Swami Vivekananda in Chennai - Ice house

"It is not known to date who arranged for Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar to take these two photos. However, it seems likely that one of Swamiji’s admirers was behind it, like K. Sundararama Iyer, or Biligiri Iyengar, who provided his residence—Castle Kernan (later named Vivekananda House)—for Swamiji’s nine-day stay in Chennai, or perhaps one of Swamiji’s ardent Chennai disciples. K. Sundararama Iyer said of Swamiji at that time: I enjoyed the infinite pleasure and privilege of once more looking at his wonderful eyes direct, recalling to my recollection all he had achieved and mentally running over what his future career might be as the future minister of the Vedic religion.2 ❊ ❊ ❊ Chennai, 1897 This has first to be heard, then thought upon, then meditated upon. Let the people hear first, and whoever helps in making the people hear about the great truths in their own scriptures cannot make for himself a better karma today. Says our Vyasa, “In the Kali Yuga there is one karma left. Sacrifices and tremendous tapasyas are of no avail now. Of karma one remains, and that is the karma of giving.” (CW [1973] 3:221)

A quaint and charming article appeared in the April 1897 issue of Prabuddha Bharata concerning photos 58 and 59: THE PHOTO-TYPE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA: Herewith, we gladly send the photo-type of Swami Vivekananda. It is the best likeness we have been able to send to our subscribers. It is from a half-tone block prepared for us by Messrs. S. K. Lawton and Co., of Jaffna, Ceylon, from a photograph specially taken here by Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar, No. 3, Veeraraghava Mudali Street, Triplicane, Chennai. We are sure many would be glad to have the likeness of the swami in his simple Indian sannyasi dress and position. We are sorry to announce that many of our subscribers have not as yet sent us the small amount of two annas, we asked of them, to meet the extra cost in printing these photo-types on separate sheets. Nevertheless, we have sent a copy of the above photo-type to each of our subscribers, in the fullest hope that such of our subscribers as have not already remitted the amount, will not fail to remit the same at their earliest convenience. We can never bring ourselves to believe that any of the subscribers of the “Awakened India” will fail to send this small amount of two annas for both the photo-types. We tender our thanks to those of our subscribers who have already remitted the amount so promptly; we regret that we cannot find space to publish their names. We, of course, tender our thanks to Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar for taking such beautiful photos of Swamiji. In the February 1897 issue of Prabuddha Bharata there is some information about Mr. Mudaliar. He was a well-known photographer of South India of those days and was himself a bhakta or devotee. The subject matter of his photographs which was mainly religious—temples and images—reflected his own religious temperament. He could not have found a more divine being than Swamiji to photograph and he surely must have recognized that."