TUMKUR: While people’s representatives can be blamed for Madhugiri’s backwardness, they have no role in Madhugiri producing the likes of Infosys mentor N R Narayana Murthy and educationist M S Ramaiah besides thousands of successful people including NRIs.
Murthy, born in Mysore, did his higher secondary education in government high school of Madhugiri.
Educationist M S Ramaiah is originally from the town, which still has his ancestral house.
As for the origin of the name, it was writer Masti Venkatesh Iyengar who named the ‘Maddagiri’ as ‘Madhugiri’ when he was the assistant commissioner in 1938.
The big names Madhugiri produced include the founder secretary of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat late M S Nanjunada Rao, cine stars Shaktiprasad and his son Arjun Sarja and poet Doddarange Gowda.
A new crop of IAS officers like Nagabhushan and Dhanaraj from poor families, also hail from Madhugiri.
A young couple from this town, which was once famous for tasty pomegranates, Nageshwara Rao and Jaya, hit the headlines in science journals of USA for research on citrus fruit crops like lime and oranges.
A matrimony site has separate pages featuring Madhugiri brides and grooms, which is an indication of the global presence of talented people from the town. The house in Madhugiri that Anita Kumaraswamy has taken on rent for the campaigning, belongs to an NRI.
However, the town hasn’t been able to throw up a politician of masses.
For more than two decades, those representing Madhugiri, have no roots in Madhugiri. “Money power” and lack of mentors could be the reasons why it has been failing to produce successful politicians.