INTACH begins work to restore Bengaluru's Fort High School

Bengaluru: Restoration work began on Thursday on the Fort High School building here, which was set up over 110 years ago by the Mysore royal family, INTACH officials said. "The restoration would be carried out over a period of one year with a cost of Rs 2.5 crore. It was constructed on a plot next to Tipu Sultan's palace here in 1907," said Meera Iyer, Bangalore Chapter's Co-convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). 

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the current scion of the royal family inaugurated the work on the school premises and recalled the contribution of his ancestors, who were patrons of art, culture, education and architecture. "This school in a way represents the Mysorean design that were brought into the architectural vocabulary of buildings being erected in 1900s. As the restoration takes place, it will also inspire the young generation to appreciate and care for heritage," he said. 

"Buildings like the Fort School were built by our ancestors, but this heritage is not just our family's legacy, but people's legacy. And, we all must celebrate it together," Wadiyar told PTI. The two-storeyed building with slanting roofs and colonnaded facade is one of the oldest buildings in Bengaluru, the built heritage of which has been facing threat from the onslaught of modernity in the last few years. 

Iyer said the school's restoration work will be carried out by the Bengaluru Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which has raised donations for it from private entities. "Permission to restore the structure has been given by the Department of Public Instruction, government of Karnataka," she said. 

The 26-year-old Mysore royal family scion said he was saddened to see the current state of the building but glad to know that it would be restored to its original glory. "All the ideals, wants, aspirations of our collective ancestors, of the architects and government, were poured into making those buildings at that time. Preserving and reinvigorating them is important so that we can pass on this heritage to future generations," he said.