BENGALURU: There is a common misconception among people that Victoria Hospital Building was constructed by Queen Victoria since it is named after her. But the foundation stone on the first floor of the two-storey building tells us that the building was laid by Kempa Nanjammani. It was constructed to commemorate sixty years of reign of Queen Victoria in India.
The foundation stone was laid by Maharani-regent and mother of Nalwadi Krishnarajendra Wadiyar, who is considered to be one of the most illustrious rulers of India. It was laid at 5.35 pm on June 22, 1897. Seshadri Iyer was the diwan during that time.
“It was inaugurated on December 8, 1900, by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India,” informs historian Arun Prasad.
Remains of The Fort
Prasad adds that the structure is built in Gothic style with minor variations, like a touch of Victorian style. “It has pavillion kind of architecture for each ward,” he says.Before you enter the building, you can see the remains of the Bengaluru Fort, which fell victim to the Third Mysore War (1790-1792).
At the time, the fort was a stronghold for Tipu Sultan. Today, the fort’s Delhi gate, on Krishnarajendra Road, and two bastions are what remains of the fort, primarily.
“The design and architecture of the hospital is credited to a British engineer Captain AC Joly de Lotbiniere who was a member of the Royal Engineers (RE),” informs Mansoor Ali, architect and co-founder of Bengalurubyfoot, a group that organises heritage walks.
The construction of the hospital was given utmost importance. “That is why the responsibility was handed over to the man who is well-known for commissioning Asia’s electricity projects, started in Shivanasamudra in Mysuru,” says Prasad adding that the stones here too have a story to tell.
What War Gave
“The building was built using the granite stones from Bengaluru Fort that were brought down after the Mysore War,” he says.“It was the central hospital for Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka... South India’s central hospital,” says Nanjundaswamy Thotawadi, a retired literary assistant and library-in-charge of the hospital.
Even today the structure holds the status of being an iconic hospital catering to an impressively large population in the city.
“The hospital had all the modern facilities of that time. Doctors were brought in from England when it was opened since India had few doctors who understood allopathy. The British brought allopathy to India,” says Prasad.
Helping Plague Victims
The hospital was instrumental in serving the victims of plague that had hit the city in 1898-99. Coincidentally, when the tragedy struck, the hospital was being constructed.
Rehabilitation of the victims and expansion of the city were taking place and a city health officer was appointed in 1898.
“Many deaths happened during that time. The hospital played a huge role in serving the plague-affected patients and helped them in their recovery,” says Prasad.
Construction
“If we have to bring down one stone, it takes at least half day. It was built under `4 lakh then,” says Nanjundaswamy. “Materials like sand, calcium carbonate, jaggery, etc., were used to fix the stones.”
He estimates the cost of building such a structure now to be thousands of crores. “If one has to construct this building now, the cost would go more than Rs 2,000 crore and material might cost beyond Rs 3,000 crore,” he says.
Addition in Early 1900s
“An out-patient department was built in 1924,” says Prasad explaining that the entire cost of building the structure was borne by KP Puttanashetty, a notable administrator and philanthropist. “The cost for the building would have come up to one or two lakhs,” he says.
Architecture
Three-feet wide stone columns on the ground floor run the entire length of the corridor. The first floor has shorter, straight columns at regular intervals through the entire portico. The doorways are arched.
“That is not where the history of the hospital started,” says Prasad. “Prior to this, there was the small hospital in the peta area (old city area), which was temporarily housed at a district lockup building since 1893. Once this building was inaugurated in 1900, the small hospital was shifted to this building.” Apart from this, many small dispensaries used to treat the patients in the fort area.
Dreaded Demolition
“Only 35 per cent of what was constructed earlier remains now. In 1984, a part of it was demolished to bring in the modernised building. Another building was demolished, probably in 2004,” says Nanjundaswamy adding that the six air-conditioned operation theatres built by Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar were also lost during demolition.
He had constructed them in 1950 to mark the 50th anniversary of the building.
While Nanjundaswamy was still serving in the hospital, there was a threat to the main building too. “They wanted to demolish the building but Kannada Kale Matta Samskriti Sangha fought against it,” he says. But still he repents the loss of the other portions of the building. “It would take 45 minutes for a person to walk through the U-shaped structure from entry to exit,” he says.
The building has interesting features, including a general library that can be accessed by patients and their relatives, a large portrait of Queen Victoria which is 116 years old, and a gallery containing the portraits of all superintendents of the hospital since it began.
The first superintendent of the hospital was Dr Charles D’souza and the first medical officer was Dr Armugam
