Sir M Visvesvaraya Smaraka, Muddenhalli

August 14, 2012
After exploring the ruins of Varlakonda fort we drive towards Muddenhalli the birth place of Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visveswaraiah popularly known as Sir MV. 

Sir MV was born on September 15, 1860. His birthday is is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India. He was 101 years when he died on April 14, 1962 at Bangalore. Sir MV memorial is managed by Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust.

Sir M V's contributions to India are numerous; the most popular one being Sri Krishna Raja Sagar dam near Mysore. Sir M V was not only an engineer, but also a scholar, statesman and Diwan of Mysore state from 1912 to 1918.

A line sketch of Sir MV on granite

A stone plaque near Sir MV's Samadhi.

The transcription of the inscription:

ಸಾಚ್ಯಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ, ಸಜ್ಜನಿಕ, ಸಂಪನ್ನಜೀವನ, ಸಂತೃಪ್ತಿ, ಸಮಾಧಾನ

ಮಾನವ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮಾಧವ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಡಿದ

ಪರಮ ಸಾತ್ವಿಕ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಉಜ್ವಲ ದೇಶ ಪ್ರೇಮದ ಪ್ರಚಂಡ

ಶಕ್ತಿ ಮುಂಬರುವ ಜನನಾಂಗಗಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ಪೂರ್ತಿಮೂರ್ತಿ

 ಮಹಾನ್ ಚೇತನವೆನಿಸಿದ ವಿಷ್ವಕೀರ್ತಿ 

ಭಾರತ ರತ್ನ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಶಿಲ್ಪಿ ಸರ್ ಮೋಕ್ಷಗೂಂಡಾಮ್ ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರಯ್ಯನವರು 

ಈ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಸಂದರ್ಶಿಸಿ ಹೋದ ಚಿರಸ್ಮರಣಿಗಾಗಿ;

ಜನನ ೧೫-೯-೧೮೬೦           ನಿರ್ಯಾಣ: ೧೪-೪-೧೯೬೨

ವಿ ಏನ್ ಎಂ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ್ 

This two floor house was constructed by Sir M V. Presently it houses State Bank of Mysore (SBM), Muddenhalli branch. SBM was established by Sir M V. Quoting a line from SBM article in Wikipedia: State Bank of Mysore was established in the year 1913 as The Bank of Mysore Ltd. under the patronage of Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, at the instance of the banking committee headed by the great Engineer-Statesman, Bharat Ratna Sir M.Visvesvaraya.

In the background is Skandagiri, a popular trekking destination.

Within the same compound is Sir M V's ancestral house a tiled roof structure. A part of the house- Sir M V's living room -is open to public viewing between 11 AM and 5 PM.

Exhibits includes Sir M V's awards, titles and personal belongings such as his cot, bed, spectacles, cups, copy of Webster's dictionary, his visiting card printing block among several other things.  Photography within the compound is not allowed. For the first time I saw India's most prestigious medal Bharat Ratna here.

From here I proceed to Nandi Halli. On the outskirts of the village Sudhakar the cab driver insists that I see the big Nandi about 3 kms away. This Nandi is big, but its smaller than Dodda Nandi at Basavangudi, Chamundi Betta and Lepakshi.

A 10 minute stop here, then we proceed to Bhoga-Yoga Nandishwara temple in Nandi Halli.

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