World Town Planning Day-2021-Keep City Beautiful as it is…..

World Town Planning Day-2021-Keep City Beautiful as it is…..

Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh

As we observe World Town Planning Day 2021 on 8^th November, every North Indian will surely be reminded of Chandigarh. Talking of a planned town and not thinking about the city beautiful is like a lion that eats leaves.

Born and brought up in Chandigarh, I have forever admired its creator Le Corbusier for gifting us a city where every road is at its right place. The beautiful roads of Chandigarh without much traffic and lots of greenery around it literally transform it into a true Heaven on the Earth. Le Corbusier has conceived it in a way that it has a strong resemblance to the human body. The Capitol Complex, Sector 1 forms the head even in a true manner. It is the administrative head of the city which consists mainly of the State Assemblies, the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the State secretariats which truly makes it the brain behind the running of the state’s government. As we progress downwards towards the heart- Sector 17, the heart forms the most pleasant sector of the city which is no less than any modern-day’s mall. And, then we have the roads and pathways of the city which make up the circulatory system of the same. As we talk about this resemblance, let’s see the city’s gardens. Despite the fact that the city has gardens scattered all over, the lungs of the city are the part which has a lot of gardens. So, having mentioned gardens already, let us head towards them.

Every sector of Chandigarh has either a garden or a park or at times, both, as I myself discovered while penning down my coffee-table book titled’ Gardens of Chandigarh.’ Every garden of Chandigarh has a special name denoted to it and almost every garden stands true to its name, like the Rose Garden, famous for its roses, and the Garden of Annuals, known for having plants that grow all year round. These gardens and parks have made the city beautiful a paradise for people loving to go for walks.

Despite the fact that Chandigarh, being a new city built after Independence has no historical buildings, it will not let down tourists visiting it. It has the simple and elegant Sukhna Lake, walking around which, will give a true taste of India all thanks to the street vendors around the lake which add vibrant colour to this wonder. The City Beautiful also welcomes tourists with another beautiful creation of man, the Rock Garden. Built by a government official namely Nek Chand, this garden consists of various statues that will leave the visitors stunned. The surprise is heightened by the fact that all these sculptures are made as best out of the waste.

Another thing which will interest all the readers is that the roundabouts of the city have interesting names denoted to them. The most famous roundabout, the Matka Chowk is named after the large earthen jar (Matka) located just at its centre. The famous Labour Chowk derives its name from the daily wage workers who sit there in a bid to get some work.  The Attawa Chowk (near Sector 42’s Attawa Village) and the Transport Chowk (near the transport area in Chandigarh) are some more examples of this.

As I pen down these interesting features of Chandigarh, I am filled with immense pride in being a person from Chandigarh. The city of peace is truly a heaven for the people. It is also a city where everyone likes to live, as proved by a recent study conducted by a UK-based firm. I hope that our city beautiful remains as it is – the flourishing, clean and green city.

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Views expressed are personal of the writer