He helped to change the face of north Chennai through schools

Tondiarpet's transformation from a serene neighborhood to a bustling area, as recalled by educationist A.T.B. Bose.

Tondiarpet in those days boasted ponds teeming with fish, coconut palm groves, fields of ‘keerai’ (greens), and a wide main road. The sea used to be far away with plenty of sands on the beach to play football and cricket.

“We used to have homes here and there with a plenty of open space. We got a proper road in 1962 when Jawaharlal Nehru came to inaugurate an industrial unit in our area,” recalls educationist A.T.B. Bose, a long-time resident of Tondiarpet and co-founder of the Ramanujan Museum and Math Education Centre.

Mr. Bose is a graduate of the College of Engineering, Guindy. His tryst with education began when he established and managed a CBSE school on behalf of an association based in Virudhunagar.

“We allowed the mothers of our students to utilise our school library. We had special maths classes for our students so that they could understand the concepts rather than just work out the problems using formulae. We invited P.K. Srinivasan, a mathematics teacher, who came all the way from Nanganallur. We were able to do this for five years,” he said.

Thereafter, through the Mahamayee Ammal Thangappa Nadar Educational Trust, Mr. Bose established several institutions, including the Ramanujan Museum in 1993 along with Srinivasan.

“For five days a week, he used to live on the third floor of the building where the museum is located. At a time when the CBSE introduced the concept of Math Labs in schools, we developed hands-on manipulative sets to teach mathematics for Classes I-X. I have also authored maths lab workbooks for these classes,” he recalls.

Mr. Bose was among those who led the agitations seeking extension of the Chennai Metro Rail service from Washermanpet to Tiruvottiyur. Today, the rail line stands testimony to those protests. He was also part of the citizens committee that fought for converting Royapuram, the first railway station of South India, into the third terminus of Chennai. However, this was a lost battle.