Crimson glory - A cultural hub of the colonial times

For a hive of administrative, cultural and political activity, the Council Hall (or the Vidhan Bhavan) surprises you with its near absence of security. It houses the important offices of the divisional commissioner and affiliated departments and witnesses the governor unfurl the tricolour on national days. Yet it was in the news some time ago for an unlikely reason: the theft of sandalwood trees; not once, but twice within a week.
The structure predating the present-day Council Hall was much smaller and owned by a British army officer named General Phayre. When the British government felt the need for an alternative to the then Bombay Secretariat for use during certain months of the year, they bought the building for Rs 50,875 (?5,087). It was rebuilt and enlarged circa 1870 at a cost of Rs 1,22,940 under the supervision of a government engineer and an army officer named Major Meliss.
The renovated version is a neo-Gothic structure in the Venetian-Gothic style of ornamental exposed brickwork, punctuated by grey stone. The hall was originally used as a place of assembly for visitors and the press during council meetings, while the council members used the adjacent rooms. The upper rooms were meant for the governor and his entourage.
Once among the city's happening places, especially for cultural programmes a fancy dress competition and a ball were organised here in 1886 in honour of Queen Victoria's son the building continues to host lectures, gatherings, conclaves and even exhibitions of flowers, ornamental plants and medicinal plants organised by the parks and gardens division of the Public Works Department (PWD).
The westward-orientated, two-storey structure is rectangular in plan (measuring 183 ft by 53 ft and 40 ft to the top of the walls), capped by a pitched tiled roof and flanked by a 76-feet high square tower. On the ground floor, the fa?ade comprises an austere arcade (a series of arches) over attached pilasters (pillar-like projections). On the upper floor, the brick arcade defining the veranda is mullioned in stone. A corbel table (a projection along the top of a wall) running along the building's entire periphery masks the roof. The apsidal extension (a semicircular projection) towards the south and the porch towards the north were appended later. Stained glass infills for the generously sized openings, decorated wooden ceiling of the assembly hall with ornamental railing for the narrow gallery, capitals (the upper parts of a column) sporting foliate motifs and elegant chandeliers form some of the other highlights. A well-kept landscape complements the grandeur of the main building.
The property is looked after by the PWD, which has its own office here. The building is painted regularly to accentuate the visual appeal of its exposed brickwork, the shade being a point of eternal debate. However, it is hard to ignore the incongruous yellow infills in the verandas or the unsightly electrical and air conditioning installations. Repairs are under way in the main building. The latter-day ancillary structures their bland, plastered and painted look striking a discordant note betray a lack of imagination.