Twin buildings, hostel hallways and a lasting legacy

A view of the Central college hostel building in Bengaluru. Photos by C Aravind 

The road connecting Bengaluru’s two palaces — Tipu’s Palace at one end and Bangalore Palace at the other — has some of the city’s handsomest heritage buildings. Prominent among them are the two old Central College hostel blocks which stand side by side, like identical twins.

The hostel blocks were built at the urging of John Cook, then Principal of Central College. Construction began in 1899 and they were built at a cost of about Rs 63,000. It was Cook who insisted on some important details, including tables and chairs in the rooms, and cupboards that could be locked.

Later, he also instituted measures for regular medical inspections for the hostel students and clamoured for and eventually got a reading room and library constructed for the students (this building now houses the Indian Council of Historical Research).

The two hostel blocks were identical. Each was two storeyed and had 24 rooms that could accommodate two students each. Each building was about 35 m long and 15 m wide. The two blocks were separated by about 16 m. They were also meant to be separated by caste. One building was meant for brahmin and the other for non-brahmin students. Each building was hence also provided with its own kitchen and dining areas.

The hostels opened in February 1901, with rates of Rs 2 per month for a room in the lower floor, with a princely premium of Re 1 added for a room on the upper floor! The food bill was pegged at Rs 7 per month. The rooms rapidly filled up within just a few weeks of the hostels being opened.

Tasteful design

In his correspondence, Cook refers to the ‘fine architectural appearance’ of the hostels and other Central College buildings and the care taken by administrators not to mar their appearance during expansions. Today, 122 years later, these hostel blocks appear even more tastefully designed, especially when compared to nearby modern buildings!

The hostel blocks strongly resemble Fort High School in Chamarajpet, built in 1907. Like in that school, the hostels have a colonnade of stone pillars on the ground floor mirrored on the first floor with a colonnade of wooden pillars.

The cast-iron railings on both the floors are of the same pattern as in Fort High School. The wooden brackets on the first floor bear a design similar to those at the school.

But unlike in Fort High School, the hostel blocks have only light decorative touches. Certainly, the pitched roof over the centre has an unusual design of eaves. But there are no stucco decorations, no striking architectural finery. Instead, the buildings’ pleasing aspect arises from their proportions and their simple, symmetrical plans. It lies in the earthy materials used: Madras terrace flat roofs on the ground floor, a sloping roof of Mangalore tiles on the first floor and elegant wooden staircases between floors.

Hundreds of young men have spent their carefree college years in these hostels. K Prithvi Ganapathy, a retired agricultural business manager and a former president of the Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club, lived here from 1951 to 1954. The 88-year-old recalls how two students were appointed prefects every month to handle the mess. He fondly reminisces how when it was his turn, he and his fellow prefect used to walk down to K R Market early in the morning and come back loaded with vegetables and other things needed. “The food was always excellent,” he says.

In later years, the hostel blocks were converted to classrooms. For some years, the buildings were occupied by the Economics, Kannada and Social Sciences departments.

In 2017, when Bangalore University was trifurcated, the hostel blocks and other buildings that were part of Central College became part of Bengaluru City University. The university’s Department of Mass Communication and Journalism is now housed in the freshly painted southern block. The northern hostel block, which for many years housed the University Grants Commission, now lies locked up, unused and wears an abandoned look.

Bengaluru City University’s website highlights how the identity of Central College is entwined with the city’s identity and how it is seen by Bengalureans as belonging to all of them. It is heartwarming to see how the university also recognises that it has inherited ‘valuable architectural heritage.’ One hopes that statement bodes well for both these hostel blocks.

(Meera Iyer is the author of ‘Discovering Bengaluru’ and the Convenor of INTACH Bengaluru Chapter.)