Vidhana Soudha; Image Source: Bangalore Mirror
India’s first Prime Minister Nehru had called this structure a ‘temple dedicated to the nation’ while Kannada’s own Rashtra Kavi Kuvempu called it a ‘poetry in stone’. Former Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah, who was the force to reckon with behind the story of Vidhana Soudha, thought it was the ‘Palace of the people’. Vidhana Soudha, as much as it is a seat of power, is also a great tourist spot in the capital of Karnataka, which stands tall and majestic to visitors and tourists alike.
For a lay person who travels hundreds of miles only to meet his minister or any officer who holds key to the progress of his area, to the person who watches this wonder as a tourist from a distance, this majestic structure evokes many emotions. Set in stone, this structure can feel cold and distant if one is a stranger to the ways of bureaucracy; or this place may make one’s heart swell with pride owing to its expanse and significance in upholding the power of people.
Vidhana Soudha under construction; Image Source: The Hindu
The Vidhana Soudha as it stands today, was a concept that was thought about when the wave of regional nationalism was sweeping through the country that had just achieved independence. The administrative offices of Karnataka government under the British rule functioned out of ‘Attara Kacheri’ or the ever luminescent High Court building right across the street from Vidhana Soudha. Attara Kacheri, another beautiful building with rows of office spaces, was built by the British in 1868. The building, set in stone, stands tall at 55 meters above the ground level.
At the Vidhana Soudha during construction; Source: Twitter
Karnataka’s first Chief Minister K C Reddy was all in concurrence to have own structure and hallmark of democracy soon after the independence was achieved. Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the second chief minister of Karnataka relentlessly pursued the idea of Vidhana Soudha and ensured it had uninterrupted flow of funds and the work was complete around the stipulated time. The foundation stone was laid by none other than Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on July 13, 1951. Government Chief Engineer B R Manickam played a crucial role in finalizing the design aspects and obtaining necessary approvals.
K C Reddy; Image Source: Kcreddy .com
Occupying prime land of 60-acres, the building with most spacious 172 rooms (ante chambers added later) was completed dedicated to the state and nation on October 10, 1956.
The architectural style is identified as Neo-Dravidian, with a mix of classical European and Indo-Saracenic styles. This house of secretariat is spread across 5,50,505 sq ft in all. Masons came from the neighbouring Karaikal (Puducherry) and Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu) who learnt the specialized of working on stone.
The labourers who came to create this monumental wonder were mostly unskilled, monitored by the most efficient set of masons and supervisors. It was only apt that the structure that upholds the value of democracy and liberty would employ nearly 1500 chisellers and other workers such as masons and wood carvers, but were serving their time as undertrails in various jails. Author John Lang, in his book ‘Concise history of Modern Architecture of India’ calls this structure ‘an exemplar of a revivalist building of the ERA’. Most parts of the structure are designs derived from temple architecture, adapted and set into the modern times than just being a blind copy of the past.
About 5000 labourers that were engaged into service were brought from the central jail between 1953 and 1956. They were monitored by 10 jail wardens and a chief warden at any given point in time. As a an indicator of liberty and democractic values, all the convicts were set free once the structure was complete and thrown open as working space for the state’s legislators and secretariat of the state of Karnataka.
