<p>M Visvesvaraya grand niece Shantha, her husband M S Nanjundaiah, their daughters Aruna and Dr Sandhya, all residents of Basavanagudi, believe the government is taking the right step in launching Skill Development Programme and National Academy of Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute to strengthen the rural economy.<br />“It is a good beginning...It will be a befitting tribute to the great man if these <br />programmes are implemented in the right earnest,” Shantha said.<br /><br />The birth anniversary celebrations were hitherto limited to the ritual of garlanding the statue and making hollow promises. However, the government this time has declared to launch a host of skill development and entrepreneurship development programmes on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya on September 15 at his birth place Muddenahalli in Chikkaballapur district<br /><br />Ever since the demise of M Visvesvaraya in 1962, Shantha and Nanjundaiah have seen successive governments making tall promises on taking his ideals forward. <br /><br />“Politicians would come (to Muddenahalli), garland his statue, make promises and go away. Even many industry bodies had promised to start vocational programmes in rural areas. We have seen this for over decades and nothing much happened in reality,” Nanjundaiah said.<br /><br />Tired of listening to false promises, the family members started their own primary school in Muddenahalli - Visvesvaraya Vidya Kendra - in 1995 with the aim to impart quality education to children, as envisioned by M Visvesvaraya. <br /><br />‘Worshipped’<br /><br />“People of the town admire M Visvesvaraya and even worship him for his contributions. He had helped hundreds of them in their education. Hence, we thought it would be appropriate to start a school in his name there,” he explained.<br /><br />After running the school for 12 years, the family members entrusted the responsibility of its maintenance to a private trust. It is in this school the family members celebrate M Visvesvaraya’s birth anniversary. This year too they have planned a simple celebration - distributing sweets and spending some time with children. However, they have not received any invitation to take part in the celebrations organised by the Government to mark the occasion.<br /><br />Nanjundaiah, who worked as a senior operations advisor for the World Bank and retired as a Government of India official in 1970, said Visvesvaraya was a rare personality who stood for honesty, discipline, integrity and hard work. <br /><br />Efforts should be made to educate youth about M Visvesvaraya’s life and contributions and encourage the young generation to imbibe such qualities. The values cherished by him would transform a person into a responsible citizen, the need of the hour. The government and industry should join hands to achieve the objective.</p>
<p>M Visvesvaraya grand niece Shantha, her husband M S Nanjundaiah, their daughters Aruna and Dr Sandhya, all residents of Basavanagudi, believe the government is taking the right step in launching Skill Development Programme and National Academy of Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute to strengthen the rural economy.<br />“It is a good beginning...It will be a befitting tribute to the great man if these <br />programmes are implemented in the right earnest,” Shantha said.<br /><br />The birth anniversary celebrations were hitherto limited to the ritual of garlanding the statue and making hollow promises. However, the government this time has declared to launch a host of skill development and entrepreneurship development programmes on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya on September 15 at his birth place Muddenahalli in Chikkaballapur district<br /><br />Ever since the demise of M Visvesvaraya in 1962, Shantha and Nanjundaiah have seen successive governments making tall promises on taking his ideals forward. <br /><br />“Politicians would come (to Muddenahalli), garland his statue, make promises and go away. Even many industry bodies had promised to start vocational programmes in rural areas. We have seen this for over decades and nothing much happened in reality,” Nanjundaiah said.<br /><br />Tired of listening to false promises, the family members started their own primary school in Muddenahalli - Visvesvaraya Vidya Kendra - in 1995 with the aim to impart quality education to children, as envisioned by M Visvesvaraya. <br /><br />‘Worshipped’<br /><br />“People of the town admire M Visvesvaraya and even worship him for his contributions. He had helped hundreds of them in their education. Hence, we thought it would be appropriate to start a school in his name there,” he explained.<br /><br />After running the school for 12 years, the family members entrusted the responsibility of its maintenance to a private trust. It is in this school the family members celebrate M Visvesvaraya’s birth anniversary. This year too they have planned a simple celebration - distributing sweets and spending some time with children. However, they have not received any invitation to take part in the celebrations organised by the Government to mark the occasion.<br /><br />Nanjundaiah, who worked as a senior operations advisor for the World Bank and retired as a Government of India official in 1970, said Visvesvaraya was a rare personality who stood for honesty, discipline, integrity and hard work. <br /><br />Efforts should be made to educate youth about M Visvesvaraya’s life and contributions and encourage the young generation to imbibe such qualities. The values cherished by him would transform a person into a responsible citizen, the need of the hour. The government and industry should join hands to achieve the objective.</p>
