CHANDIGARH-A PLANNED CITY. Review on Chandigarh

I like this City because it is so well planned and beautiful that you want to go there again and again.Most of the Couples go there for their Honeymoons and that make the city more romantic and beautuful ,full of love and excitment.Chandigarh was created to fulfill the need of a permanent capital of Punjab and Haryana, although Shimla was a temporary headquarters in those times. Chandigarh, the capital of both Punjab and Haryana, is the first Indian city to have been designed and planned by a single architect - Le Cobusier. The city, a model of wide roads and spacious residential colonies, is an excellent base for specialized sightseeing. The white domed temple of Goddess Chandi Devi that stands on the slope of a hill, situated in the north-east of Chandigarh, on the edge of the Shivalik hills, is from where the city obtains its name Chandigarh. From here one can travel northwards to the hill resorts of Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Dharamshala and Dalhousie. Chandigarh is not only the most modern city in the country but has been planned to perfection by the world famous French architect le Cobusier.

The Punjabi language has its origins in the Indo-European family of languages, which also included Persian and Latin. A land of ethnic and religious diversity, it is the birthplace of Sikhism.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Air: Well connected with Delhi, Jammu, Srinagar and Leh.

Rail: Well connected with major towns.

Road: Chandigarh is well connected with roads from --

Amritsar- 240 km Kullu- 279 km

Dehradun- 230 km Bhakra- 116 km

Delhi- 248 kmKasauli- 77 km

Shimla- 117 kmJammu- 380 km

ARCHITECTURE OF CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh is a grand success story in the annals of modern architecture. It combines architectural elegance with wide tree lined avenues and green belts. In 1951 the world renowned Architect, Le Corbousier developed the city plan and designed the capital complex. The idea of vertical planning was ruled out and it was decided to build the city horizontally. The master plan divides the city into rectangular modules called sectors, each one measuring 800 meters X 1200 meters with a population varying from 5000 to 20,000. Each sector is provided with a shopping complex, school, health centre, places of recreation and places of worship. Chandigarh has 47 sectors except for sector number 13.

PLACES OF INTEREST

The Secretariat-- The Secretariat is the largest building in the Capitol Complex and is the headquarters of both the Punjab and Haryana governments. It is one of the Capitol buildings and houses all the ministries. The Secretariat and Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) buildings are in Sector 1.

Zakir Hussain Rose Garden -- Zakir Gulab Baag is Asia's largest Rose garden, spread out over 30 acres of land, in sector 16. Established in 1967, today around 50,000 Rose trees of 1600 different species bloom here. Apart from roses, the other trees planted have medicinal value and some unique specimen trees were planted to enhance the beauty of the garden. The garden is located next to the city centre.

Rock Garden -- The Rock Garden of Chandigarh has been created by putting together the fossils of ancient life forms found in the Shivalik hills and by recycled waste material. Its creator, Nek Chand, was an inspector in the engineering department. Rock fossils have been arranged into an open air sculpture exhibition. Some of the sculptures include a wall made out of discarded fluorescent tubes, an army of clay monkeys and broken chinaware soldiers and shapes of women made out of discarded glass bangles. The garden covers an area of 6 acres.

In summers, it is open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and again from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. From October to March it is open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. and 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Sukhna Lake -- Another tourist attraction in Chandigarh is the Sukhna Lake spread over an area of 3 sq. km in sector 6. The waters of a seasonal rivulet that ran through the city were impounded to create the Sukhna Lake. Migratory birds arrive here from Siberia during the winter. A love for the lake draws many volunteers to desilt it just before the monsoon rains set in. While the lake promenade is a place for peace and tranquillity, the area just at the entrance has been developed for children to enjoy themselves.

Govt. Museum & Art Gallery & Punjab University Complex -- Located in sector 14, the parks and pools around the university building have enhanced the feel of the whole area. The Punjab University was founded in 1882 at Lahore. After partition and initial dislocation, the University shifted to Chandigarh in 1956. It is as famous for it's landscaping as for its architectural.

Leisure Valley -- During the monsoon, there runs a natural storm-water channel through the middle of the city, locally called a nullah. The nullah, along with the adjoining land has been converted into what is called the leisure valley. Starting from the foot of the hills to the west of the Capitol Complex, the leisure valley extends into sector 3 and crosses over into sector 10. The leisure valley is spread over 6 km and in accordance with the plan no vehicular traffic interrupts a pedestrian taking a walk in the park.

Pinjore Gardens- 25 km -- Located a short distance from Chandigarh, on the Pinjore-Kalka road is the Pinjore Yadvindra Gardens. This is a traditional Mogul style garden, created in the 17th century by Nawab Fidal Khan, architect to the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb. These gardens were developed along a slope with a central channel of water in which fountains were placed at regular intervals. On either side of the channel are spacious walkways with shady trees and a carpet of green grass. Pinjore Garden is a favorite picnic spot for the citizens of Chandigarh. It is open on all days and accommodation is available at Rang Mahal and Sheesh Mahal.

The Assembly & High Court

International Doll Museum

National Gallery of Portraits.

EXCURSIONS:

Bhima Devi Temple- 22 km

Chattbir Zoo- 22 km

Mansa Mandir / Chandi Mandir- 10 km

Bhakra Nangal- 116 km

Ponta Sahib- 135 km

Naina Devi- 110 km

Thus I can say that at least visit there once in life to fulfil your dream of seeing the heaven on earth.Privileged by nature and the dynamism of its people, Punjab is a land of rivers, fertile soils and steady achievement. With its inimitable style of transforming every potential opportunity into a success story, the state was the first to translate agricultural technology into the "green revolution", recording highest growth rate in food production. From a minor producer it emerged a major rice surplus state. Providing the impetus for the "White revolution", during Operation Flood, it was Punjab that recorded the highest per capita availability of milk. Really India is the land of beautiful cities.