Grandson Shares Rich Stories of Sir Visvesvaraya

An interactive meeting was held in honour of Mr. Satish Mokshagundam, President, Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust, Bengaluru along with senior functionaries and staffs of MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai. Mr. Mokshagundam shared the life journey and rare information on his late grandfather and legendary engineer Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya. He explained that Sir M. Visvesvaraya was born to the poor family of a priest in the Muddenahalli village of Karnataka. The architect of landmark irrigation projects in India completed engineering diploma against financial hardship of his family. Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s brilliance and intellectual acumen impressed Mr. Charles Walters, Principal, Central College in Bangalore. Sir M. Visvesvaraya strived hard to transform Mysore into a thriving economic hub and to this end, he set up State Bank of Mysore, Mysore Iron Works, Mysore Soap Factory and others.

Sir M. Visvesvaraya upheld virtues of punctuality, probity in public service and remained determined not to use his public position as Dewan of Mysore to favour any of his family members in government jobs. The iconic statesman demonstrated his commitment to the cause of higher education by setting up the Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar Polytechnic at Bangalore using his personal wealth. Sir M. Visvesvaraya refused to accept royalty from the then government for his automatic sluice gate design technology so that the money could be used for public welfare. Sir M. Visvesvaraya showed gratitude to driver, cook and other personal assistants by bequeathing his wealth upon them.

In Photo:

From (L-R): Mr. Srinivas Baratam, Managing Director, Kriscore Financial Advisors Pvt Ltd.; Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai; Mr. Satish Mokshagundam, grandson of Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya and President, Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust, Bengaluru; Ms. Lakshmi Mokshagundam, wife of Mr. Satish Mokshagundam; Ms. Rupa Naik, Senior Director, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai and Mr. Y. R. Warerkar, Director General, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai.