Chandigarh

Certainly, The City Beautiful!

Looking to get away from the hectic city life, try Chandigarh for a weekend or more. We did, and came back rejuvenated, a perfect blend of nature with modern city amenities, Chandigarh is a huge breath of fresh air

Text: Rozina Gaziyani  Photographs: Zeeshan Kara

A holiday in India would most probably mean going to some hill station, near or far. But no, not to a city! We do take Indian cities, for granted. Most of us do not even venture to visit any, except if it is for office work, or a family visit or a wedding or some such thing. A holiday in a city is not attractive option.
But I beg to differ. Particularly now, now that I have just returned from one. Just so happened that there was an invitation for UpperCrust from the JW Marriott to come visit Chandigarh. Sounded tempting. I accepted. Time we visited our own cities.

Oh my God, I came away most impressed. What a beautiful city, Chandigarh is. So clean, so green, so friendly, so well-planned, so comfortable, so liveable. A modern, urban society living a relaxed country life. The citizens of this city must feel blessed. It is even named after a temple called Chandi and is picturesquely located at the foothills of the Shivaliks.
The one fact about Chandigarh which has the unique distinction of being the capital of two neighbouring states, Punjab and Haryana, governed directly by the union government, is that everyone is aware it is India´s first planned city, designed in the 50s by Le Corbusier, the renowned French architect. What a legacy he has left behind. And with such strict instructions all summed up in an edict, which I recommend you read in totality on the internet.

Do you know that the architect banned statues being installed at any traffic roundabouts or parks in the city. Which means these roundabouts that the locals call golchakkars are simply manicured gardens, free of statues of random politicians looking down upon you, ruining the skyline. Talking of skylines, there are no high-rises in Chandigarh either. And the city is divided into 56 Sectors, number 13 not being in existence at all. A superstition we are familiar with. Even in Bingo, the lottery game, they spell it out, loud and clear, "...and now for the unlucky one, number 13!

Well, for all of Corbusier´s belief in bad luck, he has done a marvelous job. The city has grown and yet remains the same. So well-planned is it that there is no room for chaos. No traffic jams too, will you believe it!

And the city is full of parks and gardens and fortunately Corbusier´s instructions are being followed to the day. Read what his edict states: "The landscaping of this city is based on careful observation of the vegetation of India. Selected ornamental trees, shrubs and climbers have been planted according to colour schemes to beautify it. In future planting and replacements, these principles must be kept in view. There should be no haphazard replacements, so that the avenues retain their harmony and beauty." It is remarkable that its denizens look after their beloved city with great zeal, maintaining the character bestowed upon it more than six decades ago.

Chandigarh incidentally is home to Asia´s largest Rose Garden. Named after India´s former president, Zakir Hussain, the garden is spread over 30 acres of land with over 16 thousand different species of roses.

It would be impossible to write an article on Chandigarh and not talk about its unique Rock Garden. I was left speechless as I wandered in this unbelievably creative space. The creator of this rock garden, Nek Chand was a Road Inspector in the Engineering Department of the Chandigarh Capital Project. He roamed the Shivalik foothills and picked up stones resembling birds, animals, human and abstract forms. He brought them on his bicycle to a hut which he had built by the side of a stream. The first seven years (1958-65) he spent collecting natural material, urban and industrial waste. Gradually his collection mounted to a staggering 20 thousand rock forms of amazing beauty. These were deposited around the hut from where he also proceeded to build the Rock Garden. Since the site where Rock Garden stands today was also used as a dumping ground for urban, industrial and metal waste, Nek Chand picked up random stuff and shaped them with his creative genius into human, animal or abstract forms. These are the very pieces which are now innovatively displayed as sculptures in the garden.

Also on display are shapes sculptured by using a variety of discarded materials such as frame, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, pieces of state, burnt bricks and even hair recovered from barber shops. Nek Chand salvaged from demolished structures; waste from lime kilns, discarded street lights, electrical fittings, broken sanitaryware and crockery, and fruitfully recycled and used it all in his creative pursuit. If for nothing else, a trip to Chandigarh is necessary just to visit this amazing Rock Garden, especially with children. Would be so educative, entertaining and inspiring for them.

There is much else you can do in this lovely city. There is the tranquil Sukhna lake, the elixir of Chandigarh, that you can visit. We made it there for the sunrise and I can´t tell you how exhilarating it was. It´s a popular place to hang out, with a walking path, a cafeteria, shops, a mini amusement park and paddle boats. The lake, incidentally, has Asia´s longest water channel for rowing and yachting.

We also visited Sector 17, which is for shopping and came back with bags full of kurtis, scarves and handicraft adorning phulkari, the local embroidery of the state. You could easily spend an entire evening walking down the no-car street with shops on either sides with everything you can think of. The best global brands jostle for space with local handicrafts, footwear, jewellery and more.  

But no trip to Punjab would be complete without a day out in heartland! And that is exactly what JW Marriott had planned for us. We got into tractors and drove past mustard and sugarcane fields to an open space where we first witnessed the making of jaggery and later ate with gusto the hearty lunch which was laid out. Starting with a tumbler of freshly churned lassi and ending with the defining dish of pastoral Punjab; sarson ka saag with makke di roti, we couldn´t have asked for more. Except of course Gajrela. Which is what we rounded off with. The ubiquitous gajar ka halwa with finely grated carrots flavoured with cardamom and sprinkled with dryfruits and nuts put us in a mood to head straight back to Marriott and sleep it off!

Last but not the least, we spent a day at Marriott soaking in the luxury the property offers. The breakfast spread at The Café @JW is perfect. It is not overwhelming while offering you regional as well as international options. Lunch at Saffron, the Indian fine dining restaurant turned out to be a good experience. With flavours and aroma of the North-West Frontier region with a delectable fare in true Punjabi spirit. The menu is extensive, but worth trying are the Doodhiya Barra Kebab, Lehsuni Mahi Tikka, Mushroom aur Chilgoze ki Galouti, Tari Wala Kukkad, Nalli Nihari, Raan-e-Sikandari and Paneer Lababdar.
Later in the evening I headed for Quan, their award winning spa for a relaxing treatment. I must say the masseuse was good; well-trained and efficient. Post massage, the sauna did the trick and I was ready to face the world.

Which means I was at 35Brewhouse, their in-house microbrewery, savouring a unique hand-crafted beer, along with the rest of the fun team!