Witness to colonial legacy & modern times

Witness to colonial legacy & modern times
The Times of India

Bangalore: Sir Winston Churchill saw it first from the porch of the heritage hotel he used to stay in. Today, the hotel has given way to a glitzy mall. But Mayo Hall, the majestic building he saw, still stands.

Now it is surrounded by frenetic movement — on one side is MG Road, the new millennium avatar of once-sleepy South Parade, and, on the other is Residency Road, a stretch that bears little resemblance to the colonial legacy (the old British ‘Residency’ area).

Mayo Hall, which dates back to 1883, is certainly different from other buildings around it. It is also an example of what modern conservation and a little public awareness can achieve.

The Karnataka State Gazetteer says “it was instituted in memory of Lord Mayo, then Governor General of India, at a cost of Rs 40,301, most of it from public contributions”.

Why Lord Mayo? Lord Mayo was reportedly assassinated while in office. Hence, the decision to construct a commemorative building.

The two-storeyed structure, according to the Gazetteer, had tapering Tuscan columns with gold painted Corinthian capitals, exquisitely carved mouldings with miniature friezes in mortar, keystoned arches and balustraded ledges.

It was then handed over to the Civil and Military Station Municipality (the Cantonment became Civil and Military Station after 1881) on condition that the first floor be made available for public congregations and meetings. The building, in the 1950s, housed the Rent Controller’s office. Petty civil cases were also tried there. Even registered marriages were held. For a long time, the present BCC had many offices in the building and held all its monthly council meetings on the first floor till the new building was built in NR Square. Now all offices have been shifted because of the INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) renovation project.

A new touch: According to INTACH Bangalore convener H R Pratibha, the project is almost over. Only work on the ground floor remains. “We have removed the plaster outside and inside,

we have recreated the mouldings and restored/replaced the wooden floor and panelling on the first floor.”INTACH has also created a water body and planted greenery in front of the building. The BCC, which owns the building, has not yet finalised its plans for the restored structure. But Pratibha says the idea is to continue holding public meetings on the first floor and to convert the ground floor into a gallery.