Rajaji Hall, previously known as theBanqueting Hall, Madras, is apublic hall in the city ofChennai,India used for social functions. The hall was built byJohn Goldingham to commemorate the British victory overTipu Sultan in theFourth Anglo-Mysore War.[1]
The Banqueting Hall was constructed between 1800 and 1802[2] byJohn Goldingham, an astronomer and engineer with theBritish East India Company.[1][3] The building was commissioned byEdward Clive, the thenGovernor of Madras, who envisaged the hall to be an extension of the Government House which was being renovated that year.[1][4] The hall was built to commemorate the company's victory overTipu Sultan in theFourth Anglo-Mysore War[1] and designed to be a venue for social functions.[2] The construction of the hall cost about two and a half lakh rupees.[1] The building was opened with a grand ball on 7 October 1802.[5]
From 1875 onwards, the hall was extensively renovated and expanded.[6] In 1895, a colonnaded terrace was constructed and averandah was built around it.[1][6] The convocations of theUniversity of Madras were held in the Banqueting Hall from 1857 till 1879 when theSenate House was constructed.[7] During 27 January 1938 – 26 October 1939, thelegislature of theMadras Presidency met here.[8] The hall was renamed as "Rajaji Hall" afterIndia's independence (in honour ofC. Rajagopalachari).[5] The mortal remains of important political leaders lay in state in Rajaji Hall before their funeral. At present, it houses the offices of the Tamil Nadu State Raffle.[5] The dead bodies of former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu,C. N. Annadurai,M. G. Ramachandran ,J. Jayalalithaa andM. Karunanidhi were kept here for public view.
The Government House andGandhi Illam were demolished during the construction of a newTamil Nadu legislative assembly-secretariat complex between 2008 and 2010,[9] apparently causing irreparable damage to the hall's foundations.[9]
Rajaji Hall was built in the form of aGreek temple and is believed to have been modelled after theParthenon inAthens.[3] It is built on a basement of arched cellars and store rooms[3] and is surrounded by a colonnaded terrace.[3] The exterior of the hall is constructed in the 16th-century ItalianManneristic style.[2] The building is 120 feet long, 65 feet wide and 40 feet high and is enclosed by a gallery which had portraits of popularAnglo-Indian leaders[3] and administrators including Edward Clive,Richard Wellesley,Sir Eyre Coote,[10]Sir Thomas Munro,Lord Hobart andLord Harris and British monarchsGeorge III andQueen Charlotte.[11] The southern end is connected to the Government House by an array of steps.[3] Sten Nilsson describes the hall as resembling "aHeroum, a neo-classical temple for hero worship".[2]
13°04′10″N80°16′30″E / 13.069378°N 80.274916°E /13.069378; 80.274916