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Row over move to hand over mansion to Kannada centre
The director of state department of Kannada and culture wrote \to Mysore university vice chancellor requesting to provide space to set up CESCK in the month of May last. The university syndicate held a meeting in month of June and responded to it saying the syndicate agrees to the proposal
A section of academicians and historians have expressed concern over the move of the University of Mysore reportedly handing over Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion in Manasagangotri campus to Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) for a period of 30 years.
The director of state department of Kannada and culture wrote a letter to Mysore university vice chancellor requesting to provide space to set up CESCK in the month of May last. The university syndicate held a meeting in month of June and responded to it saying the syndicate agrees to the proposal.
“It is a ploy to usurp public property as several elected leaders are involved in the decision making,” historian Prof PV Nanjaraj Urs alleged .
“The erstwhile King Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s sister Jayalakshmi Vilas’ son-in-law Sardhar Basavaraj Urs had agreed to hand over the mansion in 1959 to the then vice-chancellor of Mysore University, Kuvempu, who had sought to establish Manasagangotri campus here. Though the royals agreed for ₹10 lakh, they returned ₹ 2 lakh as a donation for the cause of education and took the remaining ₹8 lakh,” Prof Urs said.
Jayalakshmi Vilas Palace, which houses one of the oldest folklore museums in the country was constructed in the year 1905 at the cost of ₹7 lakh. The mansion has 125 rooms, 300 windows, 287 exquisitely carved doors and is spread across 2.5 lakh square feet.
The palace has multiple entrances.The northern side has an extrusion on the stairs presumably to be used as an alighting platform for cars and chariots. The mansion is built of brick and mortar, timber and iron. There are separate drainages for rain water and used water.
“The mansion is like a crown of the varsity, but the MP and Kannada and culture minister Sunil Kumar along with the (incumbent) V-C (Prof G Hemanth Kumar)have hatched a plot to grab the land with no concern to conserve the heritage structure,” former vice-chancellor of Mysore university Prof J Shashidhar Prasad said .
When contacted district in charge minister S T Somashekar told HT that he is in Delhi to attend co-operative ministers’ convention. He said he has no knowledge about the Jayalakshmi Vilas issue.
However, vice-chancellor, professor G Hemanth Kumar, ruled out any move to hand over the mansion to another institution.
“A letter was sent to the state government in March 2022) seeking ₹26.5 crore for renovating the mansion. This was followed by a letter from the Kannada and culture department director asking the whole mansion for its use. The university syndicate meeting, held three months back, formally agreed to hand over a portion of the mansion to the department,” he said.He said that the syndicate is of opinion to hand over 30% building for renovation.
Meanwhile, a former syndicate member of the university Dr KN Mahadev said, “In 2001, the university had signed a pact with Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty to conserve the mansion at the cost of ₹1.7 crore. It was clearly mentioned in the pact that the varsity will maintain the mansion. Now, the authorities are out to violate the pact, and we are ready to move the court.”
Earlier, when there was an attempt to change the name of the mansion to Sudha Murthy Museum of Arts, the move had faced stiff resistance from all quarters.
