Heritage museum inaugurated

Sepia-tinted reprints of photographs featuring visits by Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore and C.V. Raman, late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, late President R. Radhakrishnan and various Chief Min

Sepia-tinted reprints of photographs featuring visits by Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore and C.V. Raman, late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, late President R. Radhakrishnan and various Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu figure among highlights of the milestone years in the Heritage Museum inaugurated on Wednesday by St. Joseph’s College in its heritage campus.

Named after Rev. Fr. Audibert, the first rector and principal who started ‘St Joseph’s Collegium’ in Nagapattinam in September 1844, under the auspices of Fathers of Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) with just one pupil in a small hut, the museum chronicles the college’s rise as an educational institution that had nurtured many students in southern India.

The college shifted to Tiruchi in 1883, from where it continues to function in its heritage campus in the Chathiram area. Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, an alumnus of the intermediate school and college from 1950-1954, has been commemorated with a special display. The museum talks about the history and origins of the buildings on its campus, such as the Lawley Hall, Clive’s House and the Indo-Gothic style Lourdes Church.