Bengaluru’s Hall of fame

Bengaluru’s Hall of fame
MADHUMITHA B.
DC | BENGALURU


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The walls of the Mayo Hall, built in 18751883 to honour the memory of British viceroy Lord Mayo, might soon resound with the culture and heritage of the city, taking Bengalureans on a historical journey right back to its origins in the 16th century.
This, if the recommendations made by the ABIDe Task Force are accepted by the government. The task force has revived the idea of converting Mayo Hall into the Museum of Bengaluru, a proposal that the then Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) had put forward two years ago.

“The plan is to make it an interactive museum, with everything one needs to know about the history, key people, post-Independence milestones, Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision for the city and, most importantly, the founder Kempe Gowda.

How many people know that Bengaluru is one of the oldest cities in the world or that it was the first city in Asia to get electricity — on August 5, 1905 to be precise? One can relive the time from 1537, when Bengaluru was formed, up to the present by taking a walk through the museum," said V 'Naresh' Narasimhan, the architect who is working on a design blueprint for the museum.

The ABIDe task force has identified 100 public buildings to be restored as heritage places in the city, of which technical presentations for three will be made soon, said Ashwin Mahesh, a member of the task force.

“The objective is to bring about uniformity across heritage places in the city by improving the existing area for heritage presentation.

Also to enhance them as public places and integrate mobility through the trans portation system promoting tourism as well," said Mahesh, who added that the museum would comprehensively reflect the historical, cultural and natural heritage of the city.

Narasimhan plans to draw upon one of the oldest museums of Mumbai, the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, in fashioning the Museum of Bengaluru out of a building from the British ‘Raaj’.

“It is essential to reclaim the triangle where Mayo Hall is housed and convert it into a public plaza, make it pedestrian-friendly and give it the status of a landmark area,” he added.

The task force will soon present their recommendations to the chief minister, who will take the final decision.

The other two heritage places that the task force proposes to take up immediately are the War Memorial at the junction of Residency Road and Brigade Road and Halasuru Gate.