He then turned to commend K. Sheshadri Iyer, the Dewan of Mysore, whose vision and tireless efforts had resulted in the state harnessing power from the flow of river at Shivanasamudra. This is just one of the many achievements of the man regarded by most at the 'Maker of Modern Bangalore.'
Seshadri Iyer
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Born to Ananthakrishna Iyer and his second wife Venkatalakshamma on June 1, 1845, Seshadri Iyer spent his early childhood in Palghat in the Malabar district (now in Kerala) of Madras Presidency. His great-grandfather Gowri Seshan Pattu had migrated to Palghat from Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu at the turn of the 19th century. After completing his early education in Calicut and Trivandrum, Seshadri Iyer graduated in arts from Presidency College in Madras in 1868. He was appointed Judicial Secretary in the Ashtagram division of the Mysore kingdom and obtained his B. L. degree from the University of Madras in 1874. From 1881 to 1883, he served as an officer in the services of the kingdom of Mysore, first as a district magistrate and later as personal secretary to the first Dewan of Mysore, Rangacharlu. When Rangacharlu died in 1883, Sheshadri Iyer succeeded him. The previous dewan had been a brilliant, courageous and highly respected administrator, and Sheshadri Iyer was determined to be the same. He began by commissioning the Shivanasamudra hydroelectric project and focusing on the mining operations at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF). Once the hydroelectric project commenced operations, he drew a voltage line from Shivanasamudra to KGF, revolutionising mining operations at the gold field.The gold fields were 147 km away from the waterfalls, making the transmission line the longest in the world at the time.
The hydroelectric plant at Shivanasamudra, called the Sir Sheshadri Hydel Station, also supplied power for the construction of the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu in the 1930s, In May 2006, it was made a National Heritage Centre.
Sri Seshadri Hydel Station at Shivanasamudra
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Next, Sheshadri Iyer worked to improve the transport, irrigation and health sectors in the kingdom. He extended the railway lines in the kingdom by 270 km and took a voltage line from Shivanasamudra all the way to Bangalore. He constructed the famous Glass House at Lalbagh in 1889 and the Victoria Hospital at Bangalore in the year 1900. Other than starting insurance schemes for government employees, he also started agricultural banks to help poor farmers and land owners who had to depend on loans from private parties at higher interest rates. He also codified the revenue lands in the state and undertook the cleaning and desilting of reservoirs to improve irrigation and water storage.
K. Sheshadri Iyer
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In 1898, a devastating plague in Bangalore wiped out most of the city's population. In the aftermath of the disaster, Sheshadri Iyer took many steps to help the people of the city and improve their living conditions. Streets were decongested, trees were planted, roads were widened and sanitation was improved. Many new commercial and industrial units were established to increase employment opportunities for the people of the city. Other than beginning the extension of residential areas in Basavanagudi and Malleswaram, Seshadri Iyer started the Chamarajendra Water Works to supply water to the city from Hesaraghatta Lake in 1894. With the help of a brick aqueduct and steam engines, water was pumped up to a reservoir from where it flowed to Malleswaram and then to the rest of the city. This simple yet effective design worked brilliantly between 1894 and 1935, serving as a substantial source of water for about 45 years.
Once brimming with water, the Hesarghatta lake now wears a parched look.
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Sheshadri Iyer also gave due importance to the education of women and started special scholarships for talented students to help them go abroad for higher studies. He was the one who made the construction of Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore possible. One of India's leading figures, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was convinced that the future progress of the country depended crucially on research in science and envisaged an institution that would encourage the same. In 1898, he was on the lookout for a suitable place for such an institution when he met and discussed his idea with Sheshadri Iyer. Agreeing with Tata on the fact that a better quality education would serve the country well, he convinced the then-ruler of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, to donate roughly 372 acres of free land in the heart of Bangalore and provide other necessary facilities. This educational institution later became the Tata Institute of Science, renamed the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in 1911.
An old photo of IISc
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From modest beginnings with two departments and 21 students in 1911, today IISc has 39 departments, 3,500 students, about 500 academic staff, and 600 administrative personnel, a telling statement on the longevity of India’s best-known research institution. An ardent follower of the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, Sheshadri Iyer also took a keen interest in the workings of the Indian National Congress. When the Theosophical Society found its way to Bombay, he invited Founder-President Col. Olcott to Bangalore. Thanks to Seshadri Iyer's initiative, the King of Mysore gave 1.27 acres of land to the Theosophical Society. The foundation for its first branch, the Bangalore City Lodge, was laid by the very illustrious founder president of the Theosophical Society. The foundation stone for the second building, Cantonment Lodge, was laid by Annie Besant, the second president of the society and the founder of the Home Rule League. Having administered the kingdom of Mysore for a span of 18 years, Sheshadri Iyer remains the longest-serving Dewan of the princely state. A disciplined life, dedication to duty, and practical imagination were the hallmarks of this exceptional statesman. In his book 'Gold, Sport and Coffee Planting in Mysore,' Robert H.Elliot says:"I may pause here to remark that what I saw and heard at the Assembly, combined with what I previously knew of the Mysore Government, satisfied me that a more perfect form of government does not exist in the world.....While I have heard much in favour of the Dewan, I have never heard a single deprecatory remark made concerning his administration of the province, either by natives or Europeans. Mysore is indeed extremely fortunate in having such a man as Mr. Seshadri Iyer, since made Sir K. Seshadri Iyer, at the head of affairs."In present-day Bengaluru, Seshadripuram (a city extension created in 1892), Seshadri Road, Seshadri Memorial Library, and his statue in the Cubbon Park remind citizens of this legendary administrator's valuable contributions. His stately home in Kumara Krupa Road, now a government guesthouse, has housed guests such as Mahatma Gandhi, M. Visvesvaraya and Indira Gandhi, and is among the most graceful creations in the city's architectural heritage.
Also Read: How Bengaluru Went From Being a Barren Plateau to a Verdant Garden City in 250 Years
Elephants at Bandipur National park. Image source: 
A resident of Bidrakan village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Shrikrishna grew up watching his family members toil hard in the fields. It was in those fields that he received his training, and his background turned him into a farmer who loves his job today.
He started growing Kokum and making Kokum juice – a value-adding product. He was already aware of the medicinal and health advantages, and rarity of the fruit. But then, when he took the produce to sell in the markets, there were no takers at all. There was a complete lack of marketing opportunities.
“Based on their feedback, I started a small voluntary association of farmers to help sell their produce. This was more like a cooperative but nothing registered. Later, seeing its success and enthusiasm among farmers, we started ConnectFarmer,” he says.
The 27-year-old started ConnectFarmer in 2013 with the help of funds that he and his partners put from their own pockets. To gain more knowledge, Shrikrishna completed a fellowship in social entrepreneurship from Germany in 2015. Prior to this, he had completed his diploma in the same subject.
Today, with a team of four core member, he recognises farmers interested in growing value-adding products but are facing marketing problems. The team supports them with information on crop growth, encourages them to take their products to the market, helps them make their produce market ready, and then puts them on the website to sell.
Other than a small processing fee to help ConnectFarmer sustain itself, the entire money is given to the farmers. Those who have laptops or smartphones also chose to put their details online themselves. This entire process eliminates the middlemen, which further reduces the price of the products on the website as compared to prices of similar products in the market.
“I have seen the struggle of villagers. With research, I realised the kind of problems farmers are facing, and how poverty is making youngsters go outside of their villages. No matter which part of the world I go to, I always come back to my village where I am most at peace. I had to do something to help,” concludes Shrikrishna.
Know more about ConnectFarmer 
Ayub Ahmed[/caption]
Ayub was upset by looking at the body, but he did not do anything thinking that the deceased’s kin would take care of it.
But while travelling back to Mysuru, almost eight hours later, he was shocked to see the body lying at the same location. He then picked up the body, put it in the car and took it to a morgue. When the police heard about this, they praised Ayub and also rewarded him with money.
However, the act which was a matter of pride and satisfaction for Ayub and the policemen, was not well received by his friends and relatives. He was criticized for picking up an unidentified body which, according to his relatives, was the job of a particular community. Scared that even his father wouldn’t support him, Ayub ran away to Bengaluru with the money he got from the police.
He picked up the body and handed it over to the Bengaluru police. He was again rewarded for his act. At this point, Ayub realized that he was not doing anything wrong and he came back to Mysuru with the determination to carry on with this noble work in his own city.
Ayub is now lovingly called Body Miyan in Mysuru[/caption]
Ayub is now lovingly called ‘Body Miyan’ in Mysuru. His wife and two daughters also support his work though he earns almost nothing from it. His wife works as a tailor to support the family.
Body Miyan searches for unidentified bodies, shifts them to the morgue, informs the police and if no one claims the body, he even does the last rites.
Body Miyan cremates the bodies which remain unclaimed.[/caption]
He also puts up pictures of the dead bodies on his Facebook page and appeals to people to contact him if they identify the person.
Mahesh[/caption]
Mahesh's farm in Kawlaga[K][/caption]However, he had seen this vicious cycle that a farmer gets trapped in. According to Mahesh, a farmer is always at a loss, regardless of whether nature is on his side or not. If it is drought then the prices of products are high, but the yield is so low that the farmer ends up earning less than what is invested.
Ironically, if the weather conditions are favorable, the production is so high that the rates are lowered. Farmers cannot even store the yield and wait for the prices to go high due to lack of access to warehouses. On top of that is the repayment of loans to moneylenders on huge interest rates.
This cycle repeats, until the farmer ultimately loses his land.
Mahesh was inspired by the stories on The Better India[/caption]
Vinoth Kumar[/caption]
Mahesh started farming in April 2016 on the day of Ugadi. But he did not leave his job. He was sure that he needed the money if anything went wrong. He also wanted to be ready with the infrastructural needs of farming like a pond, warehouse and cowshed.
Mahesh decided to do totally natural and organic farming. As all other farmers who owned the adjacent farms were using chemical pesticides, Mahesh’s farm was naturally attacked by pests. This was a challenge, which again was taken up by Mahesh with organic pesticides and attracting birds by throwing grain on his farms.
Stories of 
Mahesh works on his farms over the weekend[/caption]
He also gives credit to Mr.Bailappa who takes care of his farm and all the contractual farmers who work on his farm on the weekdays.
Today, Mahesh has harvested almost 30 different varieties of millets and lentils from indigenous seeds, which are purely organic. He recently received an award for organic/natural farming from the district agriculture department.
Tur Daal grown organically at Mahesh's farm[/caption]
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The initiative has seen a positive response from children as well as parents and currently has over 200 participants every session. Most children come back for the next session once they have been initiated, informs Smrthi.
Sudha Abhiram, a member of Act India and mother of an 8-year-old boy, feels that the initiative is extremely necessary for children who are used to getting lost in the world of video games.
Photo source: 
Image for representation. Photo source: 
Rajini, who got married when she was 16, had never had a chance to learn swimming until recently. It was in 2005, when a new pool opened in her locality that her dormant wish to learn swimming awoke.
Rajini teaching backstroke to Gopichand[/caption]
“It feels awesome to be able to swim. I love being in water. I am now learning backstroke and butterfly stroke,” says Gopichand.
Photo Source: 
Mo Farah has won Olympic gold medals for Great Britain. Photo Source: 
Shankar Kotian[/caption]
Photo credit - 
Shankar started with just 5 cows[/caption]
Once there was enough grass, he bought the cows. He spent almost three years learning as he had no prior agricultural experience.
Shankar's Dairy Farm[/caption]
Photo credit - 
Some of the features are:
The slurry from the biogas plant is sold to other farmers using a tanker and pipes.[/caption]
He has also set up a biogas plant of 25 cubic meter, which runs with the dung produced from these 40 cows. Shankar has made a floating drum design for the biogas, but with a twist: the drum is not immersed in the slurry, instead a layer of water keeps it afloat. This concept is more hygienic. There are separate tanks for thick slurry and washed water. The gas produced from this plant is used for cooking and heating water.
The forest adjoining Shankar's farm[/caption]
Photo credit - 
Shankar's farm[/caption]
Photo credit - 
Translation: Brother, where will Bus number 201 come?
Translation: I'm asking for the rent price; I'm not trying to purchase it.
Translation: Brother, at least drop me till the police station.
Translation: Now I got to know where she got her good looks from.
Translation: Boss, I saw the change in your bag!
Translation: I have a pooja (prayer) at home.
The album has been uploaded on Facebook and can be found