BANGALORE: The state government has decided to develop writer R K Narayan’s house at Mysore as a heritage centre, besides naming it Malgudi House in remembrance of his famous literary work Malgudi Days.A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by Urban Development Minister Sureshkumar with officials and journalists from Mysore on Wednesday. As per the decision, the government would purchase the house at the current market price of `3.5 crore from Narayan’s family and entrust the work of renovation to the Mysore Development Authority and the Mysore city corporation.Malgudi House will be developed on the lines of Kavi Teertha, the house of writer Kuvempu at Kuppalli. “All Narayan’s belongings and books, including his manuscripts, will be kept in the house for public viewing. We want it to be an inspirational centre for budding writers,” an official said.After it is developed, the house will be handed over to the English Department of Mysore University to be used as a study centre. The meeting also decided to exert pressure on the Union Government to name trains plying between Mysore and Bangalore after the writer.Mysore MLC G Madhusudan, A Ravindra, adviser to the Chief Minister on Urban Development, and Urban Development secretary Shambhu Dayal Meena were present at the meeting.Meanwhile, Narayan’s family has expressed happiness over the government’s decision. His granddaughter Bhuvaneswari Sreenivasamurthy and her husband K Sreenivasamurthy called on Sureshkumar in the Vidhana Soudha here. “As they live in Chennai, they expressed their inability to maintain the house,” he said.Narayan’s house caught the attention of the government recently when a private builder started demolishing it to build an apartment after purchasing it from the late writer’s family members. The literary community and public opposed the demolition and sought government intervention. Following this, the government decided to preserve it.
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