வணக்கம். அவ்வை தமிழ்ச்சங்கத்தின் வலைதளத்திற்கு வருகை தந்தமைக்கு மிக்க நன்றி!!

ABOUT THIRU.P.H.SUNDRESA IYER, FOUNDER, MEA ( DTEA)

Tamilians are well known for their organisational skills and preserving their culture and heritage wherever they lived through their unique way of networking.

It was this attribute that paved the way for starting a school for Tamilians in Shimla, which was the summer capital of British India. The school was started by late Shri. P. Sundresa Iyer, more known by his abbreviated name PH.S. Iyer in Nabha estate in pursuit of his vision to provide education to children of Tamil parents in the Mother Tongue. Most of the parents were in service with the Government of India wanted to teach their children traditional Tamil values.

The school was shifted from Shimla to New Delhi in early 1924. It was first housed in a room in Havelock Square near Gole Market, a prominent land mark in New Delhi. The house belonged to one Rao Saheb Gopala Iyer whose daughter was a student of the school. Soon the number of children enrolling in the school increased. To accommodate all students, the school shifted to the lawns in front of the house.

This school has now grown up into a much venerated educational institution in the capital. The school was first christened as Madrasi Education Association which later adopted the current name of Delhi Tamil Schools, managed and run by the Delhi Tamil Schools Association.

In 1925, the education authorities accorded recognition to the Madrasi School. The primary school became Middle school in 1945 W. Christie Esq. Chief Commissioner of Delhi laid the foundation stone for Middle school on 6th October 1945 but year it graduated into a Higher Secondary.

In 1948, during the silver jubilee celebrations of the school, responding to tributes paid to him for successfully turning his Vision of a Tamil school into reality late PHS Iyer modestly described himself as a Mali (Gardener) whose constant endeavour was to see that his plants grew up and blossomed throbbing with Life. He rightly proved that he was a Gardener with a green touch for the one school started by him has now grown into a Banyan tree with seven schools with a total enrolment of 7500 students and a faculty of 500. The founder or PHS as he was known belonged to the rare league of persons who built institutions which became living memorials to them long after they have gone.

PHS had arrived in New Delhi in the early twenties of the 20th century securing a government job. But moved by the plight Tamilians over the lack of educational facility for their children, especially in their mother tongue, PHS quit his job to start and build a Tamil school.

Today the name and fame of DTEA schools have spread far and wide not just in India but also abroad. They are recognised as outstanding educational institutions comparable with their like anywhere in the world. Several students have been toppers.

The Madrasi School (the temple of learning) functioned from Reading Road or Mandir Marg in New Delhi because of the location of the Birla Mandir. In the year 1956 the Higher Secondary Department was shifted to Lodhi Estate.

In the year 1972 the name of the Association was changed from Madrasi Education Association to DELHI TAMIL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION and the schools were also renamed as D.T.E.A. HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

The yeomen service done by the Madrasi Schools in Delhi was amply recognized and rewarded when the foundation stone of the Laxmi Bai Nagar, New Delhi was laid by none another than Sri. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru the then Prime Minister of India, in the year 1960 and later the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the school was presided over by Smt. Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India.

PHS retired in 1961. But throughout his innings at the school he was known for his punctuality, His charismatic personality and his dedicated service to the institution he founded earned regard and respect from the elite South Indian community in the capital.

After starting a branch school at Reading road, PHS shuttled between Delhi & Shimla maintaining both the schools for nearly two decades. The South Indian officers working in the Central Government in the capital looked up to him for all the educational needs of their children. PHS was adored for his sense of devotion and leadership. When late Mrs. Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations she narrated how she too revered PHS as her teacher. PHS in a short stint taught Tamil to Mrs. Gandhi. When she saw PHS seated in the front row she requested him to come on the stage and felicitated him profusely as a mark of respect to a great teacher!