About CSDAV · Since 1975
51 years of education rooted in values.
CSDAV began in 1975 with one school in Kodambakkam and a simple belief: children do best when strong Indian values and a sound CBSE education go hand in hand. Today the CSDAV Group of Schools runs two campuses in Chennai.
Our journey
1975
The Chhathrapathy Shivaji Educational and Cultural Society is founded on 10 October 1975, and CSDAV School opens in Kodambakkam.
2015
CSDAV School Vanagaram opens in Velappanchavadi, bringing the CSDAV way of teaching to a green, open campus.
2026
51 years of the CSDAV family, with 100% Class X board results at Kodambakkam year after year.
2027–28
Vanagaram welcomes its first Class X batch.
Our founder
Late Mr. K. B. Nowlay
Mr. K. B. Nowlay came from a simple, humble background and rose through sheer dedication, sincerity and a rational approach to life. A graduate of the Guindy Engineering College, he served in the Public Works Department, became a Fellow of the Chartered Engineers Association and was a trusted valuer for banks and property developers.
He valued India’s rich tradition and heritage and studied the Upanishads and Vedas deeply. A voracious reader, he believed that “food for the ears is more important than food for the stomach”. For his social work for the Maratha Kshatriya community he was honoured with the title Samaj Bhushan by the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha.
On 10 October 1975 he founded the Chhathrapathy Shivaji Educational and Cultural Society, together with the Srihan Maharashtra Mandal and the Marathi Samaj, and started Chhathrapathy Shivaji DAV School in Kodambakkam, following the CBSE curriculum with Marathi as a third language.
He was a guide, mentor and philosopher to everyone around him. It is now our duty to follow in his footsteps and serve society and the nation with the same devotion and sincerity.
More about CSDAV, coming soon
Pages for our society members, alumni and school life will be added here.