Indian Oil Corporation Foundation will create a museum of the house of the late poet Govinda Pai in Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, said M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He was speaking at a programme following the inauguration of a guesthouse called “Saketha” built in memory of the poet at his residence on Sunday afternoon.
He said the foundation would build the museum using part of the Rs. 26 crore that it had been set aside for conserving monuments in the country, including Konark temple in Odisha, Tipu Sultan’s fort in Devanahalli, Warangal fort, and a fort in Maharashtra. The guesthouse, built in memory of Govinda Pai, was being built at a cost of Rs. 12,62,000 from the MPLAD scheme of Karunakara, MP, Kasaragod. He also inaugurated the construction of “Bhavanika”, an auditorium to be built at a cost of Rs. 3 crore from the funds provided by four petroleum marketing companies.
Mr. Moily said the district administration should hold “a big workshop within three months and get the biggest poets of Karnataka and Kerala”. He said if there was any problem with funds, he could fund the workshop, where writers and scholars from both the states should be able to attend and exchange thoughts. The poet had built bridges across the nation through his writings. The current thinking among people was that spoken language was enough but it was inadequate as only language shaped the personality of people. “We may be doctors and engineers but if no firm foundation of language is built, there can be no firm personality”. Like the memorials built for Kuvempu and Bendre, a memorial for Govinda Pai had to be built to pass on the legacy of his works to the next generation. The place should become a pilgrimage spot for writers and poets.
D. K. Chowta, Tulu novelist, said people of Kasargod are, “very docile. If it had been on the southern tip of Kerala, the memorial would have been built long ago”. He said that children and writers should come to the place and scholars should do their doctorates there.
P. Karunakaran, MP, Kasargod, said (about building the memorial),
