Chandigarh

So – we’re on the homestretch now for sure. We’re currently in Calcutta, where it is very hot! Actually looking forward to cool breezes. We’ll try to post the next 2 blogs, and maybe even a third, before we leave. We return on Thursday around noon Vancouver time, after about 24 hours en route by air. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Meanwhile …

Chandigarh is interestingly the capital of 2 different states: Punjab and Haryana. Punjab has been broken into many chunks compared to what it was at the turn of the 20th century. First, when India became independent, it was carved into Punjab, which was part of India, and West Punjab, which was a new state in the new country of Pakistan. Division was mostly on religious grounds, with the Muslims being predominantly in Pakistan. Then, some years later, the Indian part was further carved into Punjab (mostly Punjabi speaking) and Haryana (mostly Hindi speaking). Chandigarh remained the capital of both!

It is indeed a fascinating city. It is a fully planned city, a rarity in India’s long history. Many were involved in its creation, from Nehru on down. Two different teams of architects were involved. The second team, led by renowned European architect Le Corbusier, whom Surrinder describes as also an artist, ended up doing the actual plans, after the first architect died in a completely unrelated accident.

We were rather impressed with the obvious attention to liveability which went into the planning. Many aspects are uncharacteristic of Indian cities. There are wide, tree-lined boulevards, with enormous, green traffic circles, all organized in a predictable and logical manner. And, amazingly, there are traffic lights … and people actually pay attention to them most of the time. This is highly uncharacteristic of most of India!

There are huge parks, which actually eclipse ours in Vancouver … and people are actually encouraged to use them, and they do! There are garbage cans throughout the city, there are public toilets easily available, there are large pedestrian-oriented plazas … the list goes on and on. Public buildings and public art are highly visible and encouraged. The museum and art galleries are very accessible. Our photos show some of the sculptures and public art, as well as some of the many gardens / parks.

A particularly interesting feature is place known as the Nek Chand Rock Garden. It is difficult to describe. Some photos may start to give a glimpse. It is composed entirely of recycled materials, and involved the work of a public works staff person during his off hours … for many years. When the government discovered it, they decided to formally integrate it, and encourage the work. Today, the octogenarian continues to work and expand his vision. We were just blown away by the inventiveness, creativity, and even playfulness in this place.

On our last day, we took a late train. To while away part of the day, we saw the current controversial blockbuster Jodhaa Akbar. A poster of the film billboard is attached.

It is amazing and wonderful that this city is a mere 3 hours by bus from Chiheru!

By the way, the elephant in traffic photo is from the stop in Delhi, not from Chandigarh!