Kumara Krupa Road, runs for a kilometre from Race Course road at one end and joins the T Chowdaiah Road at the other end. The road has power vested in it, literally.

The road passes through what is popular known as Shivananda circle (after the popular Shivananda Stores). The official name is Hardikar Circle, named after N S Hardikar, (1889-1975), a noted freedom fighter who hailed from Dharwar.

The road takes its name from a heritage and historical building, “Kumara Krupa”, which now have the words “Guest House” added to it. The Kumara Krupa Guest House was originally the private residence of Dewan K Seshadri Iyer. It was named after the Dewan’s family deity of Kumaraswamy (or Ayappa). The architecturally rich building with its piers, jalis, parapets, window decorations, merlons and cast iron railings is said to be the inspiration behind the architecture of Vidhana Soudha.

The building was built by Erode Subba Rao. It was purchased by the Government of Mysore from the descendants of Seshadri Iyer during the time of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar. When Mahatma Gandhi visited Bangalore during the early 1930s he stayed at Kumara Krupa. Earlier, Kumara Krupa also had served as the residences of chief ministers. S Nijalingappa was probably the last chief minister to stay here. He later shifted to Balabrooie on Palace Road.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat mid-way on this road. This art gallery was opened on June 25, 1976. It has a unique collection of traditional paintings, leather puppets and artifacts of Karnataka. It has a graphic studio, sculpture studio and an open-air theatre. There are a number of exhibition halls on the first floor of the Parishat, which include the Roerich and Kejriwal gallery. The paintings of Nicholas Roerich have been placed in two different galleries called Roerich I and II. There are the Chitrakala Parishat Collections, a permanent exhibition of the paintings collected by the Parishat.

Gandhi Bhavan on this road is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. The Bhavan was set up to promote the life and teachings of Gandhiji. Situated on the Kumara Krupa Road, Gandhi Bhavan was started as Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi (GSN), under the chairmanship of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India. The main attraction of the Gandhi Bhavan consists in a comprehensive picture gallery, displaying the entire life of Mahatma Gandhi. The gallery has photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, from early childhood to the last day of his life. Photostat copies of letters written by him to various personalities of his day can also be seen. A khadi emporium is located close to Gandhi Bhavan.

A group of businessmen and philanthropists formed the Sindhi Seva Samiti in 1956, who run the Sindhi High School on this road. The school was started in 1982. There is also a wedding hall in the school campus. Just close to the Sindhi School there is Bharat Seva Dal School, which caters to the economically backward class students. There is a wedding hall in the school campus.

The office of the Accident Relief Care (ARC), a 24-hour service organisation is located on this road. It was founded by Dr Ajay Singh, son of former Chief Minister Dharam Singh.

Hotel Grand Ashok on this road is the oldest star hotel on this road. It was originally run by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and was known at Hotel Ashoka. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is said to have altered the name of Hotel Ashoka to Hotel Ashok. There are other hotels like Hotel Janardhana and Abhishek - The Hotel on this road. The showroom of Rajesh Jewels and office of the Rajesh Exports, a leading exporter of jewellery is located on this road.

“Krishna” is the home office of the Chief Minister and “Cauvery” behind it is the official residence. Almost every chief minister except for Ramakrishna Hegde, have lived and worked from here. Party workers and others seeking favours are often seen crowding here especially during the Chief Minister’s Janata Darshan programmes.