The appointment of Indian-American Vivek Hallegere Murthy as the 19th US Surgeon General has cheered a little village named Hallegere in the Mandya district of Karnataka. His relatives staying in Hallegere, Mysore, Bengaluru and Mandya celebrated his appointment and say that his achievement has put the little village on the world map.
Dr Vivek Murthy's parents hail from this little known village in Cauvery heartland Mandya just 100 km away from IT city - Bengaluru and many of his relatives have rejoiced his appointment as the Surgeon General of the USA by President Barack Obama. The 37-year-old is the youngest and highest ranking official of Indian origin - in the rank of Vice Admiral - in the US.
Murthy's uncle HK Vasanth Kumar said, if not for the gun lobby that was against a reformist like him, he would have been sworn-in long back. "Now that all the hurdles have been cleared and he has been sworn-in, the people in our village and all the relatives are happy.
Another of his relative here in Hallegere, HA Venkatesh said, "His gesture of taking oath on the Gita should make all Indians proud. It proves that he has not forgotten his roots."
Murthy is a regular visitor to his native village Hallegere. He had organised health camps and other social activities in Hallegere and its neighbouring villages through his Scope Foundation.