SAYINGS OF SIR M.VISVESVARAYAOn Garbage surrounding Nanjangud Temple: “God’s house must be clean, otherwise, God will just run

away”

Reasons for long life, “Hard work, disciplined habits, modesty in living, contentment and cheerfulness”.

“It is better to serve like steel than rust and wither away like iron”.

“If your business is only to sweep a crossing, remember it is your duty to make that

crossing the best swept of the world.”

“Success in life depends on action, that is, on what you do, and not what you

Feel or think, and the price of success is hard work.”

“Science is a rising force, It is creating a new world about us. It needs to be watched and pressed into

service, and in any case, it would be courting disaster to ignore it.”

Poverty is…. Curable like any disease. Ignorance, dependence, inefficiency, laziness, want of the spirit of

enterprise are the real real causes of poverty.”

“Take care of the pieces well. The whole will take care of itself.”

“Nature never excuses lapses.”

“Investigate, educate and organize.”

“Industrialize or perish.”

“Courage, conviction and confidence.”

“If you buy what you do not need, you will need what you cannot buy”.

The finest task for an Engineer – “to survey, to plan, to suggest resources and material, assemble them

for task in hand, implement and produce results.”

“Work does not kill a man, it is worry, irregularity and uncertainty that kill”.

Discussing collapse of a dam, M.V. remarked, “Nature never excuses lapses”.

“Destiny is not a passive agent that lies in the lap of the Gods, but is an active instrument that lies in your

own hands to shape as you will”

“Investigate, educate and organise the country must progress, productive works and industries are the

main avenues at present next to education for the advancement of the country”.

M.V. on setting up automobile industry in India“It is difficult to get our countrymen to combine for any beneficent scheme like this so long as Govt.

exercise control or power arbitrarily to regulate the establishment of industries and the supply of foreign

material.”

When advised to take rest, M.V. said, “I do not want to die rusting, I prefer to burn out”

When a minister in Mysore state fixed an interview with Sri. M.V., but was unable come, called up next

day M.V. said. “You have committed a double mistake, firstly by not keeping the engagement yesterday

and secondly, by coming when you were not expected”.

When his nephew thanked M.V. for financial help, M.V. wrote,

“The best returns you can show for any help you have received from me in the past is by maintaining

integrity, efficiency and generous disposition and a high character in every respect. I mention this to

remind you that with age and circumstances, people are liable to change”.

“Problems of life, even acute problems, need not depress us, life is always a predicament and the world

constitutes a challenge, but a challenge is an opportunity for all of us. A man whose only maxim is to seek

pleasures and avoid pain, does not have the basis for a well deserved successful life.”

“I find life interesting. The whole truth is our people do not want to work hard. One reason why we are

backward is that we are an insolent nation and somewhat self – willed. It is the work that keeps people

fit”.

Quotes a French Author: “If India possesses a more fertile soil and was better endowed with mineral

wealth, She would still languish in poverty. Slackness is the worse curse of the country”.

When he was Dewan in Mysore State, he was introduced to a person in a village capable of consuming

food of 4 people in a single sitting MV asked “Does he also turn out the work of 4 people?”

“A person who spends more than he earns is a fool”.

Sir. M.V. was a blend of old and new. In business and Industry, he admired American and European

methods, but in domestic matters he was 100% local. Till the end, he performed death anniversary of his

parents with sincerity and devotion. Co-incidentally, he died on his father’s death anniversary.

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT SIR M.V. “Sir M. Visvesvaraya has had a long span of active life and throughout this period, service of the people

to the best of his capacity has been his motto. Every field of activity, be it industry or administration or

business, bears the indelible mark of his conscientious hard work.”

- Babu Rajendra Prasad

“Sir M. V. is a great engineer, a great patriot and a great statesman. Inspite of his eminence, he is still a

humble man at heart. The whole idea of planning in this country started with him and the industrial

progress made, owes its inspiration to his thoughts, though it may not always be in conformity with his

ideas.”

- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

“Sir M. Visvesvaraya is a DREAMER, THINKER AND A MAN OF ACTION’ not lost in the past but always

thinking of the future, living an integrated life, bringing into existence and giving shape to dreams not for

himself but for India and the people of India.”

- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

“Sir M. V. is a pioneer in the field of imagination and successful execution. Every project executed by Sir

M.V. stands as a living monument to his skill as a nation builder.”

- Swaran Singh

“Sir M.V’s life has been one of intense fruitful activity and service to the people. His services, as

Statesman, Engineer and Economist, assume a place in Indian history. His achievements during the

period of office in Mysore State are indeed too numerous to mention. It can truly be said that he was the

person who laid the foundation for a prosperous and progressive future of the State.”

- His Highness Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar

“Sir M. Visvesvaraya – it is good to point out this in these days – is a man of incorruptible integrity and

model of personal PURITY OF character. His simplicity and sense of correct behaviour are extraordinary,

rising sometimes to an urbelieveble degree.”

- Bharata Ratna C. Rajagopalachari

“Sir M.V. called on the people of India to take a lesson from Japan and America, realising as he did, the

fundamental importance of the application of science and up-to-date scientific methods to industry and to

agriculture for the purpose of increasing the food .supply and raising the low standard of living.”

- Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar

“Sir M. V. believed in industrialization and indeed it was his foremost conviction that.by industrialization

alone, the standard of living of the people can be raised. He was no respector of slogans and no

worshipper of things of the past, merely because they are ancient. He believed in combining the best of

our holy past with the best of the most modern civilised amenities.”

- Sir A. Ramaswami Mudaliar

“By his own personal example and by the issue of circular instructions and otherwise, Sir M. V.

inculcated in Government servants the importance of working hard, observing regular hours of office

attendance, receiving complaints and grievances of the public at specified times, and so on. A number of

manuals were issued to regulate and standardise the work and procedures of Government Offices.

In whatever he said, Sir M. V. ardently believed; he has not attempted to preach to others what he had

not practised in his own life. With him, as was the case with Gandhiji, the spoken and written word is the

expression of burning convictions. He is an integrated personality.”

- Pradhana Siromani N. Madhava Rao

“Sir M. V’s courtesy, earnestness, cool and collected objectivity and above all his imaginative vision

stamped him at once in my eyes as one of the noblest sons of India.”

- C.D. Deshmukh

“Sir M. V. made use of statistics to show that the per capita income of India, in relation to the incomes of

various western countries, was grievously low and said that our root problem was the eradication of

poverty. He argued that this was not merely essential but was also practicable; and he added that it could

only be done if we took stock of our affairs in a sober manner, prepared an economic plan and operated

that plan: In such a process Government had a crucial role to pay.”

- H.V.R. Iyengar

“Sri. M.V. is India’s greatest builder of dams. The country is filled with the wonderful monuments of his

engineering skill. In the near future it may come to pass that this engineering genious be remembered as

Henry Ford of India.

- ‘The People’ (A London Daily)

I should like to say that in my broad experience, I have rarely met a man for whom I had a deeper respect

not only for his moral character and his ideals and earnest patriotism, but also for his engineering skill.

- His Highness Sri Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, 1884-1940

“Sir M. Visvesvaraya, a realist and a man of action  prodigious energy, guided by the vision of a great,

prosperous and renascent India. He is an Engineer, an economist, a writer and humanist – all in the

superlative degree, and all in one. He was a living embodiment of plain living and high thinking.”

- Prof. M. S. Thacker

Sir M. V often quotes with approval an extract from a daily paper which greatly impressed him. “Nature

is a huge banking concern with an inexhaustible store of health, strength, happiness, good- temper, clear

wits and bright eyes. To those who call most frequently upon her, she is in kindliest mood. Hurry up to

her headquarters 10 miles away and she will allow you to draw on your account with her as lavishly as

you require.”

- B.V. Narayana Reddy

“Three things, those who worked with Sir M. Visvesvaraya could learn from him each day; SCRUPULOUS

PUNCTUALITY, METICULOUS PRECISION, UNTIRING EFFORT TO DO A THING WELL. An equally

important quality which one got the opportunity to notice, sometimes, was his careful attention to

detail.    “

- Rajaseva Prasakta M. Venkatesha lyengar

“Sir M. Visvesvaraya was one of the noblest sons of the country. A patriot, an Engineer of eminence, an

ardent industrialist and a far sighted administrator; he had rendered yeoman service to the country in

many capacities over a period of 75 years, ever seeking fresh opportunities to serve, in the true spirit of a

Karmayogi.

Sir M.V. has said, “Natural intelligence and capacity may be higher or low, but they have to be further

developed by forethought, industry and will power to obtain their due reward.” “Success in any

profession or trade is due largely to the capacity, individuality, integrity and foresight of the person who

undertakes it. Man’s success in life depends on man’s own exertions.”

- K. C. Reddy

“Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s personality and his public services evoke love, respect and admiration in a grateful

people who bless him for what he was and what he had done and the manner of it. He is a world figure, a

most eminent Indian and undoubtedly the greatest Mysorean who ever lived.

It is said in ancient Indian lore that an ocean can be compared only with itself and the Himalayas with

themselves and with no other. Sir M. Visvesvaraya can be compared only with himself, for there is no

other like him. He is a rare combination of ancient Hindu Bhishma and modern American Ford.”

- P. Kodanda. Rao

From his early distinguished career as an Engineer in Mysore State, Dr. Visvesvaraya was obsessed with

the dream of an industrialised India, a vision he shared with Jamsetji Tata. It comes to few men to devote

three-quarters of a century or more to a single cause, and the country owes a deep dept of gratitude to

this grand old man whose contribution to the economic regeneration of India has not been sufficiently

recognised.

I knew Dr. Visvesvaraya well during his 28 years of membership of the Board of the Tata Iron and Steel

Company, from 1927 to 1955. Throughout he pressed for a bold expansion of this and other industries

and the creation of new ones. The rapid industrial development in the country after Independence largely

fulfilled Dr. Visvesvaraya’s vision and it is good to know that he lived long enough to see the realisation of

his long standing dream. Today, as never before, India needs men like Dr. Visvesvaraya, with single-

minded purpose, undeterred by obstacles, difficulties of setbacks, and extending interest in his exemplary

life to inspire others dedicated to the economic growth of our country to follow his example.

- J.R.D. Tata

A small lesson from Sir MV for our munde makkalu

E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes: Ajji was reading the Mahabharathaand closed the book just as I

entered.

“Hegitthu, Ajji? How was your Bharatha vaachana?”

“Alvo! Karna’s extraordinary character is so inspiring. He gave off even the Vajra Kundala to Krishna masquerading as the old Brahmin, fully knowing it was life-threatening for him. He donated every bit of what belonged to him. Truly he was a Dani, the eternal donor.”

“Adikke alva ajji, he was called ‘Dana Shura Karna.”

“I know but compare him to our present-day leaders. Even the money collected for victims of natural disasters are gobbled up. How can our leaders buy plane tickets from that money, kano?Paapa alva?“

“Papa? Punya? You think they can even distinguish one from the other. They keep saying, ‘I have been serving people for the last 50 years. Janaseveye janardhana seve and all that’.”

“The poltishans made t-shirts out of the money collected for rehabilitation of victims of floods who have nothing to wear.Naachike, maana maryade ne ilva? Don’t they have a sense of shame?”

Ajji’s sense of outrage was the same as the collective outrage of the nation against politicians who connived to spirit Warren Anderson out of the country.

Ajji continued: “Also people who were afflicted with floods, uprooted from their houses in North Karnataka are still living under zinc sheets in hot summer temperatures. It is worse thansudugadu. Is it not callousness that our government that is patting itself on its back about the success of the global investors’ meet cannot rehabilitate the victims even after a year after the tragedy? It is like rubbing salt on the wounds. They are treating people like cattle.”

“Yes, Ajji.”

“We are hypocrites—all of us, each one of us. We talk of pooje, puraskara, dharma etc. We don’t hesitate to loot the hundis or steal the sarees and ornaments that devotees donate to the deity. We even collect money from the poor and very poor for disaster victims and gobble ‘em up.”

“Eega ‘Nanna seveye Janardhana seve antha aagide‘. ‘Let me look after my interests by hook or crook,’ that is the dictum.”

“We had such great selfless people serving the State. I have heard Sir M. Visvesvaraya gave away his entire profitend fund of Rs 2 lakh to start a polytechnic institute in Bangalore. When the Maharaja asked him to name it as Visveshvaraya Institute, he refused and called it Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute.”

“Very true Ajji, except it is provident fund not profitend fund. Eega adu ‘Profittu nanna Fund’ aagide!”

“Former chief minister S. Nijalingappa did not even have a house of his own, despite being a chief minister and president of the Indian National Congress Party. Our maharanis pawned their jewelry to raise funds for the construction of Krishnaraja Sagar dam.”

“Nija Ajji. Even the royalty were selfless as against some of our present day leaders who behave as if they are royalty but go about making money by illegal means.”

“Howdappa howdu.  Each poltishan thinks he is Maharaja and probably has more money than what Maharajas ever had.”

“Ajji, you mentioned Vishvesvaraya. I was reading of a small incident concerning him and his mother Akkachamma. Visvevaraya was very strict about not using official facilities for his personal matter. That included the car, even pencils and candles. Let me read out from his biography*:

“Once, Visvesvaraya’s mother Akkachamma returned from their village Muddenahalli with him in the government car. She was not keeping good health and was not able to get down from the car.

“Visvesvaraya directed the driver to drop her at her house in Chamarajapet.

“Aware of the rectitude of her son she said, ‘No’, got out of the car with some effort, rested for a while and left for her house in her son’s personal car.

“He exclaimed, ‘Mother. You are proud of your son being a Dewan, but I am much more happy and proud at your refusing to use the government car for personal use’.”

“We had such great and selfless people to lead us our State. Now, all we have is a bunch of hoodlums trying to line their pockets at every opportunity,” sighed Ajji.

***

*From ‘Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya’ by V.S. Narayana Rao, National Book Trust Publications, 1988, page 133