General Thimayya Museum all set for inauguration

Sunny Side, the residence of General K S Thimayya, has been converted into General Thimayya Memorial Museum.

Owing to lack of space and paucity of funds, the work on the museum was delayed over the years and is now completed finally.

The museum will be inaugurated on February 6 by President Ram Nath Kovind at 3.15 pm.

The museum was possible with the efforts of members of Field Marshal Cariappa and General Thimayya Forum.

The state government had announced in 2006 that the residence of Thimayya would be developed as a memorial.

There was an RTO quarters near the Thimayya’s residence. With much efforts, the land belonging to the RTO was handed over to the memorial.

A war tank kept at the entrance of the Sunny Side is a centre of attraction. The war tank had arrived in Madikeri from Army Training Centre in Pune.

The battle tank ‘Himath’ was used during the India-Pakistan war in 1971. When Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visited Kodagu to unveil the statues of Field Marshal
K M Cariappa and General K S Thimayya on Kaveri College premises in Gonikoppa a few years ago, he had promised to send the war tank to the museum.

Forum members said that the museum has been developed without modifying the old house. It will be an effort to showcase the life and achievement of Thimayya. Arms and photographs inside the house will be an attraction. The information will be provided through audio and video.

Another attraction

MiG-21, a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft is another attraction in the premises of the museum.

The MiG-21 that is placed at Sunny Side had played a vital role in the India-Pakistan war of 1971.

The aircraft was not being used for the last 15 years. The estimated cost of the aircraft is Rs 40 lakh to Rs 45 lakh.

As many as 24 arms used by the soldiers of the Indian Army are at the museum.

The museum will be thrown open to the locals and the tourists after February 6.

Fifty to sixty-year-old Light Machine Gun, Medium Machine Gun, Self Loading Rifle and others find a place in the museum.

Sathya, a resident of Madikeri said, “Thimayya Museum will be an attraction in the land of soldiers. The memorial will remind the citizens about the contributions of the district for the service of the country.”