The dream of converting the house in which his elders lived in Masti in Malur taluk, into a library had been riddled in controversy. At last the Periayath Library, is becoming a reality.
If everything goes according to plan of the Kolar’s Masti Venkatesh Iyengar trust, then the library doors are going to open in July. It is not just going to be a public library but also there will be a Masti memorial.
The clothes Masti used to wear, his pen and other belongings apart from the manuscripts and other rare artefact will be displayed in the memorial.
The State library department has already given 50 chairs, 10 racks, four tables and six thousand books. All it is awaiting is the inauguration.
Masti’s birth anniversary is on June 6 and the Trust in Bangalore has organised a Masti award function.
Later, the library will get permission to operate, it is said. Masti had grown up in the same house of his ancestors. Both Masti and his daughters had a dream of setting up a library there.
In the light of this when the government decided to set up a prathisthan, the daughters became its trustees. Masti’s student Dr Mavinkere Ranganathan became its president.
Earlier, due to the interest taken by the then deputy commissioner Renuka Chidambaram, Masti’s old house was demolished and in its place the new one in the same old style was erected in 2006.
But as the collections for the library was becoming difficult, the building was kept empty. When there was a news that the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was going to inaugurate the mud road was concreted. However, the chief minister did not turn up.
When this was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa about six months back, he immediately responded to the memorandum and gave a clear direction to the library department. The toilet and water facility is all that needs to be made in the library building.
“The trust is making all efforts to see that the dreams of Masti and his daughters are realised. The government grant is also needed for this. The government is also responding quite positively. After the Masti award function, the government will concentrate on the library. In July or August, the library building will be inaugurated,” said trust president Mavinkere Ranganath.
“The library department will provide the staff. An assurance has been given that their salaries will be given by the trust,” said S B Hondakeri to Deccan Herald.