Released on: April 27, 2008, 5:25 am

Press Release Author: Dr BR Natarajan

Industry: Education

Press Release Summary: Vikram draws his inspiration from Nobel Laureate Toni
Morrison quote - If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn\'t been
written yet, you must be the one to write it and Vikram wrote the Splendours of
Royal Mysore The Untold Story of the Wodeyars

Press Release Body: One of the most definitive accounts of the Wodeyar Dynasty,
Vikrams's book 'Splendours of Royal Mysore The Untold Story of the Wodeyars'
sketches the long and fascinating regime of the Maharajas of Mysore replete with
wars, palace intrigues, romance, valour and deceit.

The book revisits the ups and downs of the dynasty over 600 years starting from the
genesis in AD 1399 to the age of glory under Raja Wodeyar, Ranadhira Kanthirava
Narasaraja Wodeyar and Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar down to the times of spineless
monarchs who let the reigns of the kingdom slip into the hands of powerful
ministers.

The book brings out the details of how Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan
emerged as a veritable nightmare for the British East India Company and then moves
on with the Wodeyars rule till the time of India's independence. The highlights of
the book include the growth of Mysore as a cultural capital of Southern India along
with Tanjore (present day Thanjavur in Tamilnadu) in areas of classical music,
dance, folk traditions, painting and literature during the six centuries period.

In a colourful function organized by Humanistic Studies Group and BITS Alumni
Association (BITSAA) on 26 April 2008 in the Lecture Theatre Complex of BITS Pilani,
Vikram Sampath's book was launched by Prof L K Maheshwari Vice Chancellor of the
Institute.

In his speech Prof Maheshwari said that it was a matter of pride for BITS Pilani as
an alumnus who did his MSc (Hons) Mathematics and BE (Hons) Electrical & Electronics
Engineering under the dual degree scheme of the Institute wrote a book on history
and congratulated Vikram for the well researched work. The launch function included
the screening of the documentary film on the history and ethos of the princely
state.

In his speech, Vikram gave an overview of the book and thanked his alma mater BITS
Pilani for giving him challenging opportunities during his educational days to groom
him into a multi talented personality and he had special words of praise for the
magnificent library of the Institute.

During his Pilani visit, Vikram also gave a lecture on Retail Banking to the
Management and Finance students of the Institute and took time to chill out at the
music night in the auditorium as well as gel with the Ragamalika Psenti semester
concert in the Engineering Theatre.

Vikram\'s Work Profile may be in Bangalore\'s Citi Bank Retail Banking division but
his Passion Profile has been in researching the History of Mysore.

Vikram Sampath is yet another proud to be a BITSian who has integrated himself into
the excellence circuit.

About BITS Pilani: One among the top ranking universities in India today, Birla
Institute of Technology and Science - BITS Pilani which has the reputation of
pioneering the online examinations for admissions through the pathbreaking BITSAT
and setting a benchmark in industry university collaborations offers degrees in
various disciplines presently at Pilani, Dubai, Goa campuses and in the short future
at Hyderabad campus apart from an array of work integrated learning programmes for
HRD of a vast spectrum of Indian corporates. The alumni of the Institute are spread
across the globe from Australia to America.

Web Site: http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in

Contact Details: Dr BR Natarajan, Professor Birla Institute of Technology and
Science (BITS), Pilani (Rajasthan) 333031 India Phone 91-1596-242210 Fax
91-1596-244183 Website: www.bits-pilani.ac.in