Heritage in stone and concrete

Bengaluru boasts of a sizable number of pre-independence structures that still tell a story, if one cares to listen. Here's a ready reckoned from Michael Patrao

Every now and then, Bengalureans hear of a heritage building being demolished or a conventional single-screen theatre being razed to the ground to make way for a commercial complex or a mall. Fortunately, many buildings considered heritage structures, and worthy of renovation and restoration, continue to dot various parts of the city. Indeed, some have already been restored.

♦ Bang opposite the M G Road Metro Station, one cannot fail to notice a building with its distinct architecture. It partly houses the administrative offices of the Deccan Herald-Prajavani Group. Originally it served as a dance hall called Funnel owned by an Irish couple. It was a hangout for the British soldiers. The architectural features of the façade, the wooden stairway to the first floor, and wooden flooring have been retained to this day.

♦ The Oriental Building at Kumble Circle is a stone structure and one of the last buildings built by the Madras Sappers. It housed the Oriental Insurance Company in 1926. Today LIC functions from this building.

♦ Just opposite the Oriental Building a Tudor-style stone structure was built in 1912 and carried the legend Tract and Book Society, an auxiliary to the London Religious Tract Society. It was originally Blighty’s Tea Room, a recreational establishment for the Cantonment’s elite. For many years it was an HMV music store and then a pub. Now it houses the Hard Rock Café.

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♦ The stone structure of Bangalore Rifle Volunteers (BRV) theatre on Cubbon Road was built by the Madras Sappers in 1912, again in Tudor style.

♦ On Kasturba Road, the quaint-looking Cubbon Park Police station was originally a guard room set up in 1910 to watch the statue of Queen Victoria. It became a part of Bengaluru City Police in 1963.

♦ The Jawahar Bal Bhavan inside Cubbon Park has the stamp of the German architect Otto Koenigsberger, who was the Chief Architect and Planner of Mysore State between 1939 and 1948. His buildings are sturdy and functional and bereft of architectural embellishments. His creations include Malleswaram Boys School (1939), Mysore Engineers’ Association building (1940), the octagonal-domed pavilion of the M N Krishna Rau Park (1941), Mysore Sugar office (1941), Serum Institute, Hebbal (1942), Aeronautics Department, IISc (1942), Victory Hall (now Bal Bhavan) (1944-45), Dining Hall and Auditorium, IISc (1946).

♦ Telegrams have become a thing of the past, but the Central Telegraph office just next to the Cubbon Park Metro Station has survived complete demolition.

♦ The George Oakes building, popularly known as Badami House, a stone structure at the beginning of J C Road (opposite the Corporation office) is over a century old. It belonged to George Henry Augustine Oakes, who imported and sold cars. It was bought by Sarvottam Badami, a pioneering film producer and director.

♦ ‘Balabrooie’, a stately bungalow on T Chowdaiah Road, built in the 1850s, became the residence of Mark Cubbon, the longest-serving Commissioner of the then Mysore state.

♦ The Asiatic Building, popularly known as Janata Bazaar, was inaugurated in 1935. It first housed the Asiatic Company and later the first Janata Bazaar. Destined to be demolished, it has however survived. Close to Janata Bazaar, the red building which is now home to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), was once a recreational club and hosted social gatherings for the British.

♦ The Fort High School’s sprawling grounds have been restored to their former glory. It was built by the Mysore administration in 1907 and continues to educate the children in the vicinity.

♦ The Bengaluru gate near Royan Circle on Mysore Road built in the early 20th century has now been resurrected from its ruins.

♦ The stone building on Kempegowda Road was established as the Bank of Mysore Ltd in 1913 under the patronage of Mysore Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV. It later became the State Bank of Mysore and in 2017 merged with the State Bank of India. The stone building today serves as Nenapu, housing the memorabilia of the State Bank of Mysore.

♦ The grey stone buildings dubbed ‘A’ Station at Anand Rao Circle, ‘B’ Station on M G Road (opposite East Parade Church) and ‘C’ Station from where power was supplied to various parts of the city are all over a century old.

Perhaps the best examples of structures, which have survived and remained intact over several centuries, are the four watchtowers of Kempegowda. They are keeping a watch on Bengaluru, the city of boiled beans.

(The author is a senior journalist)