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VOL. XXIV NO. 16, December 1-15, 2014
Century-old Alliance gets a new look
by Charukesi

The century-old Tamil book publishing house, Alliance Company, demolished its old home, where it had been doing business for over a hundred years, and replaced it with a new building. But that is not my focus; what it has done with much of the past is.

None of the elegant wooden pillars which were seen in the old book house has been destroyed or thrown out. They have been meticulously cleaned and chemically treated so that they can survive for many more years. Similarly, the floral design of two of the ceilings has been cleaned and retained in the new showroom. “I do not want to discard them, just because they were old. I would like to preserve them not only from the point of view of architectural beauty, but also to maintain the heritage left behind by my grandfather Kuppusamy Iyer,” says Srinivasan, the third generation owner of the bookshop. The glistening pillars, as well as the ornamental flower design, add old world charm to the new building.

The Alliance home – yesterday and today.

Several heritage pieces too have been utilised in the new building. Srinivasan points out a number of articles which have sentimental value to him and his family and which have found a place in the showroom. Conspicuous among them are the rosewood book-rack gifted by the Tamil scholar P.Sri and the almirah given by the novelist ‘Anuthama’, both freshly polished. Srinivasan says, “These are witnesses to the love, affection and regard these writers had for my grandfather!”

Srinivasan had used the puja stand of his grandmother Meenakshi Ammal innovatively. He has made a stand of similar design and attached it below the old one, upside-down! It looks a different ornamental stand with identical curves both on top and below!

Even now, the metal blue nameboard of the company made in 1910 hangs at the entrance and Srinivasan is in no mood to change it to a modern one.

The old wall clock, the ‘Sardar’ brand cycle lamp, paperweight, black leather purse, ink and pen stand, have been showcased in the main hall. “I have not discarded the racks too that we bought in 1946. After a couple of coats of varnish, look at their majesty! They remind me every moment of our old bookshop and serve as the symbol of our continuity in the same premises,” says Srinivasan.

Narrating the story of Alliances, Srinivasan relates how V. Kuppusamy Iyer, who migrated from Komal, a village in Tanjore district in 1896, opened General Supplies Company to sell stationery items.

Inside Alliance – the old wooden pillars gleaming afresh, the rosewood book-rack, the old entrance door to the owner's office room, amongst other features, are all part of the refurbished main hall

His patriotic fervour got him publishing Tamil books, then considered a risky business. His monthly journal Viveka Bodhini (1908) touched a circulation of nearly 30,000 copies and covered a variety of subjects, besides short stories. Many budding writers used it as a stepping stone for their writing careers. Writer Lakshmi, who needed money to continue her medical studies, sought Kuppusamy Iyer’s help to bring out a book of her short stories. He agreed and the royalties helped her financially. Similar stories are a legion.

In the 1930s, when Alliance was in the red, Rajaji provided Kuppusamy Iyer with the opportunity to publish his books, giving him the copyright free. Alliance turned the corner. This was followed by publication of books of Ta.Na. Kumarasamy. A huge government order for books to be sent to Tamil soldiers was another chance to swell the coffers of Alliance. Later, in a difficult situation, Cho gave the rights of his books to Alliance and there has been no looking back.

In 1934, Subhas Chandra Bose’s two books, Pudhu Vazhi and Ilaignan Kanavu, which were banned by the British, played a role in a large number of Tamil youth joining Netaji’s INA. The letter signed by Subhas Bose authorising Alliance to publish these books is still preserved carefully by Srinivasan.

Alliance’s record of publishing the translations of Tagore, Bankim Chandra, Sarat Chandra, V.S. Khandekar (from a brilliant translation by Ka.Sri.Sri) and other popular novelists of Bengal and Maharashtra is unparalleled. Later, books by SVV, Devan, Marina, B.S. Ramaiah, Ki.Va.Ja., Anuthama and Ra.Ki. Rangarajan came out and the finances of the company got stabilised. Srinivasan has organised a gallery of pictures of well-known Tamil writers in the main hall of the building. “It is to remind me that they were the ones behind the success of Alliance!”

“Mahatma Gandhi visited our stall during a visit to Chennai,” says Srinivasan. “Next to our building, a meeting that helped found Congress was held and we have installed a slab at the entrance. This contains important landmarks of Alliance!” he adds.

Well-known critic SVK’s ‘Know Your Thyagaraja’ series and his father and novelist-writer SVV’s collections of humour articles are some of the English language publications of Alliance Company. “We propose to bring out Bharanidharan’s father T.S. Seshachalam’s Kambaramayana Araichi, V.S. Srinivasa Sastri’s En Ilamaikala Ninaivugal and Enathu Vazhkaiyin Amsangal, and Veer Savarkar’s Hindu Samrajyam, says Srinivasan about future plans. He signs off relating the story of Alliance’s logo.

“The logo for Alliance Company was a suggestion by none other than Ramana Maharishi,” says Srinivasan. Kuppusamy Iyer had paid a visit to Ramanashram during the Deepam and met Ramana Maharishi. Ramana asked him, “Did you see the Deepam on the Arunachala Mountain?” “Yes, I did see,” replied Iyer. “What did you understand from it?” was the next question from the sage. Kuppusamy Iyer could not reply. Ramana smilingly said, “Go home. You will understand!”

Iyer returned to Chennai and called on Ta.Na. Kumarasamy and narrated the conversation he had with the Maharishi. “Oh, he was referring to your idea of preparing a logo for your book publishing company. He had drawn your attention to the lamp on the top of the mountain meaning Arive Vilakku – Knowledge is Light. Now, go ahead and prepare your logo with a lamp on the hill and Arive Vilakku on the base,” advised TNK.

And that became the logo of Alliance. And still is.

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In this issue

Whose water is it anyway?
It's a wholly illegal town – George Town
Madras Landmarks - 50 years ago
A Neglected Monument
Century-old Alliance gets a new look
Christmas in old Madras
Losing out on a paid housemanship
Forgetting our building traditions?
D.K.Pattammal & other masters remembered

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