Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1861–1962) was arguably the most famous Indian engineer of the twentieth century. But he was also much more. His legacies as public administrator, constitutional analyst, and development thinker continue to shape life in India. They include innovations in irrigation, multipurpose dams, and piped water supply systems, technical institutions, industrial enterprises, and transformed cityscapes.
In his new book, Engineering a Nation, Aparajith Ramnath provides a vivid portrait of Visvesvaraya’s eight-decade-long public career, based on in-depth archival research, field visits, and interviews. To explore Visvesvaraya’s life, he argues, is to explore afresh the emergence of the Indian nation itself.
For THT's monthly talk titled Sir M Visvesvaraya: The Quest to Engneer a Nation, Aparajith Ramnath will be in conversation with R Gopu and Ashwin Prabhu where they will examine issues like: How do we assess Visveswaraya's technical achievements against those of his professional contemporaries? What were the intellectual and professional influences that shaped him? In what ways did his background as an engineer mould his conception of economic development?
The online Talk in English is at 5.30 pm IST on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
About the Speakers:
Aparajith Ramnath is a historian of science, technology and business. He is the author of two books—Engineering a Nation: The life and career of M. Visvesvaraya (1861–1962) (Penguin/Viking, 2024) and The Birth of an Indian Profession: Engineers, Industry, and the State, 1900-47 (Oxford University Press, 2017). He is an associate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University.
Aparajith was educated at BITS Pilani, Oxford University, and Imperial College London. He has been an International Scholar of the Society for the History of Technology, a Liverpool India Fellow, a Sangam House Writing Fellow, and a recipient of the Young Historian of Science Award (2018) from the Indian National Science Academy. In addition to his scholarly work, he has written articles on history for various news outlets.
R. Gopu was conferred the Vedavalli Heritage Award for his contributions to culture. He speaks, writes and blogs about history, temple architecture, science, technology and much more. He is a co-founder of the Varahamihira Science Forum. He conducts classes on topics such as Indian Astronomy and Mathematics and Pallava Grantha script.
Ashwin Prabhu’s meanderings have taken him to the worlds of banking, teaching, heritage education, writing and development sector work. His first book, “Classroom With A View - Notes from the Krishnamurti schools”, came out in 2022. He enjoys working with teachers and children in thematic areas where philosophy, history, art and literature happily intersect.
On the morning of October 22, 1968, just before sunrise, the Abu Simbel rock-cut temple was the centre of anticipation. A large assembly of archaeologists, engineers, artisans, llabourers, and high-ranking officials from Egypt and other nations had gathered in front of the four colossal seated statues of Ramses II, each standing 21 meters tall. The air was thick with a mix of emotions—anticipation, apprehension, nervousness, and a sense of resignation.
As the sun began to rise, it gently illuminated three of the divine figures in the inner sanctum, as it had done for more than 3200 years. Tears filled the eyes of everyone present. An immense but meticulous international effort involving 50 countries had successfully saved and perfectly relocated the Abu Simbel rock-cut temple, the crown jewel among ancient Egyptian-Nubian architectural wonders, from permanent submersion in Lake Nasser of the Aswan High Dam.
In his Talk “The World Saves Abu Simbel: How a Multi-Nation Team Relocated an Entire 3000-year old Temple”, T Ravishankar will focus on how the temple was saved through improbable international efforts at the height of the Cold War. He will also provide a brief account of the dynasties of Ancient Egypt, a few important gods, and the great Abu Simbel itself.
The online Talk in English is at 5.30 pm IST on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
About the Speaker:
T Ravishankar, a Chartered Accountant, retired as the General Manager of the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). His career took him to Guwahati and Hyderabad, before he eventually returned to Chennai. During his tenure, he led various departments, including Accounts, Loan Processing, Risk Management, and IT.
Passionate about heritage, he worked with the late Dr. V.K. Bawa, IAS (Retd) from the Centre for Deccan Studies and Friends of Golconda, Hyderabad. An active volunteer with the Tamil Heritage Trust (THT) for over a decade, he organized THT’s monthly talks and the Pechu Kacheri series for two years each, as well as the V. Venkayya Epigraphy Award for three years. Trained as a 'Mallai Docent,' he also instructed the latest group of docents.
His interests span from the Puranas to India's syncretic traditions. He has delivered talks on Dr U. Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, Islamic Architecture of India, Stepwells of Gujarat, Literature of Hoysalas, Inscriptions of the Calukyas of Badami, Inscriptions of Kanchi, Kanheri caves, and the Jain sculptures of Kalugumalai at various THT forums.
Egypt has fascinated him since childhood. He fondly remembers writing about the Rosetta Stone in a manuscript magazine run by his younger brother and dreamt of becoming an archaeologist, engrossed in endless accounts of breathtaking discoveries. A few months ago, he served as a docent on his first trip to Egypt, guiding a group of heritage tourists from Chennai and abroad. Currently, he is teaching himself Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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