Chandigarh is the best-planned city in India, with architecture which is world-renowned, and a quality of life, which is unparalleled. As the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh it is a prestigious city. The face of modern India, Chandigarh, is the manifestation of a dream that Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru envisaged and Le Corbusier executed.
Serenity and a city are two diametrically opposite concepts, which however, get belied in the 'City Beautiful'. Chandigarh is a rare epitome of modernization co-existing with nature's preservation. It is here that the trees and plants are as much a part of the construction plans as the buildings and the roads. India’s first planned city, is a rich, prosperous, spic and span, green city rightly called “ THE CITY BEAUTIFUL ”.
Chandigarh History
In this article, we will provide you with the Chandigarh history that will give you useful piece of information on the origin of Chandigarh, India. Prior to the partition of India, Lahore was the capital city of undivided Punjab. But, after the partition, when Lahore went to Pakistan, India was left without any capital. Also, it led to the migration of people of west Punjab to the eastern towns within India. These two factors gave rise to the need to choose a site in the foothills of Shivalik range that would serve as the capital of Punjab. Read on to know more about the origin and history of Chandigarh…
A committee was set up to choose a suitable site, keeping in mind various factors like military vulnerability, drinking water, climatic conditions etc. Finally, a site was selected, but that was in the shape of farms. The city got its name from Chandi, the Goddess of power and Garh meaning fortress. After the site was finalized, a master plan for the city was prepared by an American team (Mayor, Whittleslay, Glass & Nowicki). The project faced a setback with the sudden demise of Nowicki. It was then that the other teammates refused to work on the project.
The committee was again handed over the task of finding a team for completion of the project. In the year 1951, the well-known French architect, named Le Corbusier, took the charge of giving the city a modern look. He further appointed a team, who worked under his supervision and guidance. The team decided to work in two phases. While designing the city, factors like pollution, traffic, travel and tourism and other environmental aspects were borne in mind. This is how Chandigarh turned into a well-planned capital city of Punjab, India.
In this section, we will provide you with Chandigarh travel guide that will brief you on the tourism in Chandigarh. If you are planning to travel to Chandigarh, then this Chandigarh city guide will help you a great deal in exploring this beautiful city. Having a world-class architecture, the city is considered to be the best planned city of our country.
The quality of life in Chandigarh has absolutely no match. The union territory of Chandigarh, India serves as the capital city of the twin states of Punjab and Haryana. The credit for the awesome designing of the city goes to a French architect named Le Corbusier. The city has been named after mother Chandi, the goddess of power. It is in the dedication of the Goddess Chandi that Chandi mandir was set up.
The city is known for its beautiful gardens, especially the rose garden. There is a unique garden in Chandigarh named rock garden, which showcases exquisite artwork made by using industrial and urban wastes like porcelain, forks, metal wires, play marbles, auto parts & broken bangles etc. There are lot of places to explore in and around Chandigarh like Sukhna Lake (manmade), Leisure Valley, City Center, Museum of evolution of life, city museum, Bougainvillea Park, Gurdwara Nada Sahib, Mansa Devi Shrine and many more.