Karnad sells off Dharwad ancestral house for Rs 2.48 crore

Retired IFS officer buys heritage property where Gandhi had stayed

Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad on Tuesday sold his ancestral house on Reddy Colony at Saraswatapura here to a retired IFS officer hailing from West Bengal.

The purchaser - Madhu Amit Madhuri - paid Rs 2.48 crore for the house situated on a plot measuring 14.5 guntas. Karnad and Madhuri completed the formalities at the sub-registrar’s office on the premises of the deputy commissioner’s office.

Elaborate security arrangements had been made, apprehending trouble from Sriram Sene activists.

Madhuri told reporters that she had heard a lot about Dharwad, known for its salubrious climate and cultural milieu. This led her to look for a house here. She decided to purchase Karnad’s house after she came to know that he was selling it.

The house originally belonged to the Koppikar family. It is said that Mahatma Gandhi had stayed here when he had come for the Belgaum session of the Congress.  

Girish Karnad’s father Raghunath Karnad - a government doctor - had purchased it in 1951. Karnad had studied at the Basel Mission High School in the city, graduation at the Karnatak Arts College and post graduation at the Karnatak University while residing at this house, said Suresh Kulkarni, a close associate of the writer.

Dr Raghunath Karnad had gifted the house to his daughter and Girish Karnad had bought it from her. The writer - who stays in Bengaluru most of the time - used to visit the Dharwad house once in a while.

Famous personalities from the tinsel town and the literary world used to visit the house to hold discussions with Karnad on a range of subjects including cinema.

Illustrious visitors
Among the big names who came here are Kirthinath Kurtkoti, Channaveera Kanavi, Giraddi Govindaraju and Siddalinga Pattanashetti.

Theatreperson B V Karanth, Bollywood actors Amol Palekar, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, director Shyam Benegal, besides the Nag brothers - Shankar Nag and Anant Nag - have visited the place.

Reading sessions of Karnad’s dramas like Hayavadana and Taledanda have been held here, recalls Pattanashetti.