Chandigarh

Famous as ‘The City Beautiful’, Chandigarh is the first planned city of India. Designed by French architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret also known as Le Corbusier, it is the only city that serves as capital for two states – Punjab and Haryana.

Renowned across the world, the city stands as a symbol of planned urbanisation. Chandigarh is also famous for its gardens like the Rose Garden and the Rock Garden. Contrary to popular perception of cities being noisy, Chandigarh is calm and peaceful.

Chandigarh has a dense cover of greenery. Forests which provide sanctuary for various animal species surround the city. Sukhna Lake is the home to a variety of birds including migratory ones.

Chandigarh has given India some of the best sportsmen in hockey, wrestling, cricket and other sports. There are some well-equipped Sports Complexes in Chandigarh run by the Chandigarh Administration. A 12 km track was made in 1999 for hosting the Bicycle Safari. Bicycle events are conducted on this track on regular basis. The Punjab Cricket Association stadium at Mohali, at the outskirts of Chandigarh is an international cricket stadium. The Chandigarh Golf Open Championship is one of the most prestigious golfing events in the country.

History

Chandigarh is named after Goddess Chandi. Along with the partition of India in 1947, Punjab was also split and its administrative centre Lahore became a part of Pakistan. After several plans to make additions to existing cities were found to be impractical, the decision to build a new and planned city was undertaken.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s interest in showcasing the country as a modern and a progressive society, he commissioned French architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, also known as Le Corbusier, to design the city. In 1951, Le Corbusier began the work of designing the city. This town was free from the clutches and old traditions of people. Thus it became easy to develop Chandigarh as a city with modern infrastructure and amenities.

The master plan divided the city into rectangular modules called sectors for population varying from 5000 to 20,000. Each sector was provided with a shopping complex, school, health centre, places of leisure and places of worship.

On November 1966 when Haryana was formed, Chandigarh was turned into a union territory to serve as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

Culture

Various exhibitions and workshops are conducted in Chandigarh to showcase the talent of people. Hindi and Punjabi are the two main languages that are spoken here. However, among the youth it is usually a combination of English and Hindi that is becoming increasingly popular.

It is a city, where you can find delicious food. Authentic Punjabi food like butter chicken, punjabi laccha parathas, chicken tikka and lassi are served at its best in Chandigarh.

Various museums like The Evolution of Life Museum, the City Museum, International Dolls Museum, etc. are situated in Chandigarh.

Shopping

The main shopping centre of Chandigarh is Sector 17 has plenty of handicraft emporiums. However, nothing specific to the Chandigarh tradition can be found there. In fact it is an assortment of handicrafts and handlooms from the neighboring states. Nonetheless juttis (Punjabi footwear) and Punjabi dupattas can be worth taking home.

Where to stay

Various types of hotels are available in Chandigarh for stay depending on your budget. Luxury 5-star hotels are available for Rs 10000-Rs 18000. Budget hotels can cost around Rs 400- Rs 800. A lot of mid-range hotels are also available. Many of them have tie-ups with tour operators who provide various offers and discounts.

Where to eat

International fast food joints like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc. have outlets in Chandigarh. This city is also famous for serving exceptionally delicious ‘Indian Chinese’. South Indian, Italian, Continental and Thai cuisines are also served at various restaurants.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit Chandigarh is the period between mid August and November.