Google honours Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya with special doodle on his 158th birth anniversary

On 158th birth anniversary, Google paid a tribute to statesman Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (Sir MV) with a special doodle.

The doodle shows an animated potrait of the world-renowned civil engineer with one of his most notable projects.

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.

The family of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya and the Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust joined hands with the Google team on this doodle project. While it is believed the engineer was born in 1861, his family revealed to the search engine company that he born a year earlier.

India celebrates Engineers Day each year on his birth anniversary.

Raised in a village of Muddenahalli (Karnataka), Sir MV was known to study under street lamps, walk over 60 kilometers to Bengaluru to attend United Mission School and eat food served at temples.

Living by the phrase 'Work is Worship', Sir MV devoted his life to engineering. He 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.

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.

Talking to the Sillicon Valley-giant, Satish Mokshagundam, President of Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust, said, "My memories of my grandfather were of him as a strict disciplinarian; be it with his family, associates, visitors, and guests. Despite his sternness he was also very affectionate. His personal staff was well cared for—some worked in his office for over 40 years."