The chair and desk used by R.K. Narayan are among the assortment of memorabilia brought to Mysuru from Chennai, to recreate the life and times of the celebrated writer.
Spectacles, clothes, including a black coat he wore, a cot, and cartons of books, besides medals, awards and certificates have reached his residence in Yadavagiri in Mysuru, which will turn into his memorial.
Narayan’s nephew R.S. Jayaram, who lived in the house along with the writer, will help the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) personnel arrange the furniture and his other belongings as they existed in the 60s and 70s.
“He used to sit and write in the room on the first floor,” Mr. Jayaram said, pointing to the oval-shaped room on the first floor. The cot on which he slept was in the adjoining room on the first floor. His books used to be kept in different rooms in the house.
Mr. Jayaram recalled that the family stayed in a house in Lakshmipuram, before shifting to the house in Yadavgiri in the sixties.
MCC Commissioner C.G. Betsurmath, who is also Director of Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, said the memorabilia, which was in the possession of the writer’s family members in Chennai, had been donated to the memorial. Narayan had shifted to Chennai in 1990s.
Mr. Betsurmath said government agencies stepped in when builders had entered into an agreement with the family members to construct a multi-storeyed residential building in 2011. The government decided to buy the bungalow at the prevailing guideline values, and paid the family members Rs. 2.4 crore before declaring it a heritage property.
The MCC spent Rs. 30 lakh to restore the building to its original condition after the builders had altered the structure. Another Rs. 5 lakh was spent on landscaping.
After the belongings of Narayan are displayed, the bungalow will be thrown open for the public. “We want to promote it as a tourist destination,” Mr. Betsurmath said.
A date for its opening will soon be fixed. Efforts will be made to bring Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the bungalow during his visit to Mysuru on Friday and Saturday, Mr. Betsurmath added.
