Madras Varsity calendar gets a mid-year makeover

CHENNAI: The change of gu­ard in the Tamil Nadu Asse­mbly has set off a flurry of activity at Madras University. Vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam has ordered the printing of new calendars— in the middle of the year—as the ones being used carry photos of former Chief Min­ister M Karunanidhi, former Deputy CM M K Stalin and former Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy. Thiruvasagam has reportedly asked for photos of present Chief Minister J Jayalali­thaa to be printed on the new calendar, in a move to appease the new state leader.Many at the university feel the need to reprint the calendars would not have arisen had the vice-chancellor stuck to the design that had been used for ages—it included stills of edifices of learning that came under the university’s banner. But this time around, the calendars printed at the start of 2011 had profile shots of then political leaders of the state.Sources told Express that as soon as the change of po­wer in the State was annou­nced, the vice-chancellor issued a notice to all departments and campuses to take the calendars off their walls. “In fact, sergeants of the university came to every department to ensure that the calendars were not found on any of our walls. Even the ex-chief minister’s portraits that adorned the vice-chancellor’s room have now vanished,” a university insider revealed.Questions are now being raised about the additional expenses being incurred to print the new calendars. Running into a few lakh rupees, the expenditure, however, does not require a syndicate approval. “The university as an educational institution should be free of political leanings.... What purpose do they (the calendars) serve? Are they mediums to massage the egos of power centr­es or are they for the convenience of referring to dates?” a university member asked—questions best left to the vice-chancellor to answer.