(Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad)
As a senior academician (now retired on superannuation from the Government of India), I had the opportunity to visit across our country and abroad for academic activities ( for delivering a talk, research studies, training to impart officials, etc.), but as a senior citizen my recent experience (March 2024) to deliver a talk as Resource Person at Sengamala Thayaar Educational Trust Women’s College, an Autonomous Organization (accredited by NAAC & ISO 9001:2015 Certified Institution) Mannargudi, Thiruvarur (district ), Tamil
Nadu, India, had a different flavour in my academic life. A little more than 4,000 (four thousand) women/girls study in this college. Also, teaching (around 150) and non-teaching staff (100), mostly women, are highly dedicated and service-oriented. I have observed that in our country, girls/women are endowed with hard work, dedication, and devotion supported by intellectual capabilities.
The economics department of the women’s college organized the National Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Research Methodology’ on March 1 & 2, 2024. For the benefit of readers, I wish to mention a few lines about Mannargudi. Mannargudi is a town in the Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu and the headquarters of the Mannargudi taluk. It is 28 kilometres from the district headquarters, Thiruvarur, 40 kilometres from Thanjavur, and 310 kilometres from Chennai. Mannargudi is known for the Rajagopalaswamy temple, a prominent Vaishnavite shrine, and the famous Sengamala Thayaar Educational Trust Women’s College.
It is pertinent to mention that the college was set up in 1994 by a great personality, visionary, and philanthropist, Thirumathi Krishnaveni Vivekanandam, mother of Mrs. V. K. Sasikala, a leading political figure in Tamil Nadu and India. Presently, the college activities are managed by an erudite scholar, Dr. V. Dhivaharan, M.Sc., D.E. M., Ph.D., who is the son of Thirumathi Krishnaveni Vivekanandam (brother of Mrs. V. K. Sasikala).
Dr. V. Dhivaharan is officially addressed as Correspondent and Secretary. It is heartening to mention that Thirumathi Krishnaveni Vivekanandam established the college when there was no higher educational institution for women within a radius of about 40 kilometers in Thiruvarur District. She, in turn, entrusted the task of nurturing the Institution to her illustrious son, Dr. V. Dhivaharan.
The Institution, which was started with five departments and 155 students initially (now more than 4,000 students, all women), has now blossomed into a Centre of higher learning and research with 12 Under-graduate programmes, 13 Post-graduate programmes, five Research programmes, one PG Diploma, and a variety of subject-related certificate programmes offered by both the Parent University and the Institution. The Institution is spread over an area of 67 acres with classrooms, laboratories, three seminar and two conference halls, an open-air auditorium, and other teaching and research and extension facilities such as a Central Instrumentation Facility, Biomining Research Laboratory, Gymnasium and Playgrounds, health room, and counselling room which contribute to the effective ambience for curricular, co-curricular, extracurricular and administrative activities. Thirteen Smart classrooms have been provided with ICT-enabled teaching-learning gadgets to fulfil the requirements of 13 departments. The facilities include a computer, LCD projector, speakers, collar mikes, and smart board. Besides, there is a Board Room to conduct the meetings of the Managing Committee. Also, there are 30 college buses for the students who hail from the vicinity. The college has well-established teaching and research laboratories in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition, and dietetics. In a few other rooms, portraits of Swami Vivekananda and his sayings can be seen in the Conference Hall.
I am happy to visit this prestigious Institution and share my experience with bright women/girls students. I am grateful to the College’s Management and the Economics Department for inviting me. I wish this Institution a bright future vis-s-vis endowed with many more laurels.
(The author is a former Professor & Head (CPME), NIRD & PR (Government of India), Hyderabad).