Architecture and History

 

 

 

• Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru, was planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier.

 

• The city was planned by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, assisted by Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, and several Indian architects and town planners. Construction began in the early 1950s, and most of the city was completed in the early 1960s.

 

• Inspired by classical Rome, he conceived of the city as a human body with a head, torso and limbs. The Capitol Complex in the north was the head, the middle was the city centre, the limbs the industrial area. Beyond the Capitol are the Shivalik hills and then the snow-topped Himalayas.

 

• An American Firm, M/s. Mayer, Whittlessay and Glass was commissioned in 1950 to prepare the Master Plan for the new City. Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki evolved a fan shaped Master Plan and worked out conceptual sketches of the super block. The super block was designed as a self –sufficient neighborhood units placed along the curvilinear roads and comprised of cluster type housing, markets and centrally located open spaces.

 

• Novicki was tragically killed in an air accident hence, the work was assigned to a team of architects led by Charles Eduard Jeanneret better known as Le Corbusier in 1951.

 

• He was assisted by three senior architects, Maxwell Fry, his wife Jane B Drew and Corbusier’s cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. These senior architects were supported by a team of young Indian architect and planner consisting of M.N. Sharma, A. R. Prabhawalkar, U.E. Chowdhary, J.S. Dethe, B.P. Mathur, Aditya Prakash, N.S. Lanbha and others.

 

• The Master Plan was developed by Le Corbusier who also designed the Capital Complex and established the architectural control & design of the main building of the city. The design of housing for Govt. employees, schools, shopping centers, hospitals were disturbed among the three senior architects.

 

• Pierre Jeanneret who ultimately became the Chief Architect and Town Planning Adviser to Govt. of Punjab returned to Switzerland in 1965. M.N. Sharma took over from Pierre Jeanneret as the first Indian Chief Architect of the Project and after the reorganization of the State of Punjab in 1966 and the establishment of Union Territory, Chandigarh, he was appointed as Administrative Secretary of the Department of Architecture in the Chandigarh Administration.

 

 

 

History

 

 

• 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 Govt. of Punjab appointed a Committee in 1948 under the Chairmanship of P.L Verma, Chief Engineer to assess and evaluate the existing towns in the State for setting up the proposed capital of Punjab.

 

• The present site was selected in 1948 taking into account various attributes such as its Central location in the state, proximity to the national capital & availability of sufficient water supply, fertile of soil, gradient of land for natural drainage, beautiful site with the panorama of blue hills as backdrop & moderate climate.

 

 

 

Demographic Location

 

 

• The Union Territory of Chandigarh is located in the foothills of the Shivalik hill ranges in the north, which form a part of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. It is occupied by Kandi (Bhabhar) in the north east and Sirowal (Tarai) and alluvial plains in the remaining part.

 

• The subsurface formation comprises of beds of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, clays and some kankar. The area is drained by two seasonal rivulets viz. Sukhna Choe in the east and Patiala-Ki-Rao Choe in the west.

 

• The central part forms a surface water divide and has two minor streams. The stream passing through the central part is called N-Choe and the other is Choe Nala.

 

• The land is very fertile and rich to grow crops.

 

 

 

 

 

People, Rituals and Language

 

 

• English is Chandigarh's sole official  language.

 

• The majority of the population speak Hindi (73.60%) while 22.03% speak Punjabi. Government schools use textbooks from English, Hindi, and Punjabi.

 

 

 

Season and Climate

 

 

• Chandigarh falls under Koeppen's CWG category. It has cold dry winter, hot summer and sub tropical monsoon. Evaporation usually exceeds precipitation and the weather is generally dry.

 

• The area experiences four seasons:

 

• Summer or hot season (mid-March to Mid-June)
• Rainy season (late-June to mid-September)
• Post monsoon autumn/transition season (mid September to mid-November)
• Winter (mid November to mid-March).

 

• The dry spell of summer is long but with the occasional drizzles or thunder storms.

 

• May and June are the hottest months of the year. Southwest monsoons with high intensity showers commence in late June.

 

• The weather at this time is hot and humid. The variation in annual rainfall on year to year basis is appreciable i.e. 700 mm to 1200 mm.

 

• January is the coldest month with  minimum temperatures dropping to freezing cold.

 

• Winds are generally light and blow from northwest to southeast direction with exception of easterly to southeasterly winds that blow on some days during the summer season.

 

 

 

 

Culture and Education

 

 

 

• The vibrant culture of Chandigarh is influenced by the neighboring states mainly Haryana and Punjab followed by Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

 

• There are numerous temples, mosques, shrines, and Bhawan located throughout the city where one can easily participate in any type of religious activity.

 

• Dusshera Festival – Dusshera Festival is celebrated in a big way with burning of effigies of Ravan, Kumbkaran, and Meghnath at a number of places in the city.

 

• Chandigarh Carnival – Chandigarh carnival is a three-day event held in the second week of November. It is a time when students in the city show their talents and have fun.

 

• Chandigarh celebrates several festivals that are uniquely their own.

 

• Festival of Gardens – The festival of gardens also called as Rose Festival is a three-day festival organized in the last week of February when the rose plants in the garden.

 

• Basant Panchami – Basant Panchami is a very popular seasonal fair and marks the arrival of the spring season. The yellow mustard in the fields brings a gorgeous golden yellow glow to the area. Kite flying is a popular event during the occasion.

 

• Baisakhi – Baisakhi is a harvest festival and celebrated with great pomp in Chandigarh. This is the time when farmers gather their harvest after a year-long hard work, so they celebrate it with full enthusiasm.

 

• While Chandigarh is majorly occupied by Sikh Jat who is mostly agriculturist. Khatris and Aroras are also two major communities in the city.

 

• Western outfits are the most popular among youngsters they like to wear jeans, skirts, tops, and t-shirts rather than traditional dresses.

 

• Traditionally dress for women of Chandigarh is Kurta Salwar, Patiala suits are also very common in the region. Saris are worn very less as compared to other parts of India, only on special occasions, do people like to flaunt expensive saris.

 

• Among men, the traditional dress is kurta-Pajama and Punjabi Dhoti and Kurta, but men in Chandigarh are seen wearing pant shirt or t-shirt.

 

• Punjabi juti is also traditional footwear in Chandigarh and is called the footwear queen.

 

• Jewelry – The design of jewelry and the motifs carved on them have sun, moon and various god and goddess images engraved, but after the arrival of Muslims they replace them with floral motifs.

 

• Phulkari Work – Chandigarh folk artwork has beautiful phulkaris which have colorful embroidery and knitting, Phulkaris whole cloth is covered with close embroidery. While it is a custom for parents to give hand-embroidered clothes to girls in their marriage.

 

• Other art and crafts that are common are Handfans, Needlework, Weaving of Durries, Plastering the walls, Woodwork, and Pottery.

 

• Punjabi Food is very popular, and when it comes to Chandigarh cuisine it comprises only Punjabi food. The staple of Chandigarh food is tandoori roti, naan, and parathas served with Dal Makhani, Chicken curry, or Butter Chicken.

 

• The people of this region eat lot of butter in food sweet butter milk. While Makki di Roti and Sarson ka saag is a popular dish in Punjab,

 

• Among these top food soya chap, Pav Bhaji, Amritsari Kulcha, Channa Bhatura, Cheese Naan with gravy, and Kadai Paneer are very famous.

 

 

 

 

Famous Spots

 

 

 

Chandigarh is one of the modern, youngest, and most systematic cities in India.

 

Famous places for tourism in Chandigarh are:

 

• Rock Garden – The Unique garden consists of various art objects made by using industrial waste.
• Sukhna Lake – This beautiful lake is in the foothills of the Shivalik range and serves as a famous tourist spot in Chandigarh.
• Rose Garden – Zakir Hussain Rose Garden is 30 acres of park with over 50,000 rose bushes and a must-place to visit in Chandigarh.
• Government Museum and Art Gallery
• ChattBir Zoo
• Fateh Burj
• International Dolls Museum

 

 

Aqua, Flora and Fauna

 

 

 

Flora of Chandigarh

 

 

• Several kinds  of trees, herbs, shrubs, grasses and climber plants are found in the natural area of Chandigarh.

 

• The most prominent flora entities that you will find here include: Khair, Kikar, Phulai, Raeru, Chhal, Shisham, Semal, Neem, Dhak, Amla, Kachnar, Tut, Kendu, Jhingan, Kari patta, Amaltas, Musket, Bana or nirgundi, Ber, Karaunda, Moonj, Vasaka, Rati, Giloe, etc.

 

 

Fauna of Chandigarh

 

 

The Sukna Wildlife Sanctuary is home for several species of animals.

 

Mammals:

 

The mammals found in the Sukna Wildlife Sanctuary include: Sambar, Pangolin or ant eater, Chittal or spotted deer, jackal, wild boar, small Indian civet, porcupine, jungle cat, rhesus monkey, hanuman langur, Common Mongoose, Indian hare, squirrel, common rat.

 

Birds:

 

• There are numerous variety of birds found in the Sukna Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

• It also includes all kinds of aquatic birds. Some major birds found here include: common myna, bee-eater, hill myna, bulbul, jungle crow, tree pie, black drongo, grebes, ducks, swan, geese, hawks, coots, plovers, jacanas, doves, parrots, barn owls, rollers, woodpeckers, barbets, hornbills, hoopoes, swifts, kingfisher, golden oriole, night jars, cuckoos, grey partridge, red jungle fowl and peacock.

 

Reptiles: 

 

Some of the reptiles that roam in the sand and soil of Sukhna Lake are turtle, Russell’s viper, Common Krate, Rat Snake, Cobra, Common Monitor Gho and Indian Python.

 

Insects:

 

Insect species like moths, butterflies, honey-bees are found in the Sukna Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

 

Forests in Chandigarh

 

 

• There are also several gardens situated in the city which promotes flora and fauna.

 

• 3245 hectares of land is covered under forest in Chandigarh. There are two national forest reserves located in Chandigarh. They are Kansal and Nepli Reserve.

 

• The hilly topography and the pleasant climate are very conducive to support thick and woody forests. The Kansal and Nepli forest reserves are home to many rare and endangered species.

 

• Some common animals found  during camping in the adjacent lush green cover include antelopes, neelgais, jackals, jahares, hyenas and leopards. The forest department organizes treks and excursions in the forest reserves.