• Residents complain of garbage dumping, burning of plastic waste
• Lack of security personnel poses threat to rare memorabilia
Mysuru: The backyard of Mysuru’s iconic novelist and writer R.K. Narayan’s house in Yadavagiri — R.K. Narayan Museum — has turned into an eyesore, with discarded thermocol, plastic banners and other waste dumped indiscriminately.
The front and backyard of the house, where Narayan lived between the 1950s and 1990s and authored many of his books, are poorly maintained, with overgrown weeds surrounding the heritage structure.
Despite being declared a tourist destination by the State Government, the residence remains neglected, with none of the Government departments taking steps to maintain the premises — a literary landmark forgotten.
Residents of Yadavagiri, who contacted Star of Mysore this morning, said people staying behind the property burn flex and plastic waste for cooking and heating water. The thick smoke emanating from the area has been causing inconvenience to neighbouring residents.
The compound walls and garden have also not been maintained properly. Moreover, no Government official or staff member is present at the Museum to guide the visitors.
Museum in 2016
The house, which showcases a rich collection of R.K. Narayan’s personal memorabilia, was converted into a Museum and opened to the public on July 24, 2016.
However, neither the State Government, the District Administration, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) nor the Department of Tourism has adequately promoted the R.K. Narayan Museum to attract tourists.
There are also no visible security measures at the Museum, raising concerns that anyone can enter the premises and make away with the memorabilia on display. The watchman appointed to look after the property is reportedly absent most of the time.
The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), which is responsible for maintaining the premises, appears to have overlooked the building, as officials have rarely visited the site.
It may be recalled that, under the Karnataka Tourism Policy 2024-2029, the State Government identified 1,275 tourist destinations across various districts for development. Of these, 13 sites are in Mysuru district, including the R.K. Narayan House.
The house was built by Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami, better known as R.K. Narayan, in 1948. After his death, there were plans to demolish it and construct a multi-storey luxury apartment on the site.
However, admirers of the celebrated author strongly opposed the move. Star of Mysore, under the leadership of its late Founder-Editor K.B. Ganapathy, spearheaded the campaign to save the historic structure.
The house was subsequently declared a heritage property and purchased from Narayan’s grandchildren, Bhuvaneshwari and Srinivasan, on Sept. 7, 2011. It was later renovated at a cost of Rs. 35 lakh.
This post was published on July 16, 2026 7:30 pm