Mudaliar commenced his commercial activity initially as a travelling salesman transporting vegetables which were available at a low price in Bangalore, and selling them at Madras, where they were in great demand.
Later, Mudaliar ventured into a new line of business with Messrs. Wallace & Co. in partnership with Rai Bahadur Bansilal Ramrathan, who had secured from Richard Sankey, Chief Engineer to the Government of Mysore, the contract for the construction of the Public Offices Building or the Attara Kacheri.
Mudaliar believed that wealth was a trust to be utilised for assisting and uplifting the poor, and that diffusion of knowledge is philanthropy at its best - perennial, self-propagating and showering its blessings on future generations.
The then prevailing situation impressed on his keen and observant mind that the basic needs of the day were facilities for educating both boys and girls, training youth to enable them to commence their lives as useful members of the society and relieving the distress of the poor and ailing as well as the socially backward and downtrodden.
On the occasion of the assumption of the Imperial title of Kaiser'i-Hind, by Queen Victoria, a magnificent durbar was held at Delhi on 1 January 1877.
In this durbar, Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India, conferred on Mudaliar the title of Rai Bahadur in recognition of his acts of charity.