The stretch from Trinity Circle Junction to Queen Victoria’s Statue on the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road may not be the ideal idea for an evening stroll. With the metro on one side and the hectic vehicular traffic on the other, besides the crowds of shoppers and commuters thronging the sidewalks, the road in the heart of the city is more suited for a pint of social activity or retail shopping rather than a blissful saunter.
But this centre for the British Raj during its stay was the hub of activity and still holds some colonial gems that are easily missed in the hustle and bustle of the city’s nucleus. One such largely-ignored heritage building is the Mayo Hall. The stone and mortar structure, which currently houses a bunch of departments of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and acts as a court house, was initially handed over to the Bangalore Municipal Authority to function here after it was inaugurated on June 6, 1883. The towering two-storeyed hall, which has lost its original glory and prominence due to the modern buildings that have come up around it, was originally built on a hill and offered a panoramic view of the Parade grounds and Ulsoor Lake on one side and the Bangalore Race Course and Brigade Grounds in the south.
Hardly a semblance of its former days, the colonial structure is overshadowed now by the Public Utility Building as well as the malls and other buildings surrounding it. A deeper look into its history shows that the administrative structure was erected in memory of Lord Mayo (christened Richard Southwell Bourke), the viceroy and governor general of India from 1869 to 1872, who was stabbed to death by an Afghan prisoner during his visit to the Andamans.
According to the Bangalore District Gazetteer, the building was built at a cost of Rs. 45,000. The Mayo Hall has tall columns and the mouldings atop have minute friezes in mortar. “The building in elevation is remarkable for its composition of architravated and pedimented windows, varied with key-storied arches, beautifully executed consoles, balustrated ledges and typical Greek cornice.” (as recorded in the Gazetteer).
More research into the structure shows that the upper floor was 75 feet by 40 feet and was available for public meetings and exhibitions while the ground floor housed the municipal offices of the station and office of the health officer. The walls were adorned with pictures of respected citizens, noblemen and commissioners from the British era while the top floor held Italian chandeliers, ornate furniture and exquisite furnishings. A special staircase led to the top from where visitors could earlier get a bird’s eye view of Bangalore.
Adjoining the colonial structure are a block of buildings built in the Florentine style of architecture which are three stories high which form part of the court spaces today. Tony D’Souza, one of Bangalore’s senior residents in Frazer Town, says his father used to tell him that a trip to M.G. Road during his childhood days would mean a definite visit to Mayo Hall’s public hall on the second floor just to catch a view of the magnificent cityscape.
Mayo Hall initially became a part of a larger design to develop the cantonment into an integrated Bangalore civil and military station. However, with Bangalore’s rapidly growing transformation, it could only be a matter of time before this building too bites the dust. Until then, Mayo Hall will continue to spark a vision of the city’s bygone glory and be a grim reminder of the modernisation we have embraced.
So, take a stroll if you can through this memory lane. It’s worth it.
