You may have stood on its steps and raised slogans or you may have passed by crowds of people protesting at the hotspot or you may even have faced the usual traffic snarls that haunt this junction just to get home or work. But the famous Town Hall in the heart of the city is one monument you cannot miss.
Easily one of the most attractive buildings in Bangalore, Town Hall was named after the famous philanthropist Sir K. P. Puttanna Chetty who served as the first president of Bangalore city municipality from 1913 to 1920. Its foundation stone was laid on March 6, 1933 by the then Maharaja of Mysore Sri Krishna Rajendra Wadiyar and the building was completed on September 11, 1935 at a cost of Rs. 1,75,000 and inaugurated by crown prince Sri Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar. From the days of the British Raj, the iconic Town Hall has been a favourite for demonstrators. From farmers and religious factions to students and sexual minorities, the steps leading up to the gigantic hall has provided a platform for all those wanting to voice their problems. Daniel Kirubakaran, a businessman residing near Lalbagh Road, recalls standing on the steps of the Town Hall raising slogans with his father David Kirubakaran, a social activist, for a series of protests. “It used to be like an outing. My father would buy fried groundnuts or cool cucumbers for me to munch on while we stand in the evening sunlight and scream our lungs out. Most often, me and a few other youngsters there would join in with the frenzied protestors and shout just for fun.”
Amid all the concrete modernisations that have taken place around the imposing stone structure, the Town Hall has always retained its European neoclassical style and the flight of steps leading to the entrance porch resting on Tuscan columns with identical porches extend on the sides. With renovation works on the interiors already in progress since Wednesday, the city’s municipal building will soon be state-of-the-art modernised. The building is spread over 14,500 square feet of area and the revamping work will crunch the seating capacity from 810 to 750 in the auditorium.
Initially, a platform for various shows and plays, the auditorium has today only been used occasionally for a few magic shows or plays. Rife with problems from the starting, the building had poor seating, acoustics and maintenance and soon started becoming unused. M. Bhaktavatsala, who has attended several shows there, says after the renovation, authorities have a tough job of building up its reputation again. Built by the Honourable Dewan of Mysore state Sir Mirza Ismail, “no one would have thought of the building’s use in the future at that time. It soon became home only to the auctioning of excise contracts which me, my father and my uncle used to attend, apart from other government meetings. It clearly never got to be used properly as an auditorium.”
Despite the range of entertainment shows, including Russian ballets that were performed at the Town Hall, the structure is yet to return to its glorious days. With the renovations looking promising, it seems fair to say the Town Hall will once again become a testament to the city’s legacy and endurance.
