Vembakkam: clan, lake
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The tragedy at Vembakkam
V. Sadgopacharlu
Q: Who was the first Indian to be appointed a Member of the Madras Legislative Council?
Ans: A brilliant lawyer called V. Sadgopacharlu who practised successfully even before the High Court Act was passed in 1861. Sadagopacharlu died young -- when he was only 35 -- but by then he had written a book that was considered the final word on Mohammedan Law. He was a member of the Vembakkam clan which had many distinguished luminaries in the 19th and early 20th centuries, among them Sir V. Bashyam Ayyangar.
Vembakkam Lake
Vembakkam Lake which was the site of a tragedy involving a member of the Vembakkam clan. This was V. Rajagopalacharlu, said to have been an even more brilliant lawyer than his eldest brother, Sadagopachalu. But Rajagopalacharlu tended to spread himself thin by having a whole slew of interests he spent time on. He was a staunch reformist, a member of the Brahmo Samaj, an expert at mesmerism and hypnotism, an authority on music as well as a composer, a good photographer, and an out of the ordinary marksman with a rifle or a revolver.
Walking on the Vembakkam Lake bund one day with his sister’s husband, he playfully aimed the gun he was carrying at his brother-in-law and pulled the trigger. He hadn’t loaded the gun - but someone else had… and Rajagopalacharlu found himself with a dead man at his feet. He, it is said, ran the eight miles to the Collectorate in Chingleput and sobbed out his story to the Collector. The Englishman refused to believe what he was hearing and, calling for his horse and carriage, he set out for the spot with Rajagopalacharlu. When he saw the dead body, heard the story again and listened to witnesses, he pronounced that it was an accidental death and Rajagopalacharlu was not to blame. But six months later, a shattered Rajagopalacharlu passed away in his mansion in South Mada Street, Mylapore, a house called Vasantha Vilas.
