Google Doodle honours M Visvesvaraya on his 157th birth anniversary

Google on Saturday dedicated its doodle to Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, an Indian engineer, dam builder, and scholar, on his 157th birthday. Born on September 15, 1861, Visvesvaraya's birthday is celebrated across the country as Engineers Day. A recipient of the prestigious Bharat Ratna, his contributions are immense in nation-building.

Visvesvaraya served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore and was bestowed with the title of Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his good works in the public domain. He had another title to his fame -- Father of Modern Mysore State (presently Karnataka). 

His two most notable works as a chief engineer were -- the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya district of Karnataka and flood protection system for Hyderabad in Telangana (today). The dam marked the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was constructed.

Visvesvaraya was a great cog in the wheel while a system was being developed to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion. He also adviced on deciding the location for the construction of Mokama Bridge over Ganga in Bihar. 

The duration of his service under the British government, witnessed the growth of several establishments-- State Bank of Mysore, Bangalore Press, Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Bangalore, Mysore Soap Factory, Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, Bangalore Agricultural University, Century Club, Mysore Chamber of Commerce (presently known as the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI)), University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Bangalore amongst several others. 

He was a key member in chalking out the design for the road construction from Tirumala to Tirupati. Visvesvaraya loved Kannada and he established the Kannada Parishat for the betterment of Kannada. He is also known to have designed the Jayanagar area in south Bangalore.

The great engineer breathed his last on April 12, 1962, at the age of 101.