About

Vidhana Soudha, The magnificent and gigantic granite, the seat of Karnataka Legislature and the government stands as testimony to this observation. Sri K. Hanumanthaiya, who was Chief Minister of the then Mysore from 1951 to 1956, wanted "Vidhana Soudha" to symbolize the legislative sovereignty of the people like the capital in Washington or The House of Commons in London. The then Prime Minister Sri Pandit Jawaharalal Nehru laid the foundation on 13th July 1951. It was completed in the year 1956 as a result of the relentless work of thousands of workers with an expenditure of Rs 1.84 crores. The sprawling building and its surroundings occupy 60 acres. 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 have a flight of forty-five steps 204 feet wide 70 feet deep giving a direct access to the foyer of the 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 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 are 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.

The idea of the Vidhana Soudha came along with a wave of nationalist sentiment that swept post-Independent India. The administrative offices were initially based out of Attara Kacheri (today's High Court building built by the British in 1868). A plan for our own structure to house the legislature was mooted during the tenure of Karnataka's first chief minister KC Reddy. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone on July 13, 1951. However, it was Hanumanthaiah who set the wheels in motion.  Apparently, nationalist sentiments were so intense that Hanumanthaiah intentionally built the Vidhana Soudha right opposite the Attara Kacheri at a slight elevation. Civil engineer BR Manickam was the chief architect and Hanumanthia Rao Naidu (a graduate of London's Architectural Association) was his assistant. While the core architectural structure was neo-Dravidian, it had influences of classical European and Indo-Saracenic styles. The four-storeyed building's central dome rose 55 meters above ground level. The house of the legislature and secretariat was spread across 5,50,505 sqft and was built at a cost of Rs 1.84 crore. 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.

lesser know facts about Vidhana Soudha

• Vidhana Soudha Spread over 60 acres; it houses the legislature and the Secretariat of the state of Karnataka. It also proudly boasts the title of being the largest state legislative building in the country.
• Vidhana Soudha is designed in a style described as Mysore-Neo Dravidian style. It embodies the elements of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian styles.
• Inspired by South Indian temple architecture, mainly by Tanjore’s Brihadeshwara and Karnataka’s Somnathpur temples, this monument is a true testament of excellent artistry.
• 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 foundation stone for Vidhana Soudha was laid by then Prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951.
• With the help of a gigantic team of around 5000 laborers, 1500 chisellers several masons and wood carvers, this monumental work of constructing the Vidhana Soudha completed in the year 1956.
• 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.
  
• This stone structure is having a 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 Jawaharlal 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.
• One can see a slogan on the front of the building which is inscribed as “ Government’s work is God’s work,” and the Kannada parallel “ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕೆಲಸ ದೇವರ ಕೆಲಸ.” In 1957, the Mysore Government put efforts to change the slogan to Satya Meva Jayathe at a cost of 7,500 rupees however the change did not take place.
• The cabinet meeting hall is on the western side which is on the third floor and doors are decorated and carved in sandalwood make.
• The Vidhana Soudha, since its inception, has maintained the number of rooms at 172. While cosmetic changes have been made over the years, the number of rooms has remained unchanged.
• It is said that around 17.5 million rupees were spent at that time to construct Vidhan Soudha. Today, the annual maintenance of Soudha is nearly 20 Million Rupees includes repairs, painting, and other misc expenses.

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