To R V G Menon Sir, with love and respects ..

To RVG Sir, with Love ..

With electricity tariff having been raised in Kerala yesterday after about ten years, installation of photovoltaic installations using solar energy is gaining importance in Kerala .. It is at this time I am reminded of the contribution my dear Professor (now retired) from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Prof Dr R V G Menon is presently carrying out in the state of Kerala. A public spirited individual, simple and loving, he is a real gem of a person any student in Kerala should try to emulate.

Prof  RVG Menon is not only an academician par excellence (as can be vouched by his students), he was also very humble and easily approachable. He always had a humble, pleasant smile on his face wherever we met him, be it inside the classroom, on the verandah, in the canteen or even at the Statue junction.. He used to come to college in an old motorcycle (Jawa or so..) which made so much of noise, with loose dangling parts..

“It is desirable that a man live in all respects so simply and preparedly that if an enemy take the town, he can walk out the gate empty-handed and without anxiety." - Henry David Thoreau. Prof RVG was such a simple man. Simple not only in material possessions, but also in his demeanour and how he carried himself.

As a senior responsible citizen of the society ,he is now transitioning to a new, serious role, as the conscience keeper of the scientific and developmental community in the state of Kerala. He has been highlighting issues of sustainable development.

Through his life, Prof RVG has given meaning to the saying of the Father of our Nation, MK Gandhi.. "You must be the change you wish to see in this world .."

His efforts at restoring the livelihoods of the excluded communities of Kerala by the application of basic scientific developments and applications is remarkable. In other words he taught us about inclusive growth much before our PM and his economists .. !!

In this series of 7 videos, Dr RVG Menon is talking on general developmental issues in Kerala to his old students in the Gulf states, each of app 15 min duration.

Click for Part I here .. 

Click for Part II here ..  

Click for Part III here ..

Click for Part IV here ..

Click for Part V   here .. 

Click for Part VI here ..

In Part VII,( click here) by installing a solar panel investing app Rs 2 lakhs in his TVM home (opp to Actor Mohanlal's house. Pandu Mohanlal mookkolippichu nadannappol, Saar avandeyaduthu padhikkan ethra prayashyam paranjittundenno ..!!) ) using Solar energy on his terrace, RVG Sir has practically demonstrated the applicability of home based solar installations.

He advocates heavy energy users, like big homes, industries, entrepreneurs starting engg and medical colleges to instead start Energy farms, to adopt this technology earlier than domestic users.

RVG Sir had dedicated his life to the cause of innovations in Science and Technology while we were at College through the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad ( and even we studied from his book titled 'History of Science and Technology' in the first year !!, I do not know whether I failed in that paper in the first attempt.. !!).

His contributions to the Popular Science Movement and Popular Science Lecture series on TV and mass media ( even inside the classes !!) will for ever be remembered not only by his vast followings of students, now in their fifties, but also by the science loving people of Kerala.

The day after the Bhopal Eveready chemical leak on Dec 2, 1984, we spent almost an hour in the early morning 8.30 AM class on Dec 3, discussing about the implications to society and water sources because of the leak... An unforgettable incident which had global implications, was discussed for the whole time (probably no other classroom in the world, and so early within 8 hours of the occurence, would have had such heavy weight discussions as we had in the class on that day)

Can you ever find such a socially relevant, practical, unwavered, enthusiastic, passionate and committed Professor anywhere other than in MIT or Harvard ?

A big thank you Sir.. The best way we can say a thank you is by upholding all the principles of Science and Technology which you held very close to your heart throughout your life. You made us socially relevant engineers ..

Sir has a big fan following not only in CET, but in all Govt Engineering colleges in Kerala state !! Sir retired as the Principal of College of Engineering, Kannur in 1998. On 30 July, 2011, at our 25 th jubilee alumni reunion at CET, got to talk with him after many years !!

george.. (photo courtesy : The Hindu)

Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple .. Trivandrum ..

Wikipedia link of the temple ..

Padmanabha Swamy temple in full majesty in Trivandrum .. 

A few points ..

Ananta Padmanabha in his sayanam .. gold plated ..

1. The total worth of the treasures at Sri Padmanabha temple in Trivandrum is estimated conservatively to be about INR 10,000,000,000,000 ? INR ten trillion or one million crores or $ 200 billion .. .. (rechecked the no. of zeros..)

2. There are 1500 sarappoli malas. These chains emit light and are made of the most precious diamonds, precious stones and  priceless, each worth upward of a (couple of hundred) crores ? Only four or five chains have been inventoried so far ..

3. These treasures were collected in just 40 years between 1743 and 1778 AD by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729-1758 CE) as fines levied on the invading dutch and english navies who lost miserably to him, the first and only Indian king to do so ... Were these treasures plundered  by the Dutch and English colonisers, from other parts of the world ..? Read The Hindu article as proof ..

Anizham Tirunal , (1729-1758 CE) most adventurous and brave of Trv. Kings

4. Gemmologists are benumbed by these stones and are seeking international help to determine their true value ... ?? None of the are mined from Indian diamond mines !

5. Are these treasures  international heritage or national pride?

6. Was the kingdom of travancore such unimaginably influential, powerful and rich ? Did it have the combined wealth of all the other royal kingdoms in the country and  more powerful than any of them, yet be so modest and altruistic ? Else who could defeat both the Dutch and English armies in wars, as per my limited reading, no other Indian Kingdom had achieved this feat !!

7. Does the Vatican pale in significance in comparison ? Do the pharoahs of Egypt come anywhere near ?

8. Why is national geographic society NY not involved ?

9. Should the wealth be spent for the greater societal good ?

10. To build an MIT, it costs about $ 8 billion as endowments. Build 20 MITs in India or of equivalent value and still be left with some $40billion as change .. ?

11. God's own land ??

12.  Without gun powder, nuclear power, patents, over-consuming debts and an exploitative invading army treacherously dispossessing natives of their land, wealth and honor, how could the Maharajah of Travancore ever (dare) dream of amassing all this wealth and still lead a simple, frugal, altruistic life, totally detached from materialistic basal pleasures ? 


13. How can an insignificant eastern spiritual, respectful culture of say ten thousand years ever be superior to the 2000 year old materialistic, violent and pleasure seeking western culture and more so the 200 year old yankie, wandering, immigrant culture ? 

14. There is no evidence in history of India having mined so much of gold and precious stones. How did these gold, precious stones land on Indian shores ? With historical records clearly pointing that we have never invaded any other country throughout our history, unlike the Dutch, British, French, Portuguese and Chinese, how come all this gold and stones were in India ? Strong flourishing global trade would have resulted in this treasure remaining back ..

By 1700 AD when India was controlling 30% of global GDP and China another 25%, it was the onset of the Industrial revolution and a colonial mindset of the invaders which saw the turnaround of fortunes !! Check proof here ... 

Some of the biggest royal families in the country like Mughals, Gwalior, Jaipur, Baroda, Nawabs, Nizam and Mysore, all combined together, are all so trivial in comparison !!

If you ask some of the old timers from Trivandrum, including me, all will admit to one fact. There has been no benevolent royal family in Indian history than the royal family of Travancore. Who will otherwise donate INR 100 crores (over the years) for the Govt Medical College in Trivandrum and to build some of its super speciality centres and centres of excellence ..?

It was also once called by Swami Vivekananda as the mental asylum of the world ..

Another article on the travancore royal family ..

Ge..