A delectable symbol of pride

BANGALORE: This one is straight out of Hansel and Gretel. Only there's no cannibalistic witch staying in the house.
The house in question is the the country's largest legislative building, namma Vidhana Soudha, which has been replicated in 40 kilos of Lindt Picolo milk chocolate by 75-year-old Swiss chocolatier Adelbert Bucher.
The structure is kept at the grand corridor leading to Kababs Corner at ITC Royal Gardenia, and is open for all to see till Sunday.
Replicating prominent structures is nothing new to the master chocolatier, who's made a Taj Mahal in white chocolate and the sea link in Mumbai out of milk chocolate, and will be off to Hyderabad to duplicate the famous Charminar.
In Bangalore, it's the 60-year-old structure that caught his eye. "I saw it from the aircraft first and then up close. It's an impressive, colonial building. `Overwhelming' is the first word that came to my mind when I saw it," says Bucher.
The chocolatier, who's made the Titanic, the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and the Blue Mosque in Turkey, confesses that Vidhana Soudha has been the toughest to duplicate because of its imposing structure. "Only the front part of the building has been replicated. It's an engineering feat, and it's difficult because of the windows. No structure has so many windows," says Bucher, smiling.
The 10-by-4-feet structure has been made over three days and Bucher, who's `sleep deprived' in his own words, has lost count of the number of hours he has clocked in the process of creating the delectable masterpiece.
But the structure has a shelf-life of three days, post which it will be demolished. Isn't the thought heartbreaking? "I don't think that far. If I did, then I'd start questioning myself. So I'll fly out the next morning," he laughs.
This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by a chocolate brand. Shradha Nichani, business head, India, Lindt, says, "People can take pictures with the strucuture. It's like being in a museum."