Andal Venkatasubba Rao

Founder

Andal Venkatasubba Rao is the founder of The Madras Seva Sadan (1928)[1], an Indian non-profit working on education, women & children, elderly and arts & culture from Chennai.

Andal Venkatasubba Rao (1894-1969), widely known as Aandaalamma, was an Indian social worker and educationist. In 1928 she co-founded the Madras Seva Sadan, a charitable organisation in Madras (now Chennai) working for the welfare and education of women and children.

Early life and education

She was born in 1894 in Madras and was educated at Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and the Presidency Girls' High School in the city. In 1928 she married M. Venkatasubba Rao, a judge of the Madras High Court who was later knighted.

Career

In 1928 Andal and her husband founded the Madras Seva Sadan with an initial capital of 10,000 rupees, to provide shelter, training and education for destitute women and children. The organisation went on to run schools and vocational training institutions in Chennai and continues to operate.

Institutions named after her include the Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai. She died in 1969.

Recognition

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, in 1957 for her contributions to social work and education.[2][3][4][5]

The Madras Seva Sadan

Founded in 1928 by Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao — the youngest judge of the Madras High Court — and Lady Andal with Rs 10,000 from their personal fortune, The Madras Seva Sadan grew from a rented house in Mylapore into four campuses across Chennai. Registered as an independent society in 1940, it today runs schools including the Madras Seva Sadan Higher Secondary School for Girls, Sir Mutha School and Lady Andal School, the Prem Vihar children's home, the Shanthi Sadan assisted-living home for elderly women, learning centres for children with learning difficulties, sports facilities and the 1,200-seat Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall.

The Madras Seva Sadan reports the following, on its own site:

15 institutions across 4 campuses, including 6 schools educating over 4,000 students
A 73,000 sq.ft. home for children and a 35,000 sq.ft. old age home for women