Mysuru: The 182nd birth anniversary of Sri Magge Venkatakrishnaiah, affectionately remembered as Mysuru Thathaiah and the Thathaiah Award presentation ceremony will be held on Sept. 27 (Sunday) at 5.30 pm at Anathalaya campus, Narayana Shastri Road.

Tejaswini Ananthkumar, President and Founder of Adamya Chetana Foundation, Bengaluru, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. M. Jagannath Shenoy, Industrialist and Philanthropist, will be the chief guest. C.V. Gopinath, President of Anathalaya and former Additional Secretary to Government of India, will preside.  

The Anathalaya was established by Thathaiah — a visionary social reformer, educationist, journalist, law-maker and humanitarian — in 1896 to serve poor students by providing them with food  and hostel facilities

As part of Thathaiah Day, an inter-high school Kannada essay  and inter-hostel Kannada debate competitions were held. The essay competition centred on the personality and service legacy of Thathaiah, encouraging students to explore his life, ideals and contribution through writing, reflection and expression.

The inter-hostel Kannada debate was on the topic: “The shortcomings of today’s family system are responsible for the increasing number of divorces.”  The competition offered cash prizes of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 3,000 respectively.

On the occasion, Sri M. Venkatakrishnaiah (Thathaiah) Award and Thathaiah Sri Beneficiary Achiever Award  will be presented — Thathaiah Award-2026 will be conferred on Dr. H.V. Nagaraja Rao, a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, expert in Sanskrit language and recipient of the President of India’s Gold Medal.

The recognition reflects the spirit of Thathaiah’s respect for scholarship, India’s intellectual heritage and socially relevant scholarship. By honouring a distinguished personality from the field of knowledge and scholarship, the award seeks to carry forward Thathaiah’s enduring legacy respect for learning and intellectual excellence.

Thathaiah Sri Beneficiary Achiever Award-2026  will be conferred upon B. V. Dinesh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Innosolve Consulting Services Private Limited and Innosolve Professional Services Private Limited, Bengaluru.

What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is his connection with Anathalaya. Having grown as a beneficiary of the institution and subsequently established himself in his professional field, his journey represents one of the most powerful reflections of Anathalaya’s mission.  A child who once received support from an institution has grown into an accomplished individual capable of becoming an inspiration to others.