Background
Viswanathan was born on February 8, 1928 in Vellanad, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, India.
Viswanathan was born on February 8, 1928 in Vellanad, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, India.
He did his schooling in Thiruvananthapuram and joined Visva-Bharati University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore and completed Siksha Bhavana in 1953.
He founded Mitraniketan, a non governmental organization in Vellanadu, Thiruvananthapuram in 1956. Later he continued his studies in the United States, the United Kingdom and in Scandinavia. During his days in the United States, he came in touch with Arthur East. Morgan which helped him shape his later years.
On his return to India, he founded Mitraniketan, The Home of Friends, in 1955, which works in the fields of innovation, training and extension in community development, environment, science, education and appropriate technology.
The organisation has since grown to cover 60 acres of land housing Mitraniketan People"s College, a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), a training centre for women, a fully equipped bakery, pottery centre, and a technology transfer programme. He was the patron of Kerala Voluntary Action League (KAVAL), a network of Non Governmental organizations.
He died on 28 April 2014 due to heart related problems at a private clinic in Thiruvananthapuram.
Further, he chaired many organisations and attended conferences in India and abroad and served as a member of many government boards.