Vidhana Soudha
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The Vidhana Soudha, located in Bangalore (Bengaluru), is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style, sometimes described as 'Neo-Dravidian', 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 placaes 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.
The Vidhana Soudha has 4 floors above and 1 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 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 annexe housing some of the ministries and legislative offices.
[edit] Trivia
- The majority of the unskilled labour used were prisoners, and they were set free when the construction was completed.
- Over the entrance is inscribed the sentence Government Work is God's Work.
- Major government records of Karnataka are stored beneath the beautiful structure and it is accessible to the public. It is known as Karnataka State Archives[citation needed].
[edit] References
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