Chandigarh--The city beautiful
Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru, was planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier. Picturesquely located at the foothills of Shivaliks, it is known as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in the twentieth century in India. Chandigarh derives its name from the temple of "Chandi Mandir" located in the vicinity of the site selected for the city. The deity 'Chandi', the goddess of power and a fort of 'garh' laying beyond the temple gave the city its name "Chandigarh-The City Beautiful".
The city has a pre-historic past. The gently sloping plains on which modern Chandigarh exists, was in the ancient past, a wide lake ringed by a marsh. The fossil remains found at the site indicate a large variety of aquatic and amphibian life, which was supported by that environment. About 8000 years ago the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.
Since the medieval through modern era, the area was part of the large and prosperous Punjab Province which was divided into East & West Punjab during partition of the country in 1947. The city was conceived not only to serve as the capital of East Punjab, but also to resettle thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab.
In March, 1948, the Government of Punjab, in consultation with the Government of India, approved the area of the foothills of the Shivaliks as the site for the new capital. The location of the city site was a part of the erstwhile Ambala district as per the 1892-93 gazetteer of District Ambala. The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952. Subsequently, at the time of reorganization of the state on 01.11.1966 into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pardesh, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital city of both, Punjab and Haryana while it itself was declared as a Union Territory and under the direct control of the Central Government.
Tourist spots of Chandigarh
Sukhna Lake
Sukhna Lake is an artificial lake at the foothills of the Himalayas, the Shivalik hills. This 3 sq. km rain-fed lake was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. The lake, which was the venue for the Asian Rowing Championships, has the longest channel for rowing and yachting events in Asia. Sukhna is a sanctuary for many exotic migratory birds like the Siberian duck, Storks and Cranes, during the winter months. The lake has been declared as a protected national wetland by the Government of India.
Rock Garden
Next to Sukhana Lake is a unique, world famous fantasy, called Rock Garden. Situated in the thick forest area, this gardens hold its own charms for the visitors. It is full of objects built from household and industrial waste. There are no flowers or plants in this garden. The object to be seen there are the figure made of raw cement resembling humans and animals. These figures have been decorated with broken but colourful China clay. As one looks at them, they seem to be staring as the visitors. They seem to be engaged in various activities. There are group of dancing damsels made from bicycle and motorcycle's waste materials, marching armies of warriors resting flying or fledging birds made from countless bite of broken glass. There are groups of music bands engaged in their activity of entertaining the visitors. Its creator, Sh. Nek Chand belong from gurdaspur district in Punjab province. He started his life in PWD as labourer, but late rose to high ranks. He came to Chandigarh as Road Inspector. His deep visualization made him to pick and collect all sorts of discarded scrap. He started to visit waste dumps of the factories. He collected there raw cement, broken pipes and other discarded matter. He created rapport with the truck drivers who carried and drop his debris at a vacant corner of the forest where now this unique creation stands. For twelve years he worked hard alone on this unique fantasy. After twelve years the work of Nek Chand noticed by Government. He was giving deserving patronage. An area of twelve acres was allotted for the extension of the original Rock Garden. Even funds were provided for carrying on the work.
Rose Garden
Next to city centre, in sector 16 is situated Zakir Hussein Rose Garden, which is Asia's largest Rose Garden and is spreaded over 30 acres of land having over 1600 different species or roses. These have been planted beautifully carved out lawns and flowers beds. Like the cultural zone which is just across the road in Sector 10, this was also planned by Dr. M.S. Randhawa as his interest in horticulture and fondness for flowers was profuse. Every year, either at the end of February or beginning of March, a big festival known as Rose Festival, is celebrated at this garden. Over 20,000 people visit this festival. Its one of the great celebrations in the city. There are lots of competitions, cultural celebrations and many other events.