We are all used to hearing and reading gossip and stories about people. But about a building? Welcome to Sobhana K Nair’s book about the old Parliament building, the huge round structure, whose design many believe was copied by Sir Edwin Lutyens from a 11th century temple in Morena near Gwalior. That temple is called Chausath Yogini Temple. The brief to the architects was to build something that looked Indian.

Fortunately, Nair hasn’t dwelt on this aspect too much. She mentions it in passing because, after all, there’s a much bigger tale to be told. An important element of that tale is that had it not been for Lutyen’s obstinate insistence, the building would have been triangular. That’s what Lutyen’s partner, Herbert Baker, recommended and was overruled by the powers that were.

Circular or triangular?

Baker then reluctantly fell in line and came up with the circular design. The triangular design was meant to represent the three major components of Indian polity: Council of State, Council of Princes and the Central Legislative Assembly.

He was, of course, most unhappy, but could do nothing about it. He and Lutyens had never got along much and Baker grumbled a lot about Lutyens. Nair quotes from his letters to his wife, in which he complains about Lutyens’ nature.

He wasn’t the only one complaining. Various people were just scornful and derisive about the round building. All sorts of nasty things were said about it. All in all, the sahibs were not happy, while the natives probably had no idea what the building was for.

These little titbits, from the history of the most important building in our country, are quite riveting. Nair also deals with the Central Hall issue.

The new Parliament building which, as it happens, finally has a triangular shape, but doesn’t have a Central Hall. This has made MPs very sad because it was there that they met informally, exchanged gossip and struck deals.

Instead of that hall, there is a dining room now in the manner of British clubs, only much bigger. The new building doesn’t seem to have enthused Nair very much. She says it lacks soul. Nair informs us that for 11 years after Independence in 1947, Parliament and the Supreme Court shared space in the building, with the latter occupying what used to be the Chamber of Princes.

Neither institution was happy with the arrangement, and there was constant pressure on the Court to move out. It wasn’t till 1958 that the new Supreme Court premises were built in what was then Hardinge Road and is now Tilak Marg.

The first attack

It is generally believed that the first attack on Parliament took place in 2001. Nair reminds us that it happened on April 8, 1929, when Bhagat Singh and his friend decided to take matters into their own hands.

As she writes “… a deafening noise swallowed the silence. A bomb tore through the floor of the assembly. Smoke rose to fill up the domes of the chamber. For the next few minutes, members ran, some to the nearest door, some to duck behind their desks, a few brave ones leaned in to investigate. Another bomb dropped in quick succession… then came a shower of red leaflets”.

There have been two other attacks that were big and bigger. One was in 1966 when a bunch of sadhus tried to invade the building over the cow slaughter issue. The other was in 2001 when Pakistani terrorists attacked with guns killing several people.

To conclude, Nair’s book is full of interesting nuggets, and one must congratulate her for having dug them all out from the archives. It deserves to be read widely.

The reviewer is a veteran journalist and author

Published on September 20, 2026