শিক্ষণে ও মননে (পর্ব-২৩) || অধ্যাপক গণপতি সুব্বাইয়ার সাক্ষাৎকার || Ganapathy Subbiah || by PAATH

Welcome to PAATH History... #GanapathySubbiah #শিক্ষণেওমননে #ShouvikMukhopadhyay .......... Use earphone/headphone for better sound quality ......... Professor Ganapathy Subbiah: Prof. Ganapathy Subbiah, much revered as ‘Subbiahda’ held many a generation of the students of Visva Bharati awestruck who loved him not only for his knowledge and erudition but more so because of his love and affection for his students. His 16 ‘Nichu Bunglow’ quarter remained open for the students till late in the evening and even after that, with the mobile phone setting in he remained accessible to the students not only with academic questions but more for their problems in life. Adolescent students found in him a father figure with whom one can bare their minds, confide without getting embarrassed. After his matriculation Prof. Subbiah joined St. John’s College at Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli. Palayamkottai has earned the accolade of being the “Oxford” of South India with many institutions of Higher Learning. After his Pre University education he went to Pumpuhar College at Tanjavur, the hallowed capital of the Sangam Cholas. He did his Honors in ‘Indian Culture’ with minor in Religion and Ethics. Then in 1967 he came to Benaras Hindu University for his MA in History of Art. Legendary historian of Indian Art and Iconography, Prof. SK Saraswati was the Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture when Prof. Subbiah joined the department as an MA student. After completing his MA, he had returned back to Tamilnadu as a lecturer in the Pumpuhar College in 1969. In 1972 Professor Saraswati asked Subbaih to join him as a project fellow as he was then working on Bharat Shilpakatha, a monograph on Indian Art funded by UGC. After the completion of his tenure track Prof Saraswati returned back to University of Calcutta and along with him Subbiah came to Kolkata. He completed his dissertation in 1976. He got his appointment at Visva Bharati in July 1976 where he continued to serve till his superannuation in March 2013 – 37 years of teaching in the ‘Abode of Peace’ (with a gap of 4 years i.e. 1984-88 when he was engaged with his second Ph. D. thesis at McMaster University in Canada). For his work – with the neglected Pandyan architecture, a large part being rock cut monuments or caves tucked up in nondescript villages in the southern most corners of Tamilnadu, Subbiah adopted a survey method locating them through ethnographic study which surprisingly echoes with the methods adopted by the legends like Tarapada Santra, Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal and David McCutchion for the terracotta temples of south western Bengal and almost at the same time without any knowledge of one another! While working on the Pandyan temple architecture Subbiah was also delving into the Tamil Classical texts – Sangam and Post Sangam literature which were raising uncomfortable questions for him. These questions took him to McMaster university to work with his one-time BHU mentor, Prof Sivaraman for his second Ph.D. This ultimately resulted in the publication of a monograph Roots of Tamil Religious Thought in 1991. Presently Prof. Subbiah and his soulmate Lakshmi Subbiah (our beloved ‘Lakshmidi’) live in Chennai and its outskirts. ........... Interview taken on: 28 June, 2026 Place: Pustak Mahal, Bhubandanga, Santiniketan Main Road, Bolpur, West Bengal, India ............ Interviewer: Shouvik Mukhopadhyay Born in 1968 Sri Mukhopadhyay completed his Madhyamik examination in the year 1984. After that he entered USS (Uttar Shiksha Sadana ) at Visva Bharati. This was a Plus 2 level school under Visva Bharati. He continued my graduation and post-graduation in the same university. After passing out in 1991 he had a brief stint in IAF (Indian Air Force) as an SNCO (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer). Made famous by Ranajit Guha as ‘subaltern’, he uses to brag a bit about the sole distinction of being a real Subaltern among the practicing historians/ who teach history for one’s living. Afterwards he joined Khandra College, then affiliated to Burdwan University in 1997. In the next year he started my Ph.D. under the joint supervision of Prof. Ganapathy Subbiah and Prof. Suchibrata Sen at Visva Bharati. He was awarded Ph.D. in 2006. He has served his alma mater Visva Bharati for a brief period (2002-08). After that he has joined University of Calcutta from 2008 onwards and continue to serve this hallowed institution till now. In the recent years (2025) he had a publication – a biography of Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das from National Book Trust. Apart from that two of his translations of Prof. Irfan Habib and Prof. Harish Puri have also been published from the same publishing house. .............. Camera, Sound, Editing & Production by Gautam Mukhopadhyay Professional Profile Link: http://vidyamandira.ac.in/pdfs/facult... Video and soundtrack are subject to copyright of PAATH History ................ Email: [email protected]