all them Temples of Literature”. Literature is part and particle of the culture and heritage of any people. The houses of several writers have been preserved and some made into museums. More than just the homes of some writers have been declared as heritage sites.
The house and even a large part of the street in which Shakespeare was born have been converted into a museum. Besides being a popular tourist spot it has become a sort of Mecca for all English Literature lovers.
In one such instance a Temple of Literature in India, the house of noted Indian writer R.K. Narayan was saved from demolition by a developer by the Karnataka government by acquiring it at market value.
Vijayawada’s own Temple of Literature is the house of the first Telugu Jnanpith Award winner Viswanatha Satyanarayana located in Maruthi Nagar.
Viswanatha’s literary works include 30 poems, 20 plays, 60 novels, 10 critical estimates, 200 khanda kavyas (epic poems), 35 short stories, three playlets, 70 essays, 50 radio plays, 10 essays in English, 10 works in Sanskrit, three translations, 100 introductions and forewords as well as radio talks. Some of his poems and novels have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Sanskrit. Veyipadagalu , his magnum opus, was translated into Hindi by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao as ‘Sahasraphan’. Besides the Jnanpith award he was also given a Padma Bhushan award and the literary titles ‘Kavisamrat’ and ‘Kalaprapurna’. The single-storey house in which the writer lived is jointly owned by his three grandsons Satyanarayana, Shaktidhar Sri Pavaki and Manohar Sri Panini. The house and the copyrights to their grandfather’s literary works are the only property inherited by them from their father, Pavani Sastry, the sole heir to the writer’s wealth.
Deputy Speaker and former chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Official Language Commission Mandali Buddha Prasad said that the legal heirs were ready to hand over the house and several other objects to the government. They want the house to be made a heritage building, a museum and a photo exhibition. The house was today in a prime locality.
It will only be fair that the grandchildren who live on salaries be given market value, he said. Andhra Pradesh Writers’ Association general secretary G.V. Purnachand said that there was already the precedent of R.K.Narayan’s house in which the Karnataka government appointed the Kannada and Culture Department as a nodal agency to acquire the property.
Generous offers
“The house is the only property the grandsons have and real estate developers have already made generous offers to them. The heirs have spent money to renovate the building and maintain it, but this prime property is currently not even earning rent. Some literary meeting are being organised there, but more money is required to convert the house into a museum and photo exhibition. The cash-strapped State government is not taking a decision, but it is difficult to say for how long the grandsons will wait. Even if one of the brothers needs money all three will have to sell,” Dr Purnachand said.
Eldest grandson who also bearers the writer’s name Viswanatha Satyanarayana said Rs 2.5 crore was paid for R.K. Narayana’s house. That is the kind of value given to writers.
“We will hand over the house and the objects in it to the government with some conditions. A committee should be constituted to take care of its protection and maintenance and members of the Viswanatha family should be given place in the committee,” he said.
The cash-strapped government
is not taking a decision, but it is difficult to say for how long the grandsons will wait.
Even if one of the brothers needs money all three will have to sell the house
G.V. Purnachand
Andhra Pradesh Writers’ Association
general secretary
Grandsons of first Telugu Jnanpith Award winner Viswanatha Satyanarayana say his house should be made a heritage building and museum
