met with a ready response. When he reached Kolkata (then Calcutta), he sent Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, to Chennai (then Madras) to start a centre.
Seeds sown for a Home for 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.
Palace for the Poor:
Home Grows....:
Residential High School:
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.
After sometime, vocational training was also started which was later developed into a imparting a diploma course in Automobile Engineering. As per Government directive this course was later changed as a 3 year diploma course in Mechanical Engineering from 1958 onward. To commemorate the centenary of the Home in the year 2005, two new 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 was now a full fledged
A non-residential was started in the year 1936 to mark the birth centenary of Sri Ramakrishna. It serves mainly the poorer children of the locality studying in Tamil Medium.
Achievements:
Helped by the Home at a crucial stage in their lives, and by dint of their efforts, all of them not only came up in life but were instrumental in helping others, their social awareness kindled by the training they received in the Home.
We have in our Alumni a galaxy of eminent men including monks of the Ramakrishna order, internationally renowned professors, scientists, defense officers, philosophers, senior administrators (both in Government and outside) doctors, engineers, and technicians. Even the humble folk among them have displayed virtues of honesty and devotion to duty so much so, the Home Student is trusted and preferred in any selection for admission or for appointment.
Growth of the Students Home:
In its chequered history covering more than a century, the Students Home gave rise to and promoted the growth of several organizations devoted to education of the weaker sections of the society. At present, all those organizations are functioning as branch centers of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Started on 13th June, 1932 with a single school the T Nagar complex consists of several branches catering to all classes.
In 1938 an organization by name “Sarada Vidyalaya” started for the alleviation of women in distress, by Sister Subbalakshmi. It was affiliated to the Mission through the good offices of the Home. Thus the Mission gave stability and continuity to the women’s welfare.
In the 1930s a philanthropist donated 146 acres of dry land and transferred 36 acres of trust property in a village by name Malliankaranai, 81 KM from Chennai, to the Students Home. Starting from this base, the Home developed it in to a rural centre consisting of an estate for agriculture, a High School and an Elementary School for boys and girls and a rural hostel for orphan and destitute boys aspiring for education. This fully developed centre was given a separate branch of Ramakrishna Mission status in the year 2000.
The Home had provided land, building and all the initial support for the startup of Vivekananda College. This college has established a reputation for great achievements and for inculcating moral outlook. The Home had provided land, building and all the initial support for the startup of Vivekananda College. This college has established a reputation for great achievements and for inculcating moral outlook.
