Times of India
Udupi, May 18: The only existing century-old colonial building in Udupi is the Udupi Taluk Office. People in general, including bureaucrats, do not have much knowledge about the history of this structure. Neither time nor the vagaries of the weather have made any impact on the building’s strength. Workmen engaged in the annual painting and maintenance work stumbled upon the stone that clearly read “ESTD 1906.”
All the hallmarks of British colonial architecture are visible in the the structure. The 20-foot high walls, the large doors measuring 10 ft X 4 ft and huge windows and arches give it a majestic appearance.
Udupi Tahsildar Muralidhar told The Times of India that though “we all knew that it was a centuryold building, our office does not have any records to substantiate the period of construction and as to who built it, except for the stone that reads ESTD 1906. We are proud that we are functioning our office in a heritage building.”
According to the Gazetteer of India, Karnataka and South Kanara district were ruled by the Alupas, Vijayanagar, Keladi Kingdom and thereafter by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, that later included the entire Coastal area which was known as Canara Coast. This territory was annexed by the British in 1799 AD and in 1860 South Kanara was formed under the Madras Presidency.
In 1896, as per records, there were only five taluks in the erstwhile South Kanara district (i.e. Mangalore, Coondapur, Udipi, Kasaragod and Uppinangady). Later, in 1910, Moodabidiri was formed and subsequently abolished and formed into Karkala taluk in 1912. In 1927, Uppinangady taluk was converted into Puttur Taluk. After the reorganization of states in 1956, Kasaragod went back to Kerala. Udupi was a prominent taluk in the Kundapura division, which was governed by the Head Assistant Collector (an ICS officer) during Britush rule.
A year ago, a British court building in Udupi was demolished and a new court complex has come up in its place. Now it is feared that a similar fate awaits Udupi Taluk Office.