Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a city and a union territory of India that serves as the capital of the Indian states of Haryana, and Punjab. As a union territory, the city is governed directly by the Union Government and is not part of either state.

Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the north, west and south, and to the state of Haryana to the east. Chandigarh is considered to be a part of the Chandigarh capital region or Greater Chandigarh, which includes Chandigarh, and the city of Panchkula (in Haryana) and cities of Kharar, Kurali Mohali (in Punjab)

Chandigarh was one of the early planned cities in the post-independence India and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design. The master plan of the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, which transformed from earlier plans created by the Polish architect Maciej Nowicki and the American planner Albert Mayer. Most of the government buildings and housing in the city, were designed by the Chandigarh Capital Project Team headed by Le Corbusier, Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry. In 2015, an article published by BBC named Chandigarh as one of the perfect cities of the world in terms of architecture, cultural growth and modernisation.

Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex was in July 2016 declared by UNESCO as World Heritage at the 40th session of World Heritage Conference held in Istanbul. UNESCO inscription was under “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier an outstanding contribution to the Modern Movement”. The Capitol Complex buildings include the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab and Haryana Secretariat and Punjab and Haryana Assembly along with monuments Open hand, Martyrs Memorial, Geometric Hill and Tower of Shadow.

The city tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories by per capita income followed by Haryana and Delhi respectively in the country. The city was reported to be the cleanest in India in 2010, based on a national government study. In 2016, Chandigarh was declared as the second cleanest city of India under Swachh Bharat Survekshan. The union territory also heads the list of Indian states and territories according to Human Development Index. In 2015, a survey by LG Electronics, ranked Chandigarh as the happiest city in India over the happiness index. The metropolitan of Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula collectively forms a Tri-city, with a combined population of over 2 million. Chandigarh is also known to be the first smoke-free city in India.

Etymology

The name Chandigarh is a portmanteau of Chandi and Garh. Chandi refers to Hindu Goddess Chandi, the warrior Avatar of Goddess Parvati, and Garh means fort. The name is derived from Chandi Mandir, an ancient temple devoted to the Hindu Goddess Chandi, near the city in Panchkula District.

History

Early history

The city has a pre-historic past. Due to the presence of lake, the area has fossil remains with imprints of a large variety of aquatic plants and animals, and amphibian life, which were supported by that environment. As it was a part of the Punjab region, it had many rivers nearby where the ancient and primitive settling of humans began. So, about 8000 years ago, the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.

Modern history

Chandigarh was the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru. After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was split between (mostly Sikhs) East Punjab in India and (mostly Muslim) West Punjab in Pakistan. The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partition. Therefore, an American planner and architect Albert Mayer was tasked to design a new city called "Chandigarh" in 1949. The government carved out Chandigarh of nearly 50 Pwadhi speaking villages of the then state of East Punjab, India. Shimla was the temporary capital of East Punjab until Chandigarh was completed in 1960.

Albert Mayer, during his work on the development and planning of the new capital city of Chandigarh, developed a superblock based-city threaded with green spaces which emphasized the cellular neighborhood and traffic segregation. His site plan used natural characteristics, using its gentle grade to promote drainage and rivers to orient the plan. Mayer discontinued his work on Chandigarh after developing a master plan from the city when his architect-partner Matthew Nowicki died in a plane crash in 1950. Government officials recruited Le Corbusier to succeed Mayer and Nowicki, who enlisted many elements of Mayer's original plan without attributing them to him.

Le Corbusier designed many administration buildings, including a courthouse, parliament building, and a university. He also designed the general layout of the city, dividing it into sectors. Chandigarh hosts the largest of Le Corbusier's many Open Hand sculptures, standing 26 metres high. The Open Hand (La Main Ouverte) is a recurring motif in Le Corbusier's architecture, a sign for him of "peace and reconciliation. It is open to give and open to receive." It represents what Le Corbusier called the 'Second Machine Age'. Two of the six monuments planned in the Capitol Complex which has the High Court, the Assembly and the Secretariat, remain incomplete. These include Geometric Hill and Martyrs Memorial; drawings were made, and they were begun in 1956, but they were never completed.

On 1 November 1966, the newly formed state of Haryana was carved out of the eastern portion of East Punjab, in order to create a new state for the majority Haryanvi-speaking people in that portion, while the western portion of East Punjab retained a mostly Punjabi-speaking majority and was renamed as Punjab. Chandigarh was located on the border of both states and the states moved to incorporate the city into their respective territories. However, the city of Chandigarh was declared a union territory to serve as capital of both states.

As of 2016, many historical villages in Chandigarh are still inhabited within the modern blocks of sectors including Burail and Attawa, while there are a number of non-sectoral villages that lie on the outskirts of the city. These villages were a part of the pre-Chandigarh era.

Geography and ecology

Location

Chandigarh is located near the foothills of the Sivalik range of the Himalayas in northwest India. It covers an area of approximately 114 km2. It shares its borders with the states of Haryana and Punjab. The exact cartographic co-ordinates of Chandigarh are 30°44′N 76°47′E / 30.74°N 76.79°E / 30.74; 76.79. It has an average elevation of 321 metres (1053 ft).

The city, lying in the northern plains, has vast fertile and flat land. It has portions of Bhabar in the north east and Terai in rest of the area. The surrounding cities are Mohali, Patiala and Roopnagar in Punjab, Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana.

Ecosystem

Most of Chandigarh is covered by dense banyan and eucalyptus plantations. Ashoka, cassia, mulberry and other trees flourish in the forested ecosystem. The city has forests surrounding that sustain many animal and plant species. Deer, sambars, barking deer, parrots, woodpeckers and peacocks inhabit the protected forests. Sukhna Lake hosts a variety of ducks and geese, and attracts migratory birds from parts of Siberia and Japan in the winter season.

A Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh situated in sector 21 of the city is home to a large number of parrots.Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary adjoining to Sukhna Lake is another point for nature lovers. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1998.

The city also has other popular gardens, e.g. Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, Rock Garden, Botanical Garden, Terraced Garden, Bougainvillea Garden, Shanti Kunj and many others.

Places of interest

Chandigarh has various visitor attractions including theme gardens within the city. Some notable sites are:

Sukhna Lake

Sukhna Lake is located in Sector 1, adjoining the Rock Garden near the foothills of Shivalik Hills. Sukhna is an artificial lake. This 3 km rain-fed lake was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. It has The Garden of Silence within it.

The atmosphere here is serene. Sukhna Lake is the venue for many festive celebrations. The most popular is the Mango Festival held during the monsoons. It is believed that a Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret's ashes were immersed in this lake according to his will as he developed a deep bond with the lake.

Rock Garden

The Rock Garden is situated in the middle of the Capitol Complex and the Sukhna Lake in Sector 1. It is also known as Nek Chand Rock Garden after its founder. It has numerous sculptures made by using a variety of different discarded waste materials like frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, porcelain, auto parts, broken bangles etc.

It is believed that Nek Chand himself went up the Shivalik hills and got different stones and materials with which he started designing the garden.

Rose Garden

Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, or simply Rose Garden, is named after the former President of India, Zakir Hussain. It is situated in Sector 16. The garden is known to be the greatest of its types in Asia.

The garden is said to be spread about thirty to forty acres containing nearly 825 varieties of roses in it and more than 32,500 varieties of other medicinal plants and trees.

Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh

Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh is a bird sanctuary which is located in sector 21 Chandigarh India.It is notified under Section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is habitat of thousands of parrots. It is the second wildlife sanctuary in the city after Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.

Leisure Valley

A continuum of various theme gardens, Leisure Valley is a linear park over 8 km long which starts from Sector 1 in the north and leaves Chandigarh at its southern most edge. It consists of many theme parks, botanical gardens and green belts, including Rajendra Park in Sector 1, the Bougainvillea Garden in Sector 3 and the Physical Fitness Trails in Sector 10, among others.

Other destinations

Other tourist destinations include The New Lake in Sector 42, Capitol Complex in Sector 1, City Centre in Sector 17, Open hand monument in Sector 1, Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19, Government Museum and Art Gallery in Sector 10, International Doll Museum in Sector 23, Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math in Sector 20.

There are many tourist gardens like the Garden of Fragrance in Sector 36, Garden of Palms in Sector 42, Butterfly Park in Sector 26, Valley of Animals in Sector 49, the Japanese Garden in Sector 31 and the Terraced Garden in Sector 33. Several other famous tourist destinations like Pinjore Gardens, Morni Hills, Nada Sahib, Kasauli, ChhatBir Zoo lie in its vicinity.

Transport

Road

Chandigarh has the largest number of vehicles per capita in India. Wide, well maintained roads and parking spaces all over the city ease local transport. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) operates public transport buses from its Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBT) in Sectors 17 and 43 of the city. CTU also operates frequent bus services to the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and to Delhi.

Chandigarh is well connected by road to the following nearby cities, by the following highway routes:

• NH 5 to Shimla in the northeast, and to Ludhiana in the west.
• NH 7 to Patiala in the southwest.
• NH 152 to Ambala in the south (NH 44 catches up from Ambala to Delhi).

Air

Chandigarh Airport has scheduled commercial flights to major cities of India including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Srinagar. The airport has international flights to Sharjah and Dubai.

Rail

Chandigarh Junction railway station lies in the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railway network and provide connectivity to all the regions of India and some major Indian cities. It provides connectivity to eastern states with link to cities like Kolkata, Dibrugarh; southern states with trains to Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and Kollam; western states with trains to Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai; central states with trains to Bhopal and Indore; other northern states with trains to Lucknow, Amritsar, Ambala, Panipat, Kalka and Shimla.

The Chandigarh Metro Rail is a proposed metro rail to serve the city locally and connect it to other two cities of the Chandigarh capital region. It is expected to start working by 2018 along with the extension of Kolkata Metro and proposed Indore Metro.

Entertainment

Gardens

The city has two gardens of international repute – the Rock Garden of Chandigarh in sector 1 and the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in sector 16. The latter has the distinction of being the largest of its kind in Asia.

Chandigarh has a belt of parks running from sector to sector. It is known for its green belts and other special tourist parks. Sukhna Lake itself hosts a large number of gardens, including the Garden of Silence.