I was happy to read that the Mysore Municipal Corporation had stayed the demolition of the house in which India's literary giant, R.K. Narayan, lived for two decades (“Stay on demolition of house where R.K. Narayan lived,” Sept. 6). In this context it is sad to note that the house at Vellala Street, in Chennai, where RKN lived in the 1990s, was demolished to make way for a hotel. Thanks to the efforts of an admirer of the writer, a remnant of this house, a decorated door, has been preserved.
S. Gopalakrishnan,Chennai
It is pertinent to state that the birthplace of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon is well preserved by a trust. It includes structures associated with Anne Hathway and Mary Arden. We need to be inspired by this.
Malaya Krishnamurthy,Visakhapatnam
R.K. Narayan entertained thousands of readers with his heart-warming stories. They were reflections of real life. It will be appropriate if his house is acquired by the government to establish a library in his memory.
M.R. Anand,Chennai
The picture of the Mysore house which R.K. Narayan lived in makes one despair. When the doors and windows have been dismantled, and the chajja (overhang) and the ceiling of a “bay room” have been brought down, what sort of preservation can be done? When the building was yet to be declared as a heritage structure, the assistant commissioner of the Mysore City Corporation issued permission to demolish it. Now it is the MCC that urges the Karnataka government to confer heritage status to the building. Nothing can be more farcical.
C.G. Rishikesh,Chennai
