BENGALURU: If you approach ‘Sunnyside’ in Madikeri town, you will be welcomed by a larger-than-life boot of a soldier and a battle tank at the door. “Sunnyside” was the residence of General K S Thimayya and had been waiting for a year for the renovations that have just kicked-off.
The house which previously housed the RTO office, is now being renovated and re-named as ‘General Thimayya Memorial’ with an aim to retell the story of the General, the hero of Kodagu and the nation and will depict each phase of his life.
The entrance of the memorial will be dedicated to Kodava culture and will host various traditional artifacts including ‘peecha kathi’, daggers and other arms. The other rooms of the house will depict the General’s childhood days, his lifestyle, and his days in the army. “The visitors will be welcomed into the memorial by an audio recording, dubbed by Belliappa, the grandson of General Thimayya, whose voice resembles his grandfather’s,” explains the memorial’s convener Major (retd) Nanjappa.
The project of renovating ‘Sunnyside’ has begun with work on the interiors currently in progress.
For the project, which will be completed in another six months, getting to this stage of renovation had not been smooth. Major Nanjappa, appointed as the convener a decade ago, has been constantly in touch with the authorities, that kept on changing over the years, to get the project moving forward.
Army General Bipin Rawat has promised to give two boffer weapons to the memorial.