25.1Statesmen and administrators
Sir M. Visvesvaraya (1861–1962), born at Muddenahalli and Dewan of Mysore 1912–1918, was an engineer of the Krishnaraja Sagar dam and the automatic sluice gate, recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 1955; his birthday, 15 September, is India's Engineer's Day.[1] Dewan Purnaiah, K. Seshadri Iyer and Sir Mirza Ismail shaped successive phases of state modernisation.[2]
25.2Scholars and scientists
R. Shamasastry (1868–1944) discovered and edited the Arthashastra manuscript at the Oriental Research Institute. B. L. Rice (1837–1927) compiled the Epigraphia Carnatica and the Mysore Gazetteer. S. Srikanta Sastri (1904–1974) of the University of Mysore wrote extensively on Karnataka's sources and Indian cultural history.[3]
25.3Arts and letters
Kuvempu (K. V. Puttappa), the first Kannada Jnanpith laureate and author of the state anthem, taught at Mysore and served as its vice-chancellor. R. K. Narayan set his fictional Malgudi in a landscape drawn from Mysore. Veene Sheshanna and Mysore Vasudevacharya defined the city's musical lineage, and Raja Ravi Varma worked for the Mysore court, with major canvases in the Jaganmohan gallery.[4]