Vidhana Soudha Grandeur in Granite

The engineer in charge of the construction was BR Manickam. Born in the year 1909, he was an exceptionally brilliant student obtaining his Engineering degree from the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru in 1930. In 1948, he obtained an MS degree in Architecture and Town Planning from the famed Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. On his return to Bengaluru in 1949, he became the Chief Government Architect and subsequently the Superintendent Engineer in 1955. Apart from Vidhana Soudha, he was responsible for many famous public buildings such as Ravindra Kalakshetra, Indian Institute of Science and Hubli Medical College to name a few. He retired in April 1964 after serving in the State Public Works department for over 30 years but passed away a month later on May 31, 1964 at the age of 55.

It is said that during the time of Hanumanthaiah as Chief Minister, there was no scope for contractors lobby or shoddy development work even in public buildings. The responsibility of constructing Vidhana Soudha was handed over to the State Public Works department. The story goes that, before the construction work started, Hanumanthaiah and the Chief Engineer of the project went to the Kengal Anjeneya Swamy temple, asked for two cups of milk, took a vow to work honestly, sincerely and ethically in front of the deity and drank the milk. Hanumanthaiah would go to the site every day at 5 am in the morning and often incognito to check on progress and if there was misappropriation of materials. 

Considering the large amount of stonework in the construction, experienced chiselers and carvers were recruited from South India and it was estimated that about 1000 chiselers would be used continuously for over a year. In 1954, about 2000 labourers including about 200 convicts were working at the building site.

To illustrate the wages per day during construction , a mason was paid around ₹3, a carpenter around ₹3.75, a polisher around ₹2, painters around ₹2, a male ‘coolie ‘ around ₹1.50, a female ‘coolie’ around ₹1 and a watchman around ₹1.50. Fittingly for a building that was called ‘Poetry in Stone’, chiselers were one of the highest paid at ₹3.50!

During construction, Hanumanthaiah took eminent personalities like Sir M Visveshvaraya and Sir Mirza Ismail to the site for their opinions and suggestions.  When Rashtrakavi KV Puttappa visited the site, Hanumanthaiah is reported to have told him”You have created poetry from words. I have created poetry out of stones”. It was often said that Hanumanthaiah was familiar with every stone and every worker that was used. 

The site had fairly stiff red soil. The foundation made of reinforced concrete varied in thickness and depth depending on the load above. The foundation soil consisted of hard gravel and disintegrated soft rock and in view of the heavy intensity of loads on the main load bearing walls, a continuous raft foundation ( a large concrete slab which can support a number of columns and walls) was used to limit the pressure on the soil to 1.5 tons per square feet even though it can withstand up to 3 tons per square feet. The foundation for the main dome extended 15 feet below the ground level.

The main structure was made of carefully chosen grey granite sourced from places like Bettahalasur, Arahalli and Hesaraghatta around Bengaluru. Green bluish granite from Mallasandra was used for lining the interior quandrangle. Red porphyry (a hard igneous rock containing crystals, usually of feldspar, in a fine-grained, typically reddish groundmass) from Magadi and black granite from Turuvekere was used for decorative work. Reinforced concrete was used for flooring, lintel and stairs. Mysore teak wood was used for doors and windows. Sandalwood carvings were extensively done by Gudigars, artisans from Shimoga, Sorab and Sagar area that for generations have been engaged in sandalwood and ivory carving.

Plain cement tiles were used for flooring in office rooms, mosaics of different colours in foyers, galleries, lobbies and minister’s rooms and the Banquet Hall. Walls and ceilings were finished in lime plaster on which plastic emulsion paints were applied. The four corners of the building have towers with domes topped by kalashas as finial. 

The central dome measures 45 feet in diameter at the base and is about 30 feet in height. It was claimed to be the largest single unit construction in India. The total load of the dome, tower, columns and foundation ring beam and raft at the foundation level is nearly 5800 tons. The tower in front at the center of the building is about 150 feet high supported on 3 feet diameter RCC columns in the front foyer forming a circle of 60 ft diameter.  Each of these eight columns support a load of 700 tons at the base. The dome was designed to withstand a wind load (the force exerted on a surface by the wind) of about 50 lbs per square feet. The central dome was originally planned to have an observation deck to get a panoramic view of the city. 

The finial of the dome is a 30 feet high Ashoka emblem made of 1/16 inch copper sheet. It is also designed to resist a wind load of 50 lbs per square feet (equivalent to hurricane winds). Interestingly, the building was opened for use even before the main dome and tower were completed. A noteworthy point is that everything was designed and constructed by architects and engineers from the state of Mysore using mostly indigenous materials from the state. It consumed 3800 tons of steel and 17500 tons of cement. 

A committee of experts was constituted to advise on decorations. For example, sayings of seers and saints were planned to be engraved into the cornices. For this, a sub-committee consisting of famous writers Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, C K Venkataramaiah. KV Puttappa (Kuvempu), AN Krishna Rao (Anakru), Asthana Vidwan B Shivamurthy Sastry and others were formed. Various proposals to use statues, paintings, murals were considered. Special niches were included in the building design for installing busts of national and state leaders. Donations amounting to around ₹75000 were used to acquire paintings and statues for this purpose. The words ‘Government work is God’s work’ was engraved on the front entrance. 

Along with the building, an elaborate garden was planned all around it. The central boulevard in front was to be called ‘Vidhana Veedhi’ (Avenue of Legislature) with two driveways separated by a central green strip. The garden was laid out in 1958 by the department of horticulture and is spread over 50 acres. Before other structures and roads were built, it also had a spectacular view of Raj Bhavan. 

Amidst all this lavish and elaborate detail, utility of space and functionalism was not overlooked. Modern building materials and techniques were used for a strong structure. 

On October 14 1956 the auspicious day of Vijayadashami, Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated during the term of Chief Minister Kadidal Manjappa. 

On December 19, 1956 the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council of the newly formed Mysore state started a 10-day session for the first time in the newly constructed halls in Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.  On the same day, in the afternoon Sri Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, Governor of Mysore addressed a joint session in the Legislative Assembly Hall.

The Administrative Reforms Commission of the Government of India conducted a study and the report considered Vidhana Soudha to be a role model for all government buildings even a decade after its completion. In the section about government buildings, it noted that 

“It has appeared to us, the design of most buildings meant for housing Government offices follow hitherto patterns not very different in vogue from decades ago. These patterns are not utilitarian nor are they in accord with present day architectural practice.  A refreshing contrast is provided by Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore which combines utility and appearance. Mysore is the only state that has a building which houses both the Assembly and Secretariat. The resulting convenience to ministers, legislators and officials is considerable. The rooms for use by Secretariat officials and staff let in a lot of daylight thus considerably reducing dependency on electric lights during working hours. Vidhana Soudha is excellently designed from the aesthetic point of view also. The thousands of people who come to see the building from outside and relax in the grounds around are themselves a tribute to the beauty of the building.”

It is hard to imagine in these days of high security, but Vidhana Soudha was open to the public and one could visit and spend time on the steps or in the gardens. On weekdays, the building was open between 8 am and 9 am in the morning and 6 pm and 7 pm in the evening. On Saturdays it was open from 4 pm to 7 pm and for a full 11 hours (from 8 am to 7 pm) on Sundays and other holidays.