Bengaluru: Rotarian Vishnappa Ambanna Yaligar has taken over as Secretary of the Rotary Club of Dharwad for the Rotary Year 2026-27. Vishnu, as he is popularly known among friend circles, has endured a series of hardships and innumerable struggles throughout his childhood and later in life for various reasons. However, at the end of the day, thanks to his commitment, sincerity and impeccable integrity practised throughout his life, he has been able to lead an arduous yet successful path all along!
A native of Sangreshkoppa: Vishnu is from Sangreshkoppa village in Savadatti Taluk of Belagavi district. The village is seven kilometres to the left after Inam Hongal, on the Dharwad-Savadatti Road. Vishnu studied up to the third standard in Sangreshkoppa.
Burden of the entire family: Ambanna, Vishnu's Dad, had two brothers, and their father died when Ambanna was just 12 years old, and the burden of the whole family rested on Ambanna's shoulders! He toiled hard to make ends meet, and it appeared that all possible efforts didn't yield the desired fruits. On the other hand, his younger brothers complained of incurring heavy expenditure!
Gifted the family property to two younger brothers! The family owned seven acres of land, and Ambanna didn't think twice, as he himself had a big family of four sons and four daughters to look after, although both his younger brothers had no issues. He took a white sheet of paper and signed it, giving up his rights to the family property of seven acres.
On a single bullock cart to Dharwad: Soon after the unsavoury ordeal, Ambanna decided to migrate to Dharwad and packed all possible things of the ten members in Ekka gadi, a single bull-driven cart! Initially, the family settled down in the Madihal suburb of Dharwad city.
Country-made pistols had a big say: Devarayapuram Ramasamy Kaarthikeyan, or D R Kaarthikeyan, former IPS officer, had his first posting at Savadatti, when country-made pistols had a big say in local feuds, rivalry and murders in the region. The country-made pistols were quite handy in finishing off the rivals over trivial issues, packing the dead bodies in a gunny bag and throwing them in the Malaprabha River! Once, D R Kaarthikeyan happened to camp in Ambanna Yeligar's house for three days in connection with a murder, where he noticed the German-made double-barreled gun, for self-protection from the local big landlords. Then, S C Burman was the SP of Belagavi district.
A truce between warring people: D R Kaarthikeyan convinced Ambanna and the other local big landlords, who were vying with each other and the latter conspiring to murder Ambanna, to give up the gun battle and instead get the children educated in Dharwad to lead a better life. Ambanna found sense in the advice of the young police officer and resolved to bid adieu to the weapon. Vishnu says that his family is ever grateful to D R Kaarthikeyan for the thoughtful advice, which literally led to an unimaginable transformation of the course of their lives.
A humble beginning at Dharwad: Ambanna, who was altogether a different kind of personality while being in Sangreshkoppa village, was a totally reformed person after shifting to Dharwad. He began working in a grocery shop and at Shree Tea Depot, beside the Kamat Hotel on Subash Road. However, the German-made double-barreled gun still remained in the house, and the nightmare of the native village used to haunt the family members every now and then. To come out of the fear, the family members managed to dispose of the weapon.
Working from the fifth standard! Vishnu was admitted to the Central School in the Kamanakatti area for the IVth standard and shifted to the Basel Mission High School from the Vth standard. Due to the unfavourable financial condition at home, Vishnu was compelled to start working from the 5th standard itself!
Deprived of the privilege of childhood! Vishnu used to go to work every Saturday afternoon, the whole day on Sunday, six months' vacation and annual holidays. As a result, it goes without saying that Vishnu and his siblings were deprived of the usual privileges children of his age boasted of!
Filling arecanut packets, selling lottery tickets: He used to go to Prema Supari Works to fill the small arecanut packets and sell lottery tickets during the season before the Gourish Book Depot. For the marketing of the arecanut packets, he used to go to the nook and corner of Dharwad on a bicycle, earning a commission of 25 paise for selling a bundle containing 50 packets. In a way, Vishnu laments that perhaps there was no job he did not venture into!
Dad's dream of seeing the children's photo in the newspapers: Vishnu's dad, Ambanna, after having left the native village forever and migrated to Dharwad, had a fond dream of seeing his kids' photo in the newspapers. Then, the photos of SSLC toppers were published in the vernacular dailies along with the results as well. Neither Vishnu nor his other two brothers could accomplish their father's wish, as all of them passed in the second class. Ambanna felt let down, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
Three hours of sleep, a daily routine! Incidentally, the same tears threw an open challenge for Vishnu to perform better to fulfil the wish of his papa. There was no electricity connection to the house, and he had no other option but to study in the light of a lantern lamp. He used to go to the shop to work after school hours, study from 10 pm to 01 am and sleep from 01 am to 04 am, and this routine went on for ten years!
From second class to within 10 ranks: This stringent practice of study and sleep for three hours daily helped Vishnu in a big way. From a mere second-class pass until PUC, he came out with flying colours in the BA results, bagging ranks within the first ten! He started getting a Rs 300 government scholarship for belonging to a low-income group and another merit scholarship of Rs 300 for being a rankholder. He got the Ninth rank at the Karnataka University in BA and took his father to the convocation function, wherein his father wept again, but this time it was out of sheer joy!
MBA, MSW: Vishnu got admitted to the MBA and also went to the classes for a year, but was not able to continue further due to financial constraints. In fact, he had thought of going to Scotland to pursue courses to become a fingerprint expert, as he had done his BA with Criminology as the major subject. Psychology was the minor, and Sanskrit was the basic subject. He bagged the first rank for the MSW postgraduate degree course along with a state award.
Contentment of satisfying his father twice: Vishnu was honoured at the Youth Affairs and Sports Department on Nrupatunga Road in Bengaluru by H D Devegowda, then PWD Minister of Karnataka State, in 1987. In this way, he could fulfil his father's wish not once but twice.
Attempt to murder, thrice! Vishnu served in various organisations successfully for more than 38 years, and during this period, he also underwent the threat of an attempt to murder, not just once or twice, but three times! Once he was going in a car from Tumakuru to Bengaluru, and was being chased by some people in another vehicle. Sensing the danger, he immediately alerted the CID police, who managed to avert the possible crime by diverting the following car.
The result of being straightforward: It had so happened that, before Vishnu had joined the company, it was a free-for-all of illegal deeds in the company. The so-called trade union leaders were in the dirty habit of squeezing money from job aspirants and employees seeking staff quarters, and all such mischief came to a grinding halt as soon as Vishnu took over the helm of affairs.
In PV Narasimha Rao son's factory: Another attempt was made while he was with the pellets manufacturing unit run by PV Prabhakar Rao, son of PV Narasimha Rao, former prime minister. There were difference of opinion between the owner and his father-in-law. So it was very difficult for Vishnu to take any disciplinary action against erring employees.
Not even one warning memo from five years: The management of the manufacturing unit at Srirampuram in Vishakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh was not able to serve a warning memo from five years! However, once Vishnu took charge, he didn't take much time for issuing suspension orders pending inquiry to 13 workers. 13 people were served with showcause notices while two were terminated from the services. As a result, he was in the hitlist of the disgruntled elements in the trade union. Added to this adverse situation, the area was also in the Naxalite affected region.
Two to Three police vans before Gokak Mills: Vishnu had a challenging tenure in the Gokak Mills of the Belagavi district, riddled with the warring factions belonging to Karininga and Ramesh Jharkiholi. The law and order situation was so vulnerable that two or three police vans were always placed before the factory premises!
300 domestic inquires: During his stint with the Gokak Mills, Vishnu conducted around 300 domestic inquires; 200 as an inquiry officer and about 100 as a representative of the management.
Academic Excellence Journey
Undergraduate Achievement (1983)
*B.A., Karnataka University, Dharwad
*Obtained 74.88% - 9th Rank in Karnataka University
*Foundation studies at Basel Mission Higher Secondary School (1972–1977)
Master's Degree Excellence (1986)
*M.A. in Social Work, Karnataka University, Dharwad
*Obtained First class with Distinction- 1st rank at Karnataka University
*Karnataka State Award winner for the highest percentage in Karnataka State
*Felicitated by H.D. Deve Gowda, then PWD Minister of Karnataka State, 1987
Legal Qualification (2001)
*LL. B (Spl.), Karnataka University, Dharwad
*Practising Advocate specialising in labour law and POSH Act
Professional Certifications & Specialisations
*POSH Act Certification (2022) – Labour Law Institute, New Delhi
*Certified External Member eligibility for the Internal Complaints Committee
*ISO-9000 Lead Auditor & Internal Quality Auditor
*Certified ABG CADD Trainer & ABG IDP Facilitator
*Life Member: NIPM & Karnatak Vidyvardak Sangh, Dharwad
*Director-International Services, Rotary Club Dharwad Main (2025–2026)
*Coordinator, Probus Club, Tatwneswan Mandir, Dharwad (2025–2026)
36-Year Corporate Journey
What started with a Personnel Officer designation evolved to become a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through India's finest corporations:
The Big Names Vishnu Worked With:
UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Cement, Heidelberg Cement, Kirloskar Group, Grasim Industries, Forbes Gokak, BPL, IFB
Career Highlights:
*Rose from Personnel Officer to General Manager & Head-HR
*Specialized in HR & Industrial Relations
*Negotiated major wage settlements, ensuring smooth factory operations
*Conducted ~300 domestic enquiries, becoming the company’s troubleshooter
Post-Retirement: The Adventure Continues
Instead of sitting idle, Vishnu remains busy as an Independent HR & Legal Consultant:
*HR/IR strategy development for the manufacturing sector
*Labour law advisory & litigation support
*POSH Act compliance and ICC guidance
*Domestic enquiry & disciplinary process management
*Training & development programs
What Drives Vishnu
Languages: Kannada, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu
Philosophy: "Building Excellence Through People, Processes, and Purpose"
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