President inaugurates General K S Thimayya Memorial Museum

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the General K S Thimayya Memorial Museum that has come up at the residence of General Thimayya on Saturday.

The ‘Sunny Side’ residence of General Thimayya has been converted into a museum which highlights the achievements of General Thimayya.

The President paid floral tributes to the war memorial inside the museum. Later, he viewed the MiG-21, a supersonic jet fighter and the war tank kept outside the museum.

The rare photographs of K S Thimayya, his uniform, the bed used by him, a mini rocket launcher and arms used by the soldiers are part of the museum.

“Glad to inaugurate the General Thimayya Museum at Madikeri in Kodagu, Karnataka. It has preserved special aspects of the extraordinary character and contribution of one of the finest soldiers in the history of our army,” said a tweet by the President of India.

Another tweet stated, “The memorabilia at ‘Sunny Side’, once the residence of General Thimayya, highlights the sterling features of our brave forces.”

“District Kodagu has the honour of having enriched our Armed Forces with stalwarts like General Thimayya and Field Marshal Cariappa. I am sure that this museum will inspire our youth to carry forward the legacy of General Thimayya,” said another tweet by the President.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat wrote in the visitor’s register: “This is a historic occasion as we recall the fine professional, soldierly and officer like qualities of late General Thimayya. An icon, the great solider will ever remain close to the hearts of every Indian Army solider, serving or veteran, he will continue to inspire us in the future.”

The members of Field Marshal K M Cariappa and General Thimayya Forum thanked the President for inaugurating the museum.

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, only a few people were allowed to be part of the programme.

MLC Veena Achaiah appealed to the President to accord Bharat Ratna for Field Marshal K M Cariappa and General K S Thimayya.

District In-charge Minister V Somanna, Kannada and Culture Minister Aravind Limbavali, MLAs M P Appachu Ranjan, K G Bopaiah, MLCs Sunil Subramani, Veena Achaiah, Air Marsha (retd) K C Cariappa, Field Marshal K M Cariappa, General Thimayya Forum president K C Subbaiah and Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal were present.

Earlier, the President, along with his wife Savita and daughter Swati, took part in a special puja at Talacauvery, the birthplace of River Cauvery.

He enjoyed the scenic beauty of Brahmagiri around the temple. He also had a glimpse of the landslide that had occurred at Gajagiri Betta last year, while travelling in a car.

Chief priests Rajesh Acharya, Sudheer Acharya, assistant priests Akhilesh, Prasad and Srinivas performed the puja.

The President, while leaving for the helipad amid tight security, after inaugurating the museum, got down from the car near the district hospital in Madikeri and waved at the people gathered near the hospital. The hospital staff and the public too waved at him.

All the shops situated on the roads where the President’s car and convoy passed through remained closed from the morning.