I will write a book on Mullaperiyar after I take my voluntary retirement ;)

Two big myths peddled on MPD

Kerala- Vishakam Thirunal Maharaj said he signed the deed with his blood

TN - Major Penniquick sold his property to build the Dam

Both are pure fiction

Let me burst the Kerala myth first.

This figment of imagination is repeated by many prominent personalities.

Periyar Lease deed was signed on 29th October 1886.

Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma died on 4th August 1885 at the age of 48.

Periyar Lease Deed signed during the regime of Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma.

Then Lease Deed was not signed by the Maharaja, instead it was signed by Travancore Dewan V Ram Iyengar.

Rather than Maharaja, the Dewan flagged the short comings of deed, but threatened by British

Now let us deal the myth peddled in Tamil Nadu.

Every single penny invested for Mullaperiyar Dam was from the treasury of British India.

The financial closure report available in National Archives, New Delhi is the evidence of that.

Even the stamp duty paid for registration of lease deed at Travancore Katchery is accounted in that document.

A T Mackenzie, the Executive Engineer who wrote "History of Periyar Project" 1879, Madras Government Press who described every single event of MPD did not tell this myth

Forget about all the above documents.

There is another valuable document, which is not known to most people.

That is written by John Pennycuick himself!

"Diversion of Periyar" Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 128, January 1897

He never mentioned anything about selling his property there.

Also understand that if he had Rs. 84.71 lakhs, he would never come for the job of an engineer in India to toil in this hot and humid weather.

Then how that story came into the folklore?

Pennycuick himself went to London in between the construction of the dam to bring machinery required to speed up the dam construction.

This may be interpreted by the local labourers as a fairytale, because of the aura of maverick Engineer Pennycuick

The above incident is well documented in the "History of the Periyar Project" by A.T. Mackenzie.

But Tamil people love hero worship, they treat Pennycuick as another avatar of a God who blessed them with plenty of water.

There are a thousand myths about this Dam & Deed ;)

As I have a fascination for history, thanks to my high school history teacher, I delve deep into MPD records of past.

Met the great scholar Late Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon, spent my days at State Archives, National Archives, Secretariat records - read tens of thousands of pages!

My then boss Sayan Chatterjee given me a carte blanche to go anywhere and spent as much as time I need to research.

He trusted & believed in me & I never had a boss like him, one of the finest IAS officer Kerala had, who retired as Sports Authority of India's Director General.

I roamed with my digital camera and clicked most old records I seen by me, a technique shared by a French history scholar I met at National Archives, though they don't allow camera there. But it was useful at Palace, Fort, State Archives and many other places.

So I can write a ponderous volume on Mullaperiyar with all records, can tell you the untold story of this Dam.

As most share you their figment of imagination, I think I have a duty to share you the truth and facts, I found out.