IISc rememberd H H Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar on his 136th Birthday on 4th June 2020
Today, 4 June 2020, is the 136th birth anniversary of Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore. He was born on June 4, 1884. It was his mother, Maharani Kempananjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, assisted by the Dewans of Mysore, who helped establish the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Prof. K V S Hari, Registrar, IISc paid his respects to the Maharaja by garlanding his statue in the Main Building.
The Maharaja and the Mysore royal family are remembered for their munificence in granting 371 acres and 16 guntas of land in 1907-08 to set up IISc. They also offered Rs. 5 lakhs towards the construction of buildings, and Rs. 50,000 as annual subsidy, which further helped cement the choice of Bangalore as the location for the Institute.
Maharani Kempananjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, who was the Regent at that time as the Maharaja was a minor, played a key role in ensuring the support of the Mysore state. The Mysore Dewan Sir K. Seshadri Iyer was requested to provide assistance on behalf of the state. JN Tata also had a long-standing friendship with Sir K. Seshadri Iyer and HJ Bhabha, the Inspector-General of Education of Mysore and Coorg.
(Inputs from Sharath Ahuja).
