House No. 1152 on Chamarajapuram Railway Station Road will be named ‘Belli Moda’
Mysore/Mysuru: The 120-year-old house — No. 1152, “Triveni S.N. Shankar” — located opposite Tennis Club on Chamarajapuram Railway Station Road that was once owned and occupied by the legendary Kannada novelist Triveni will soon be converted into a museum. The museum will be named ‘Belli Moda’, after her most popular novel that has been adapted into a movie by the same name, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. The ground-breaking ceremony of the conservation and museum project was performed yesterday by Triveni’s daughter Meera Shankar.
Born as Anasuya at Chamarajapuram to B.M. Krishnaswamy and Thangamma couple on Sept. 1, 1928, she, under the pen name “Triveni”, authored 21 novels and three collections of short stories. If ‘Belli Moda’ is her most famous work, equally famous and well-known are her other works including ‘Sharapanjara’, ‘Hoovu Hannu’, ‘Doorada Betta’ and ‘Hannele Chiguridaga’ — all super hit movies of yesteryears. People even now recall Puttanna Kanagal’s adaptation of ‘Sharapanjara’ where actress Kalpana earned accolades for her portrayal of a mentally challenged person.
Keeping legacy alive
Many of Triveni’s works have been translated into English, Telugu and Malayalam. Some of her novels have also been turned into serials. Her small stories collection ‘Samasyeya Magu’ got ‘Devaraja Bahadur Prize’ in 1950. Her novel ‘Avala Mane’ earned the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award in 1960.
The house will be converted into a museum and works have begun in that direction. Her Bengaluru-based daughter Meera Shankar told reporters — taking them around her mother’s house — yesterday that she wants to keep her mother’s legacy alive and make it a place for literary activities.
Triveni was also called by the name Bhagirathi. She graduated with a gold medal in her Bachelor of Arts degree from Maharani’s Arts College in Mysore. She later married an English Professor, S.N. Shankar. Triveni died on July 29, 1963 due to asthma at the age of 34 but by then she had authored more than 20 novels.
Memorabilia to be showcased
“Triveni and ‘Belli Moda’ are synonymous with each other and this is the reason why I chose the name. The memorabilia of my mother including her make-up kit, a couple of manuscripts, personal diaries, her wristwatch, saree and dress collection, dressing table, the table Triveni used to write, photographs, Siddegowda Gold Medal awarded by the University of Mysore, bookmarks and notes of the author will be on display. My father had preserved my mother’s memories,” she said.
Apart from the memorabilia, there are nearly 500 to 600 condolence letters that were received when Triveni passed away. These letters have been preserved and will be on display at the museum, Meera revealed.
“The house has been built on a 75×105 sq.ft. plot and has two portions. The front portion of the house that has a wooden staircase is 120-year-old and the second portion (about 90-year-old) was built by my mother for her literary activities. We will not demolish any part but will strengthen, restore and beautify the house to give it the shape of a befitting museum,” she added.
Inspiration from Stratford-upon-Avon
“I got an idea of converting my mother’s house into a heritage museum after I visited William Shakespeare’s house in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. Even I wanted to keep my mother’s legacy alive and enable visitors to experience some of the moments of her life,” she said.
Conservation and the museum project have been handed over to conservation architect Pankaj Modi from ‘Brick and Stone’ and the entire project is being fully funded by an admirer of Triveni’s literary works and who wishes to remain anonymous.
“We will first study the building, its intricacies and will identify the problem areas and the parts that need end-to-end restoration. We will retain the originality of the structure including the materials used in construction,” Pankaj Modi said and added that the estimated time for the project completion is one year.
Psychological counselling centre
“We have decided to continue literary activities after the completion of the museum and we will open a psychological counselling centre here as the central theme of many of my mother’s novels revolves around issues related to mental health and trauma,” Meera said.
Triveni’s granddaughter Arusha Kumar, who is pursuing a Master’s course in Clinical Psychology in the US, proposed this idea of a counselling centre. It will be run by Parvathi Vattam who is trained at NIMHANS, Bengaluru.
This post was published on December 15, 2022 6:42 pm