Taking the powers-that-be on a walkabout at Victoria Public Hall on inaugural night, I could not help but reflect on how one of the most important markers in its history is missing: the plaque of its (first) inauguration. The foundation stone, miraculously enough, has survived intact and after a clean-up is now back where it belongs – at a subterranean level, with a protective transparent covering and a brass plaque marking the spot where it is. But of the inaugural plaque, there is not a sign.
There are plenty of others as though to compensate. The Maharajah of Vizianagaram has not one but two plaques acknowledging his generosity. Incidentally, it must be pointed out here that the land was not his, as is being claimed on many websites now. It was and is the property of the Corporation. He donated munificently to fund the construction. Likewise, there is a large marble plaque that records the major donors of the 19th century. And there is a tablet commemorating C.N. Annadurai’s restoration of the place in 1967, though precious little came of it. And matching it, on the other side of the main entrance is a plaque commemorating the completion of the latest restoration.
But what happened to the plaque that must have been placed here when VP Hall was inaugurated in 1888? To get an answer to that, I turned to A Guide to The City of Madras and Its Suburbs, published by Higginbothams in 1889, a year after VP Hall was completed. Though I was not rewarded with a reply, there was plenty of food for thought otherwise. Firstly, it would seem that R.F. Chisholm was part of the committee that was first formed to evaluate designs submitted for a town hall. The prize money was ₹1000 – a not-inconsiderable sum for those days. Eventually, it was Chisholm’s design that was accepted, and he very happily quit the committee for taking on the contract, and no doubt, pocketed the prize as well.
