Puttana Venkatramana Raju

Rao Bahadur Puttana Venkataramana Raju (ISE) B.E., F.I.E. (1894-1975), also known as Rajugaru, was a person who tried his best to improve the quality of life of people through his dedication to Public Works Projects under difficult circumstances. One among the pre-eminent Engineers of his time who contributed to building infrastructure in the early days of a developing India, his life, professional focus and personal conduct inspired many others to contribute towards Social upliftment and excellence while following his example of lifelong contributions to Engineering, Education and Helping the poorer sections of society. He was regarded as an advocate of development and a staunch supporter of empowerment of the economically weaker sections of society through education. He stood for empowerment and education of Indians, he expressed the view that every family must have an educated competent person who could help develop the next generation- this would lead to a vibrant and socially balanced development of India.
Family background and early childhood
He was born into a wealthy family in Madras in 1894. He was fiercely independent from his early childhood and would not tolerate any deviation from his stated goals. His father Shri Puttana Raju was well established in Madras Business circles and was known for Jewellery and Bullion trading including handling the Mint for the Government of the Madras Presidency. The family lived in a large bungalow in the Triplicane area of Madras and were devoted to Tirupati Lord Venkateswara. The origins of the family are linked to the divine grace of Lord Shiva and Nimishamba Devi from where the origins of the famous clan of Soma Vamsha Arya Kshatriyas are traced through Copper plates and historical references to their forefathers Chakravathi Sumanaska and Chakravarthi Mukta Raju. This family belongs to the Stambhala clan bearing Bharadwaja Gothra of the Soma Vamsha Arya Kshatriyas. The Pravara is Angeerasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadwaja, Trayarsheya, Pravaranvita, Bharadwaja Gothra, Apastahambhasutra, Yajushaakhadhyayee.
Education
Due to the fluctuations in the economic scenario during World War I the family lost a shipment of bullion and thoroughbred horses during the shelling by the German Cruiser Emden which wreaked havoc on the shipping lanes and eastern coast of Southern India. Several clan members left Madras for the safer climes of Bangalore and Shri Puttana Raju found himself alone with his immediate family members in Madras in severely reduced circumstances. At this stage young Puttana Venkataramana Raju lost his father Shri Puttana Raju and defied his elder brother and decided not to join the family business, instead he poured all his energies into his studies and excelled in his final exams from the Hindu High School Triplicane . His elder brother decided to distract young Puttana Venkataramana Raju from further studies and arranged for him to be married to Venkatamma from the Panaganti clan of Soma Vamsha Arya Kshatriyas. However young Puttana Venkatramana Raju saw through this ruse within a short time and turned the situation to his advantage, he collected the jewellery of his wife (promising to return the jewels to her later) and utilised the proceeds to buy the best Engineering books and instruments, secured admission on merit into The College of Engineering Guindy, Madras and settled into the hostel much to the annoyance of his brother. He stood First in Class and was awarded the Gold Medal from the College of Engineering Guindy Madras in the Civil Engineering discipline. On account of his brilliant academic record, he qualified for the Indian Service of Engineers and was offered a direct position of Assistant Executive Engineer (rather than Junior Engineer as was the normal practise). He was immediately trained in Europe on the Water Management systems there with particular emphasis on the Dykes in Holland. While in Europe, he travelled widely and visited the famous diamond auction centre at Amsterdam. At the auction centre he casually selected a few stones from various lots and expressed his intention to purchase them. The auctioneers were surprised at the choice as he had managed to select the finest Blue Jaeger diamonds from among piles of not so valuable stones, he was offered a job on the spot. However he was not to be distracted from his main goal in his life which was Service to the Motherland and he returned to India after having studied the contemporary Engineering Practices in Europe.
Career with the Indian Service of Engineers
The PWD provided Puttana Venkataramana Raju the avenue to serve the motherland and he was involved in numerous Civil Engineering Projects which took him to remote areas of the Madras Presidency and upto Orissa. He was involved in construction of inland waterways and the famous Prakasam Barrage Project - his training in Europe stood him in good stead as he utilised all the best practices observed there for water management like the Dykes in Holland. Being a multi-faceted personality, he developed friendships in every town he was posted in right from his collegues in the Civil Service to the Rajas and their subjects. His focus on Service made him work beyond the call of duty and he quietly helped the downtrodden in every way he could. One of his talents was marksmanship and he was often called by helpless villagers to save them from man-eating tigers and leopards in the wild remote locations he was posted to and he would many a time spend the night up on a tree after a hard days work at the PWD projects. The nightly vigils and his accurate shooting helped to save many lives and rid the remote areas of man-eating tigers. The difficult conditions and strenuous lifestyle of camping out in the open resulted in several bouts of sun-stroke, dengue fever and malaria which he never completely recovered from and affected his movement and normal life in later years.
A man of his word
Puttana Venkataramana Raju was nothing if not a man of his word and he never forgot the help he had taken from his wife Venkatamma and whatever savings he made he invested wisely and always ensured her well-being and happiness. He returned all her jewellery and also made new pieces from the European Blue Jaeger diamonds which he had so carefully selected for her. They lived a happy life together and enjoyed their nomadic life as they moved from one project site to the next, sometimes staying in huge Government bungalows and at other times in humble tents and in rare cases as guests of friends in the towns they were posted to. All the projects developed by Puttana Venkataramana Raju which included Barrages, Dams, Roads, Airports... have stood the test of time and are still in use nearly a century later. He was intolerent of poor quality and many are the occassions when he has thrown juniors out of his office if they erred, often they would find files flying at them followed by an angry roar as he pointed out their mistakes and corrected them in the quest for service to the motherland.
Later Years
Puttana Venkataramana Raju was finally posted to develop Madras Airport in time for the requirements of the Defence of India during World War II, he completed the project in record time and he was promoted to the position of Superintending Engineer, he was then honoured with the title of Rao Bahadur in recognition of his selfless service to the motherland and the downtrodden, after his retirement all his friends and relatives expected him to retire to a life of quietude, however he was requested by the Simpsons group to take over as their Chief Engineer (quite possibly he himself could not retire and wanted to be active), after his term there he took on the position of Dean of Engineering studies at Annamalai University and he was an active member of the Academic Senate. His wide circle of friends also enjoyed his company and he was a Grandmaster of the Masonic Lodge, member of The Madras Club, The Madras Gymkhana Club and The Madras Race Club. He was an elected Fellow of the Institution of Engineers(India) . However, towards the end of his career his health was failing him and this robust talented man was unable to walk unaided, his fingers would shake and his strong voice was never the same but he was not one to allow this to slow him down and he would spend hours at his typewriter slowly typing out letters of encouragement to the younger generations of his family and to the youth who would visit him to learn from him. He always made it a point to reply to any letter written to him even if it took him an hour to type the reply and he would painstakingly sign-off as P V Raju using a fountain pen in blue ink at the end of the letter. His children and their families were his pride and joy and he had 4 sons and 4 daughters. All the children were educated to graduate levels and a few to Post-graduate levels while obtaining acadameic honours and prominent positions in society. His sons Brigadier Venkatramana Krishna Raju.B.E.(Indian Army),Venkatramana Sreenivasa Raju.B.A., Venkataramana Ramachandra Raju.M.A.(Ranked Tennis player in Madras and later turned professional in USA) and Commander Venkatramana Narayan Raju .B.E.,M.I.E.E.,F.I.E.(Indian Navy)carried on his good name through their service to the motherland and excellence in their chosen fields.
Spiritual realisation
Puttana Venkataramana Raju loved to begin his day by listening to the Tirupati Venkateswara Suprabatham, he loved to chant the Purushasuktam everyday and he even enjoyed darsan of Sri Chinmayananda, Ramana Maharishi and Bhagwan Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. He was an expert in the vedic traditions and could discuss finer aspects with learned people. He died on 21 June 1975.
Reference
1922 Kavyathirtha Shri Janamanchi Seshadri Sharma has translated 'Brahmanda Purana'in poetical form of Andhra language ref the 11th line of page 774 in the ultimate part of the 5th sub-chapter of 'Upodhata Pada'
1966 1st edition of Sri Muktarishi vamshodbhava Sri Soma Vamsha Arya Kshatriya Purana mentioning the 32 Gothras and Vamshavalli, and subsequent editions with authentication by Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya mahasamsthanam Sharada Peetham Sringeri ref 9111/76 camp Begaluru date 10.11.1976 & research by Vidwan S R Krishna Shastri Nivriddha Samskrita Adhyapakuru Arya Vidya Shala High School, Begaluru - Published by Sri B N SrinivasaRaju, Grandhakartha Panaganti Gopala Raju

1972 1st edition of Sri Soma Vamsha Puranam Rendo Bhagam Rendo Adhyayam- Published by Sri B N SrinivasaRaju, Grandhakartha Panaganti Gopala Raju
Avadi Township, Avadi Municipal Office, Madras 54, D Extract Year 1975 Month July Page 8 Annual No.50 Monthly No.1

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