Karnataka - Mangalore   

A trip down memory lane

MANGALORE: It was a trip down memory lane for writer Amruth Someshwar at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Gilivindu project at Manjeshwar, 20 km from here. The Governments of Karnataka and Kerala have embarked upon a project to maintain and develop the house of the late Rashtrakavi Manjeshwara Govinda Pai at an estimated cost of Rs. 2 crore.

A regular visitor to the house during his student days, Mr. Amruth recalls the small desk placed on an embroidered carpet in the attic on which the poet used to sit and hold court. “He sat behind the desk surrounded by books and people,” he says.

These interactions with people even prompted Mr. Amruth, then pursing his BA course, to pen a poem “Kande Kavya Rishiyam,” written in the old Kannada style in 1957. The thick tuft of “bili kudalu” (gray hair) he had told its own story about the poet and lent an extra grace to his personality, Mr. Amruth notes.

Expressing his anguish at the state of the poet’s house, Mr. Amruth says, “It was more like a cowshed during the day. The tiles were missing, and so were the doors and windows, in many cases. There was obscene graffiti on the walls and the place used to transform into a den of vices at night,” he says.

Ananth Pai, grandson of Manjeshwar Govind Pai’s brother Subbraya Pai, notes that the entire family is happy at the decision to convert the house into a memorial. This would give further boost to preserving his works, which is a reflection of the years of hard labour, he adds. The house at Manjeshwar presently has a bust of the Rashtrakavi. It is used as a library and a reading room by the local people.

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