Name: Vidhana Soudha

Location:Opposite Bangalore High Court.

Main attraction: Assembly of Karnataka.

Built in 1956, Vidhana Soudha is located in the famous Cubbon Park Bangalore. Get to see the superb Dravidian architecture as portrayed in the Vidhana Soudha Bangalore. Known as the famous landmark of Bangalore, Vidhana Soudha houses the Legislative Chambers of the state government.

It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as 'Neo-Dravidian', and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani Jharokha and Dravidian styles.

It was built in the 1950s. Shri Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Chief Minister of Mysore from 1951 to 1956, is credited with the conception of the Vidhana Soudha. He visited Europe, Russia, United States and other places and got the idea of building Vidhana Soudha by incorporating various designs from the buildings he had seen. The foundation was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. It was completed in 1956. Kengal Hanumanthaiah took a lot of interest and effort in building this marvelous granite building. It is also called as Taj Mahal of south India[citation needed]. Thousands of prisoners were used to build this building because of shortage of laborers. Kengal Hanumanthaiah had to face lot of criticism as the cost of building increased during the construction.

The Vidhana Soudha has four floors above and one floor below ground level and sprawls across an area of 700 by 350 feet. It is the largest Legislative building in India. Its eastern face has a porch with 12 granite columns, 40 feet tall. Leading to the foyer is a flight of stairs with 45 steps, more than 200 feet wide. The central dome, 60 feet in diameter, is crowned by a likeness of the Indian national emblem.

The cost of construction at that time was just 17.5 million rupees. But presently, annual maintenance cost itself is more than 20 million rupees (which include repairs, painting, and other miscellaneous expenses).

The building is illuminated on Sundays and public holidays.

The Karnataka government has constructed a replica named Vikasa Soudha to the south of the building. Initiated by the then Chief Minister S M Krishna and inaugurated in February 2005, it is intended to be an annex housing some of the ministries and legislative offices.

Opposite to Vidhana soudha is The High Court of Karnataka. Both buildings are in the Cubbon park.

The sprawling building and its surroundings occupy 60 acres. Sri Hanumanthaiya wanted "Vidhana Soudha" to symbolise the legislative sovereignty of the people like the capital in Washington or The House of Commons in London. It was completed in the year 1956 as a result of relentless work of thousands workers with an expenditure of Rs 1.84 crores.

It was Winston Churchill who once quipped that men made the buildings but that the buildings subsequently made men. The magnificent and gigantic granite, the seat of Karnataka Legislature and the government stands as testimoney to this observation. What was once a virtual wilderness surrounding the Old Residency Building (Now called the Raj Bhavan), has been transformed into a marvelous Architectural pieces in the country.

The building is rectangular in shape measuring 700 feet north-south and 350 feet east-west, with two inner open quadrangles on either side of the central wing measuring about 230 feet by 230 feet each. The northern wings with a ground and three upper floors is 63 feet 6 inches high, while the southern wing with a cellar floor, a ground floor, and three upper floors is 73 feet 6 inches high from the ground level. The Central Wing with a Banquet Hall on the ground floor and the Legislative Assembly Chamber above is 112 feet high. It is therefore one of the largest of the Legislative buildings and impresses many visitors as larger as and more beautiful than similar buildings in Australia, the United States and even Canada.
 

Marvel of neo-Dravidian architecture and one of the most imposing building not only in Bangalore but in India. One of the interesting feature of this building in grand stairs in its front. The grand stairs has a flight of forty-five steps 204 feet wide 70 feet deep giving a direct access to the foyer of first floor leading to an Assembly Chamber. The architecture of the building is based on Dravidian style, comprising richly carved bases and capitals for pillars, deep friezes, kapotha cornices, chaithya arches, heavy pediments domical finials, etc; At the same time, the construction has been on modern designs, making use of the present-day materials like steel, reinforced cement concrete glass, plastic, etc.

The general appearance of the Vidhana Soudha with its skillful blending of ancient and modern 'architectural styles, is both massive and striking. The twelve forty-foot columns in front of the Assembly Hall provided an imposing background for the Central dome and six smaller ones. The Central dome, supported by eight pillars is sixty feet in diameter and provides the roof over the State Banquet Hall.

The Legislative Assembly Chamber measures 125 feet by 132 feet and 40. feet high and is located in the first floor of the central wingand has a seating accommodation for 268 Members, with provision for future expansion to accommodate about 100 more Members by readjustment of the seating arrangements.

The Legislative Council Chamber is located in the first floor of the southern wing. It measures 100 feet by 78 feet high and has a seating capacity of 88 members.

The Vidhana Soudha has three main floors (each of which measures over 1,32,400 sq ft) and a top floor (1,01,165 sq ft). The total floor area adds up to 5,05,505 sq ft.

• Its overall length is 700 feet, width is 350 feet and height (measuring from floor level to top of central dome) is 150 feet.

• The building's central dome is sixty feet in diameter and is supported by eight pillars. It also has six smaller domes, four in front and two behind.

• There are twelve forty-foot columns over the entrance steps.

• The Vidhana Soudha was completed in four years: construction began in 1952 and was finished in 1956.

• About 5000 labourers and 1500 chisellers, masons and wood-carvers worked on the project.

• Almost all the unskilled workers deployed in its construction were convicts, who were given their freedom on its completion.

• The entire cost of the project was Rs 1.75 crore.
Everyone knows that the Vidhana Soudha houses the state secretariat and legislature, and that it was the brainchild of the late Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Chief Minister of Mysore state. But did you know...

• It is truly a secular edifice, showing features of British, Dravidian, and Indo-Islamic architecture.

•The Vidhana Soudha is built largely with "Bangalore granite", excavated from the areas around Mallasandra and Hessaraghatta. For visual effect and relief, "Magadi pink" and "Turuvekere black" stones have also been used.

The Vidhana Soudha project, from conception, execution and completion can be attributed completely to the dynamic leadership of late K Hanumanthaiah. His grand vision was of an imposing monument vital on the city's sightseeing map combined with a seat of excellence from which the government secretariat functions.