Mysore/Mysuru: Maintaining that Sir M. Visvesvaraya (Sir MV) did not take credit for the enormous contributions that he made, acclaimed writer and Saraswati Samman awardee Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa said that Sir MV lived like a saint throughout his life.

He was speaking after releasing writer D.S. Jayappa Gowda’s translated English work ‘Bharat Ratna Sir MV’ (translated into English by late N. Parameshwar) at a programme organised by District Kannada Sahitya Parishat at the Institution of Engineers-India (IEI) on JLB Road here yesterday.

Pointing out that just as the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas are revered by the people of old Mysore region, Sir MV is also most respected by people. Noting that Sir MV never sought any returns for his works, Dr. Bhyrappa recalled that Sir MV argued and won the battle against the then renowned Lawyer C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer who had represented Tamils when the then Madras Province opposed heightening of KRS Dam & establishment of Mysore University.

He further said that Sir MV had rejected the suggestion put forward by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar that the Bhadravathi Iron and Steel factory be named after him (Sir MV).

Continuing, Dr. Bhyrappa said that it was Sir MV who developed the automatic crest gate, which opens automatically when there is a huge inflow of water in reservoir. Though many of Sir MV’s friends advised him to get patent for the gate, Sir MV declined to do so saying that the design belonged to the entire world. This type of automatic crest gate has been installed in Panama canal, he added.

Remembering the simplicity and humbleness of Sir MV, Dr. Bhyrappa cited another instance when Sir MV got the coveted ‘Bharat Ratna,’ the highest civilian honour of the country.

“When Sir MV received a call telling him that he has been awarded with Bharat Ratna, Sir MV replied that he would come to receive the award. But at the same time, he said that his acceptance of the award must not be construed as his support to the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s economic policies,” he said.

Citing another instance of people’s reverence to Sir MV, Dr. Bhyrappa said that a prominent media enterprise carried out a survey on who was the most popular personality in the State. The survey found that 51 percent of the people surveyed said Sir MV was respected the most, while thespian Dr. Rajkumar got 21 percent support. This is another instance of Sir MV’s popularity, he said reiterating that the great engineer lived a life of simplicity and humbleness.

Asserting that Dr. Jayappa Gowda’s book has answered the criticism against Sir MV in his book by citing many examples of the great engineer’s deeds and contributions, Dr. Bhyrappa observed that dams must be named after the engineers who built them as in France where dams are named after their builders.

Historian Prof. N.S. Rangaraju, in his address, opposed the idea of building a Disneyland-like project near the KRS Dam. Pointing out that the 124.85 ft. high dam has been constructed on a basement of 14.25 ft., he said measures have been taken to ensure that there are even no minor leaks in the dam. He warned that the Dam will be unsafe even if one stone of the Foundation gets shaken.

Noting that Sir MV did not have even one black mark in his entire career that spanned over decades, Prof. Rangaraju said that Jayappa Gowda’s work is more informative and has recorded the letter correspondence between Sir MV and Nalwadi.

IEI Mysuru Chairman R. Deepu & former Chairman A.S.Satish, Mysuru District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Maddikere Gopal, Mysore Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, author Dr. D.S. Jayappa Gowda, N. Amuda Parameshwar and others were present.