Engineering Day Google Doodle - Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya’s 158th Birthday
Living by the phrase “Work is Worship,” Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya—fondly known as Sir MV—devoted his life to engineering. A master of irrigation design, the world-renowned civil engineer became so respected in his field that India celebrates Engineers Day each year on his birthday.
While some sources cite his birth year as 1861, after speaking to his family, we’ve learned that Sir MV was actually born a year earlier. He was raised in the rural village of Muddenahalli, located in a region of southwestern India now known as the state of Karnataka. His father, a scholar of the ancient Sanskrit language, lived a simple life, passing away when Sir MV was very young.
According to stories passed down over generations, Sir MV had to walk over 60 kilometers to Bengaluru to attend United Mission School, eating the food served at temples around the city and studying under street lamps. After earning a License in Civil Engineering from the University of Bombay, Visvesvaraya began working with the city’s Public Works Division and joined the Indian Irrigation Commission. His expertise earned him the opportunity to study the water supply and drainage of Aden, a port city in Yemen.
One of Sir MV’s most notable projects—which we are excited to feature in today’s Doodle—came some time after his return to India. In 1924, he oversaw the construction of his design for the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam, creating the largest reservoir in India at the time, which provided drinking water for several cities. His flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad and his irrigation plans for Visakhapatnam made him something of a celebrity. Still he maintained a life of strict discipline and modesty, rising at 5am each day and working through the evenings.
Sir MV cared deeply about education and played a key role in founding the Government Engineering College at Bangalore in 1917, which would later be named after him. Today the modest house where he was born is considered a place of worship for locals.
Happy Birthday Sir MV!
Source: Google Doodle