8/3/2019 visveraya

1/5

"Remember, your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to > keep it

so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours""

On the 15th of September 1861, more than a century ago a little boy was born in Muddenahalliin the Chikkaballapur Taluk of Kolar District (Mysore State). His father Srinivasa Sastry and his

mother Venkachamma named him Visvesvaraya.

Visvesvaraya's father, Srinivasa Sastry was a great Sanskrit scholar of those days. Both he and

his wife were good and pious folk who led a very simple life. They were not very well off butboth his parents decided to educate the little boy.

Right from his childhood days, Visvesvaraya learnt from them a respect for the culture and the

traditions of the land. His father enrolled him in a school in their tiny Taluk itself and

Visvesvaraya completed his early education there.

He was a good and a hardworking student and was keenly interested in pursuing his studies. So

with his parents consent and blessing he set out to Bangalore in order to go in for highereducation when he was around fifteen years old. In Bangalore, he joined the Central College.

But alas! His pocket was empty and he had no roof over his head. But this helpless state did not

bog Visvesvaraya down. Instead he started looking for a job that would sustain him and pay forhis studies.

He found a family from Coorg, who was looking for a tutor for their children. Visvesvaraya,

himself a student at that time, became their tutor. He lived with them and earned a few rupeeswith which he completed his education. As a student he earned every rupee by hard work.

Discipline was ever his watchword. All through his student days he worked hard and in asystematic way. He was an early riser and started his work quite early.

Though he was poverty-stricken, he continued to study well and stood high in the B.A.

Examination. When he was twenty, he managed to get some help from the Government ofMysore and joined the Science College in Poona to study Engineering. Three years later, by

sheer determination and hard work he ranked first in the L.C.E. and the EC.E. Examinations

(these were like the B.E. Examination of today).

As soon as the results were out, the Government of Bombay offered him the post of an AssistantEngineer at Nasik. Visvesvaraya was very happy and he worked hard and excelled in his post.

When he was 32 years old, some very difficult work fell to his lot. He was given the task of

finding a way of supplying water from the river Sindhu to a town called Sukkur. He prepared an

ingenious plan, which amazed the other famous engineers.

Also, he developed a new system called the Block System where he devised steel doors; these

could stop the wasteful flow of water in dams. Even British officers of those times were

astonished by his brains and were full of praise for the invention.

8/3/2019 visveraya

2/5

The Government appreciated Visvesvaraya's genius and work. He was promoted to higher

places. From Bombay, Visvesvaraya went to Hyderabad as Chief Engineer. Here he achieved

something that was simply impossible at that time.

The river Moosa divided the city of Hyderabad into two. When rains lashed, the river was in

floods and the waters of the river poured into many houses, and men and cattle were carriedaway. Visvesvaraya planned dams to tame the Moosa and also suggested that lovely parks

should be laid out on the banks of the river.

His resourcefulness earned him the position of a Chief Engineer in Mysore State. But

Visvesvaraya was not just interested in buildings, roads and bridges. He saw that the people of

India were then in a miserable condition. There were very few schools and only six persons out

of every hundred could read and write. Many people were just farmers who depended completelyon the rains for their food. He saw that ignorance, poverty and sickness plagued the people; and

he wanted to bring about change.

Visvesvaraya suggested that an Economic Conference be set up to find ways of removingignorance, poverty and sickness. As a result, very dry lands in parts the country began to smile

with plenty.

Visvesvaraya continued to be the Chief Engineer of Mysore for three years. In 1912 when he

was 51, the Maharaja of Mysore chose Visvesvaraya as his Dewan or his chief minister.

Soon after Visvesvaraya became the Dewan, one of his relatives went to him. He askedVisvesvaraya, "Can you get me into a higher post for a better pay with your recommendation to

the Maharaja?"

Visvesvaraya who was so straightforward said a plain 'No'.

But, he was kindhearted and as long as the relative was alive, he paid him a hundred rupeesevery month from his pocket.

As the Dewan, he got a car from the Government for his use. He used the Government car for

government work and for his private work he used his own car. Those were days when people

had to work by candlelight. He used, for official work, the stationery and the candles supplied bythe Government; for his private work he used stationery and candles, which he had bought. He

was such an honest man.

Once, one of hi friends was advised rest after some illness. He wanted to spend some days inBangalore. The friend wrote to him asking for a house for some days. He thought the Dewanwould give him a Government Guest House, free of rent. The Dewan did give him a Government

House; but as long as the friend stayed there, Visvesvaraya himself paid the rent of Rs. 250 a

month.

8/3/2019 visveraya

3/5

He was always neatly dressed and ready for work by seven in the morning. He was known

everywhere for his discipline and tidiness. There was not a crease or a wrinkle anywhere on his

clothes.

Visvesvaraya planned everything smoothly, methodically and without any hurry. Visitors who

wished to see him had to write first and he would fix an hour. He was very strict about the hourfixed and no one could come late.

Visvesvaraya always believed in the value of education. When he became the Dewan, there wereabout 4,500 schools in Mysore State. In six Years about 6,500 new school were opened. He also

stressed on education for women. He made the Maharani's College in Mysore where the first

hostel for girls was also opened. He also made arrangements for the government to give

scholarships to intelligent students to go to foreign countries for studies.

Visvesvaraya realized that industry was the backbone of a country. So he developed the existing

industries. He also got experts from other countries to help by teaching their skills. Thus many

new industries came up during his chief minister ship. He started the Sandal Oil Factory, theSoap Factory, the Metals Factory, the Chrome Tanning Factory and Bhadravati Iron and Steel

Works. He was also the key in the opening of the Bank of Mysore. He also brought in many

hotels into Mysore and played a major role in the laying of railway lines.

Visvesvaraya did in six years what many others could not have accomplished in sixty years.People asked each other "Is he a magician?" many a time.

But for Visvesvaraya it was no magic. He always believed only in hard work. He once said, "The

curse of our country is laziness. At first sight every one seems to be working. But in fact, one-

man works and the others watch him. As someone said with contempt, 'it looks as if five men are

working. But really only one- man works. One man will be doing nothing. One man will beresting. Another man will be watching them. Yet another man will be helping these three."

Visvesvaraya was also a fearless patriot. In those days the Englishmen considered themselves the

lords of the country. The Maharaja of Mysore had the tradition of holding a Durbar during theDasara festivities every year. On the day of the Durbar, the Europeans were given comfortable

chairs but Indians were required to sit on the floor. Visvesvaraya went to the Durbar for the first

time in 1910. The arrangements pained him.

The next year he did not attend the Durbar. When the officers of the palace made enquiries hefrankly gave the reason. The very next year all the Europeans and Indians were given chairs.

Following this a British officer wrote a letter to him. In his letter he said, "In the Maharaja's

Durbar, I want a cushion to rest my feet because the chair is too high."

Visvesvaraya promptly got the legs of the chair shortened and wrote back saying-"the height hasbeen reduced."

8/3/2019 visveraya

4/5

In 1918 at the age of 57, he took voluntary retirement. He went to the palace in the Government

car gave the letter and returned in his own car.

After retirement he went abroad numerous times, for some work or the other. Wherever he went,he had a notebook and a pencil in his hand. He made notes of any new information with which

he could help the country.

After his retirement when the Bhadravati Factory was in trouble, he worked as the Chairman

giving advice for restoration. At that time, the Government had not decided the salary for him. Ittook them some years to do so but by then the Government owed him more than a hundred

thousand rupees. M

When they finally decided to pay him, Visvesvaraya said "I will not touch a single rupee. Start

an institute where boys can learn some profession." The government followed his wish andwanted to name it after Visvesvaraya.

But he said, "Name it after the Maharaja of Mysore." Thus the Sri Jayachamaraja PolytechnicInstitute of Bangalore came about.

In 1944, an association arranged a conference where Visvesvaraya was the Chairman. The

Governor of Berar, an Englishman, was to open the conference. In those days the Governorswere very powerful, highly respected and obeyed. The conference was to discuss a resolution

that India should have a national government. The Governor said that the resolution should not

be discussed. "Otherwise," he said, "I will not come."

Visvesvaraya was unperturbed by the objection and said to his friends, "All right. Why wait for

him? Let us go on with the conference".

Such was his commitment towards the country that he did not care even if someone powerful

hindered the growth.

Because of his genius, experience and mellow wisdom people wanted to hear him and quite oftenhe was to make speeches. Whenever he had to make a speech he would think about what he was

going to say, write the speech, get it typed and weigh every word and revise it. He would revise

it four or five times and give it final shape.

Once he visited a Primary School in his native village, Muddenahalli. He gave the teacher tenrupees and asked him to distribute sweets to the children. The teacher requested him saying,

"Please say a few words to the children, sir,"

Visvesvaraya spoke for five minutes and went away. But later he was unhappy because he had

spoken without preparation. Some days later he prepared a speech and went to the school again;once again he distributed sweets to the children. Then he made his speech.

He toiled on briskly though old age crept around him. When he was around 92 he went to Fatna

where he was called to study a plan for a bridge across the

8/3/2019 visveraya

5/5

Ganga. The sun was cruel and the heat was unbearable. There were parts of the site to which he

could not go by car. The Government had arranged to have him carried in a chair. But he refused

to use the chair. He got off the car and started walking briskly much to the amazement of therest.

In 1955 when he was 94 years of age, Visvesvaraya was honored and made a 'Bharat Ratna' orthe Gem of India. Even at that age he was so particular about his dressing that people who went

to see him were surprised for he was so neat and tidy.

His memory even when he was almost a hundred years old remained pristine. Fifty years after he

had tamed river Moosa, at the age of 97, there was a discussion about the river with certain

others where some references were made to some intricate details. Visvesvaraya called a servant

and, pointing to a bookshelf, said, "Bring the three or four books in the middle of the third row."Then he opened one of them and pointed exactly to the detail under discussion on that page.

When he finally turned 100, people all over India showered their affection and respect on the

Grand Old Man. The Government of India also brought out a stamp in his honor.

Somebody once said to him, "You have done great service to the country. You are likeBhishmacharya." He replied, "You make me remember what a small man I I am. What am I

before Bhishmacharya?" He was so | modest. Even at the age of 100, he rose to receive a visitor;

he got up again when the visitor was leaving

Visvesvaraya silently passed away on 14th of April j 1962. He was 101.

Visvesvaraya led the country to the path of progress, every one of his creations were considered

mighty andI magnificent. But far mightier and far more magnificent was the matchless Dreamer,

Doer and leader who paved the way to modern India