Photograph from the driveway of the Town Hall at Varanasi, from the Kitchener of Khartoum Collection: 'Views of Benares. Presented by the Maharaja of Benares' by Madho Prasad, c. 1905. The Town Hall was a modern building in Indo-Saracenic style, a fusion of Western architectural elements such as Victorian English towers with Islamic forms such as domed pavilions (chattris) and stone projections (chajjas). The building was erected by the Maharaja of Vizianagram to commemorate the visit of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to the city in January 1870 and was presented as a free gift to the citizens of the city. On either side of the main entrance were two large rooms in one of which the Honorary Magistrates held their court.
