These are the days, when entrepreneurs who have ventured in the business of education, find that starting a large-scale private university or an international school is easy task.
But what Prof N Ananthachar started over 70years ago at Narasimha Raja (NR) Colony in Bangalore in a small way has grown into a diversified educational group of repute.
Prof Ananthachar had an interest in the well being of children and a great love for teaching, which motivated him to start a school of his own.
After obtaining a master’s degree in ancient history and archaeology from Mysore University, Prof Ananthachar worked for a short time in the Excise Commissioner’s office and in the Revenue Department. Being a true Indian at heart, he left his job under the British.
For a while he became a trader of vegetables in Basavanagudi. An old invoice proforma reads: Acharya & Co - dealers, suppliers and contractors of high class fruits and vegetables and commission agents, IV Cross Road, Basavanagudi.
He made a humble beginning by opening a small primary school in the Basavanagudi  Extension known as Acharya Pathasala Primary School with just three students. The Institution was started on August 15, 1935, twelve years before Independence. Probably, Prof Ananthachar has some intuition for this specific date to start the school, for surprisingly the day co-incided with Independence day.
One of the earliest teachers of the primary school was Bala Saraswathi, a noted Sanskrit scholar, artiste and playwright.
He did not believe in the old saying, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”   He believed in inculcating discipline by giving proper advice than by punishment. He instilled love for learning, morality and achievement in the minds of the students.
He had great concern for the well-being of his fellow teachers. He died on April 21, 1976, but not before setting up a series of APS Institutions, a legacy.
Over the years, APS had a number of distinguished visitors: C Rajagopalachari; Dr A Ramaswamy Mudaliar at the starting of the APS Girls School; Poet K V Puttappa (Kuvempu), as the vice-chancellor of Mysore University, when the foundation stone for APS College building was laid and Dr V K Gokak. Chief Minister Veerendra Patil laid the foundation stone for boys hostel in 1969.
The APS Group of Institutions include: APS Higher Primary School (now defunct) - 1935-36, APS Boys High School - 1942-43, APS Girls High School - 1946-47, APS Arts and Science College - 1956-57, APS Commerce College - 1958-59, APS Polytechnic (Somanahalli, Bangalore South) - 1958-59, APS Rural High School (Somanahalli, Bangalore South) - 1961-62, APS Arts and Commerce Evening College - 1964-65, APS Public High School - 1989-90, APS Rural Engineering College - 1997-98. The institutions are today managed by the Acharya Pathasala Educational Trust.
APS Public School set up in 1989-90 is the jewel in the crown of APS institutions. It began with state syllabus, but adopted the ICSE syllabus in 1994 with 43 students and now has 1,450 students on its rolls. This year as in previous years it secured 100 per cent results in ICSE.
Over the years a number of students, who have passed the portals of the various APS institutions have risen to great heights. Among them are scientists like Prof C N R Rao, Roddam Narasimha, sportsmen like Sudhakar Rao (former test cricketer), B Raghunath (former Ranji crickete) actors like Rajnikanth, late Kalyan Kumar, Sreenath (actors), C Ashwath (singer), former Mayor and legislator K Chandrashekar among many others.