Vidhana Soudha – A brief history of an epitome
This article describes about Vidhaba Soudha which is a epitome in itself. Read this article to know about the history of Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore and its importance in the tourism and attractions of places to see in Bangalore.
Vidhana Soudha – A brief history of an epitome
Vidhana Soudha is said to be built in the style of an temple architecture, this phenomenal 46 meters height construction is an important landmark for the city of Bangalore. This has been considered as an very important buildings in the city, which is constructed completely in the swadeshi style of architecture, the four domes can be seen in all four corners, the way of entrance is eclipsed with a four headed lion, which symbolizes the Indian sovereignty .
The gigantic building has twenty two state government departments with over three hundred rooms, the construction of the big building was started in the year 1952, which has consumed the labour work of over 5000 persons, 1500 scammers along with masons, wood carvers and finally it took approximately around 4 years for completion.
The Vidhana Soudha structure where the state secretariat is situated is considered as the main attraction of the city and treated as an marvel of modern architecture and a combination of traditional Dravidian and also modern styles. The ideal place to visit near this beauty is a park where a neo-Dravidian granite building is situated, the ideal time to visit this place is in evenings.
The sight seeing of Bangalore will be incomplete if this structure is skipped, the beauty can be enjoyed in more aesthetic way when one looks at this building from the Barton Center in M.G.Road, its illumination pushes one's thought similar to looking at a palace, no guided tours or any kind of pamphlets are not necessary to see and enjoy this place, hence this structure aptly called as ‘People's Palace'.
Establishment of an identity
During the tenure of former Chief Minister K.Chengalraya Reddy, this plan was patronaged, later this dream was put on practical by the then Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah, as the state government departments were scattered throughout the city and he found the need of the hour to keep all offices at one place, the one storey was blue printed by the previous Chief Minister and for the said construction the foundation was laid the then Prime Minister Jawaharalal Nehru on 13th of July 1951, but unfortunately the work did not continued for unknown reasons.
The successor to K.C.Reddy, K. Hanumanthaiah who was a lawyer by profession and an architect at heart, he piqued by a remark made by some Russian delegation when they have visited the city, as the quote of Russian delegation says ‘all the structures here in this city are from European style, no own idea of architecture', that was the day K.Hanumanthaiah decided to bring his dream to reality and he changed already made blueprint from a single storey building to three storied building, and through his broad vision he suggested to construct a large building where both legislature and secretariat should accommodate. The works engineer behind this gigantic construction was B.R.Manickam.
With the help of a gigantic team of around 5000 labourers, 1500 chisellers several masons and wood carvers, this monumental work of constructing the Vidhana Soudha completed in the year 1956.
This stone structure is having an total area of 5,50,505 square feet, with very broad steps from entrance and one can see the quote on the entrance ‘Government's work is God's work', further statues of great personalities like Dr.B.R.Ambedkar and Jawaharalala Nehru was erected in front of this building, the work is worship is the motive behind the man who worked hard to construct this monumental work, his statue was at the rear end.Vidhana Soudha - Some facts about
The western side façade is based on the sculptures of Rajasthan Palaces, the other side on the northern part was modeled as per the Krishnaraja Sagara dam at Mysore. The Soraba and Sagara are famous for chiseling work, this building took their help to create designs to make alike, gopuram or domes were like of a temple and balconies were constructed in Rajashtani style. The cabinet meeting hall is on the western side which is in third floor and doors are decorated and carved in sandalwood make.
The total structure of Vidhana Soudha is 720 feet height in length and 360 feet in width, the inner space of the quadrangle is 260 feet by 260 feet, the eastern side hall are constructed with eight main columns which can carry 6000 tons of weight.
Vital statistics
This gigantic structure was constructed by using granite which are sourced from quarries in and around of the city of Bangalore, while stones were brought from Arahally and Hesaraghatta which were used for exteriors, from Mallasandra the green bluish granite was brought and used and Magadi porphyry stones were utilized for stone work decoration.
In spite of several opposition this monumental task was completed with an cost of 175 lakhs, but the name and royal look of this gigantic structure has shown to the world that the cost involved is nothing compared to the purpose for which it is serving now, even in later stages the state owned public works department had opined the total cost involved to construct the Vidhana Soudha has saved atleast 30% of the construction cost.
It is a rare pride to be in this city of Bangalore, which is also having a great structure like Vidhana Soudha which was constructed by an great visionary of that time K.Hanumanthaiah.
Attachments
A very good explanation of the vidhana soudha