Dr. Banad. N. Vishwanath founder of Kannada Koota and Basava International, both of New York and founder of Indian Television and F.M. Radio Broadcast in the United States of America is no more. He passed away recently at the age of 77 in New York.
Dr. Vishwanath hailed from Bangalore. His father Nandiswar served as Amaldar in the then Maharaja’s Government of Mysore. Vishwanathstudied at Mysore medical college and secured first rank in the M.B.B.S , in 1960. After obtaining his degree,Vishwanath went to America and continued his studies in Houston, Texas under the guidance of world famous Cardiac surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley. Dr. Vishwanath made his mark as an expert Physician and was a member of special team of Doctors led by Dr. Denton Cooley who performed America’s first successful heart transplant surgery in 1966.
Dr. Vishwanath married Satyavathi, first daughter of K.M. Nanjappa Late Mayor and a popular leader of Bangalore in 1960’s and 1970’s. The couple moved to New York in 1962. Since then they have been living in U.S.
Thousands of miles away from home, deep down in their hearts Dr. Vishwanath and his wife Satya were yearning for Kannadaand Bharatiya culture. Dr. Vishwanath, a creative person hit up on an idea: why not connect with fellow Kannadigas and Indians in the U.S. and have cultural inter action. The result: he started “Vision of Asia” the first Indian weekly two-hour T.V. programme on Sundays for fellow Indians. The T.V. programme became a Super hit and since 1976 it is running successfully without break. The success of “Vision of Asia” encouraged Dr. Vishwanath to launch the first Indian 24×7 International T.V. in 1986 and the first Indian Asian F.M. Radio in 2002. All the three ventures havebecome a roaring success serving Kannadigas and the fellow Indian Community in America. Though far away in America thousands of Kannadigas have remained Kannadigas in culture and spirit thanks to Dr. Vishwanath pioneering work in Indian T.V. and F.M. Radio.
Numerous organizations and leaders have honoured Dr. Vishwanath for his pioneering work in Indian T.V and Radio. Among them, BharatiyaVidyaBhavan Award (1993), National Citizens Overseas Award given by former Prime Minister P.V.NarasimhaRao(2001), AKKA Award for lifetime Achievement in 2010 are only mentioned here for want of space.
Dr. Vishwanath had a warm heart and great concern for the weak and needy people. He raised funds for helping them and contribute to the relief works in India. He was the first person to rush to the help of visiting Indians if they were thrown in to trouble.
Dr. Vishwanath died in New York on October 30, 2014. He leaves behind wife Sathyavati, 3 sons Deepak, Dilip and Dev- their families and hundreds of friends and a grateful Indian American Community.
-Bhagyashree Rai
For Dr.BanadVishwanath family in Bangalore
M: 9945728741 / 9916104898
