Bangalore is a perfect amalgam of the old and the new, with the colonial era still alive in the city’s numerous buildings at a time when the American companies, latest technologies and swanky malls and thriving pubs are struggling to make place for themselves within the limited city area. These buildings from the bygone era form an integral part of the historical sites of India, providing for excellent tourist attraction opportunities in Bangalore. Hence, on your visit to the city, as you walk down the roads, you will come across a beautiful garden compound called Cubbon Park, named after the then Commissioner of Mysore – Sir Mark Cubbon. Apart from the greenery and natural beauty of the park, one more element that will undeniably draw your attention is the playful interaction of two contrasting colors of red and white, defining the two most imposing buildings within the compound. While the ‘white’ talks of the color of the State Legislative Assembly building called Vidhana Soudha, the ‘red’ stands for the impressive Attara Kacheri, the Kannada name for the High Court of Karnataka.

The historical background of Attara Kacheri dates back to the rule of Tipu Sultan, who realized that the area within his palace was falling short of the space required to house all the important government offices and hence, conceived the idea of constructing a new building catering to this purpose alone and thus came into existence Attara Kacheri, translated as ‘eighteen offices’. The concept was planned by Commissioner Bowring and executed by Rao Bahadur Arcot Narayanaswamy Mudaliar, when at last the imposing two storied building of Attara Kacheri with Corinthian columns came into existence. It was a pioneer itself in Karnataka as at that period of time, a beautiful stand-alone government building could not be thought of and it was not until the construction completion of Vidhana Soudha, after the passage of more than a hundred year, that the offices were shifted from the Attara Kacheri in order to transform the building into the High Court of the state.

The bright red color of the building of Attara Kacheri can be distinctly segregated from the rest of the buildings surrounding it. The statue of Sir Mark Cubon by Baron Marochetti at the rear side of the building and the large portrait of him in the central hall bears testimony to the city’s indebtedness to the commissioner who served it for the longest period of time. However, Attara Kacheri fell into dispute in the year 2006, when a plan was sanctioned commissioning the demolition of the building to be replaced by a replica of the same with modern facilities But it was solely for the undaunted spirit and efforts of some people to conserve the same that the magnificent old heritage building is seen standing tall, yet again, amongst the metallic buildings of the modern age.