Almost a decade-old proposal of converting playwright and poet Gurajada Apparao’s house in the city into a museum has remained on paper. Although the house was handed over to the Archaeological Department a few years, its maintenance is said to be very poor in the absence of proper execution and monitoring.
Gurajada wrote Kanyasulkam, considered to be among the greatest and popular Telugu plays, in the year 1892 in this house, which is adjacent to the historic Vizianagaram fort. He had purchased it from the then Raja by paying around ₹2,500. Earlier, it was used as a tax collection centre.
The maintenance of the nearly 150-year-old structure had become a Herculean task for his successors, and on their request, the State government had taken up the responsibility and later handed it over to the Archaeological Department. Around five years ago, the department took some steps for its preservation with the support of chemical engineering experts. In the last few years, the wooden material in the house suffered damage due to pest attacks and aging.
Action plan sought
Gurajada’s great grandson Gurajada Venkateswara Rao and his wife G. Indira have urged the government to take concrete steps to convert it into a museum to ensure its proper maintenance. “We ourselves cannot maintain the old structure. It needs special effort and funds. That is why, we have requested the officials to announce an action plan on the eve of Gurajada Apparao’s 161st birth anniversary on September 21, 2023,” Ms. Indira told The Hindu.
Lok Satta Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan and its A.P. unit president Bheesetti Babji recently visited the house and made a request to the government to set up a library there, apart from making it a museum. “Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and other States pay special attention to protect the houses and belongings of the great sons of the soil. Unfortunately, such enthusiasm is missing in A.P. Gurajada Apparao brought laurels to the country with his play which has been performed countless times across the country and also abroad,” they said.
