New Delhi: Dr B Venkatraman was an illustrious IAS officer of 1950 batch, and a historian par excellence, but he never allowed his love for history to deflect him from his bureaucratic commitments, which he discharged with due diligence and dedication. Dr Venkatraman was not well for some time and was undergoing treatment at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, where he breathed his last on October 20. He was 95.

Those who knew him say that Dr Venkatraman was very particular and meticulous about his duties and never hesitated in charting an independent course to take his decisions to their logical conclusion. An IAS officer of Odisha cadre, he went on to become the state’s Chief Secretary before serving in various capacities in several departments, where he left his indelible footprints in developing different sectors. He also served as a Secretary in the Union Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.    

What made Dr Venkatraman an IAS officer of different calibre was the academic flavour of his personality. He was an undisputed authority on Chola history and the different gamut of architecture. His authoritative understanding of Chola history was simply stunning, which he owed to none but his teacher and father Padma Shri SR Balasubrahmanyam, also a great signature of Chola history.

He also co-authored with his father a book titled as ‘Laddigam: Later Chola Temples'. He also wrote Temple Art Under The Chola Queens and many other books. He is credited with refurbishing the Museum and Manuscripts Library at Bhubaneswar, apart from renovating and conserving among others the earliest known structural temples in Orissa -- Lakhmanesvar, Shatrughnesvar and Bharatwsvar. He was also the brain behind Puri-Konark marine drive. /BI/