Sale of Sugathakumari’s home stokes debate on ‘memorial’

Thiruvananthapuram: What seemed like a normal sale of a four-decade-old ancestral property by a legal heir has stirred up trouble for Lekshmidevi, the daughter of late poet Sugathakumari and for the state government.
A debate has arisen as to why the residence was not taken over by the state government to be converted as a memorial.
Lekshmidevi, who was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, said that there was never a plan to convert the house as a memorial in the first place.
“The property belonged to my grandmother. My father built this house. I received it as an ancestral property. My mother always knew that I had no pension and whenever I felt the need, she had asked me to sell this. When my mother died, a group of writers and cultural activists had submitted a petition to the government to build a memorial at a suitable place. But there was no plan to convert the house into a memorial,” she said.
Lekshmidevi, who now resides at Poojappura, said that if at all a memorial was to come up in the place, it should have a proper access.
“There is no accessible road. The government has always planned to grow something like an urban forest with the title ‘Smrithivanam’. A search for an ideal plot is still on. I have collected and saved all my mother’s possessions: the letters, books, furniture she used, all the honors she received. Whenever a memorial comes up, I plan to hand it over to them,” she added.
The plot measuring nine cents and the house were sold to a city-based couple. Lekshmidevi said that she had given an advertisement for sale and a prospective buyer almost finalized the deal. When she learnt that they wanted to demolish the building, she cancelled the deal.
“I had only two demands; not to demolish the building and cut the trees here. The present owner of the building wants to stay in this house and conserve the trees,” said Lekshmidevi.
Meanwhile minister for culture Saji Cherian said that the family had not consulted the state government on selling the property.