Lieutenant General Biddanda Chengappa Nanda, PVSM, AVSM, ADC was born on 12 May 1931 in Madikeri, Kodagu. His early childhood was spent on the Andaman Islands where his father was a Forest Officer. He completed his schooling at Doon School, Dehradun. Commissioned into the army on 10 June 1951. He served in Jammu and Kashmir and saw action during the liberation of Goa and Bangladesh. General Nanda retired after 38 years of distinguished service in the Indian Army and settled in his hometown of Madikeri, where he had his coffee plantations.