Day 217 of Indian places giving smiles…the capital of two states Chandigarh
I had heard that Chandigarh was nicknamed ‘City Beautiful’ but it is only when I went there that I wished we could have had more time to admire the full beauty of this place.
We were in the first planned city of independent India, and the only city that is the capital of two prosperous States-Punjab and Haryana. We first went in 2005 and had a long drive around the city. My architect son pointed out to me how the fine planning had manifested itself from the drawing board to reality.
We had to collect a parcel from somebody and it was so easy to search for the address even though it was our first visit here. The city was divided into sectors that were numbered one next to the other. The buildings seemed to be similar in height and external looks. Even the roads were categorized as to which type of traffic they will handle. There was a demarcation of intra-city or inter-city traffic.
But what really impressed me was the fantastic landscaping that was always present in between the different roads. The local flora and fauna were in full bloom and seemed to be cheerfully waving at us as we drove through different parts of the city. And compared to the garbage that I seemed to distinctly see in other Indian cities, Chandigarh looked spic and span just like some of the other countries in Europe that I had visited. The many gardens in the city were also very well-maintained.
In my mind, I said a word of appreciation for Le Corbusier the French architect who designed this city so wonderfully. Unfortunately we did not have the time to see his many amazing buildings that were built at the ‘pedestrian paradise’ in the Central Plaza of Sector 17.
We did make sure that we visited one of the most famous tourist spot of Chandigarh, the Nek Chand Rock garden, so named after it’s creator. And this was such a happy place to be in. I was amazed at the imagination and the creativity of the founder. There is so much of materials that is generated every day as urban waste. Who would ever think of creating artful objects of beauty from such useless objects like metal wires, mudguards, forks, handle bars, etc. Yet we saw many unique human and animal form creations made out things like broken bangles, porcelain pieces or marble pieces.
At every turn of the garden, we faced a new waterfall or an artfully done piece of work. This work was spread over many acres of land and there were some isolated spots with hardly any people. At one such corner I found a young couple who seemed to be very much in love. However they wanted to express their love permanently to the world and I caught them just as they were trying to etch their names on one of the cave like walls. I just hate it when tourists do not have respect for the beauty around them. I made sure I warned them not to ever write on the walls again. The girl seemed ashamed, but the boy just didn’t seem to be bothered by my words. It was with a sad heart that I realized that he would probably go back to writing on the wall, the minute my back was turned! We drove past the Sukhna lake and once again I tried in to imbibe the beauty of the city.
Five years later I visited Chandigarh again on work. The area just outside the airport was military dominated and I was asked not to click photographs there. I stayed in a guest house that was a bungalow in an upmarket residential area. I did get a chance to visit the famous City Centre. The shops, the open arenas and the distinct promenades makes walking here a wonderful experience for a tourist like me.
In 2016 again I went to the new international airport of Chandigarh…and liked the board that said welcome to Punjab…
The quality of life here is supposed to be the best, as compared to other cities in India. The people are known to be big spenders and i saw that there seemed to be brisk business done in the malls. I thought that Chandigarh was the rare combination of beauty and modern urban life in India!
So, which Indian place made you smile today?
Please share your own experience of visiting Indian places.
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