Vidhana Soudha

Description

The Vidhana Soudha located in Bengaluru, is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as Mysore Neo-Dravidian, and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian styles. The construction was completed in 1956.Construction historyOriginKengal Hanumanthaiah is credited with the conception and construction of the Vidhana Soudha. The foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. However, it was Hanumanthaiah who was instrumental in the redesign and speedy construction of Vidhana Soudha. He visited Europe, Russia, the United States, and other places and got the idea of building the Vidhana Soudha by incorporating various designs from the buildings he had seen. It was completed in 1956. He took a lot of interest and effort in building this marvelous granite building. It was meant to dwarf the British-built Athara Kacheri (High Court) building. Hanumanthaiah was criticized for the nearly 15 million rupees spent to construct the building. But the building designed by him is an impressive structure of Neo Dravidian style.Design and constructionThe Vidhana Soudha has four floors above and one floor below ground level and sprawls across an area of 700x. It is the largest Legislative building in India. Its eastern face has a porch with 12 granite columns, feet tall. Leading to the foyer is a flight of stairs with 45 steps, more than wide. The central dome, in diameter, is crowned by a likeness of the Indian national emblem.

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