Chandigarh is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. However, the city does not belong to either state. Rather, the city is administered by the federal government and hence classified as union territory. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab alone in 1986, but the transfer has been delayed while agreement is reached on the districts of Punjab that should be transferred to Haryana in exchange. Chandigarh is also the name of this union territory.
Several buildings in Chandigarh were designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. Le Corbusier was in fact the official architect of the city, which was commissioned by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, to reflect the new nation’s modern outlook and to look towards the future.
Chandigarh is laid down in a grid pattern. The city is divided into sectors, each sector being roughly 1.5km x 1.5km. The sectors act as mini cities, each has its own markets, places of worship, schools and colleges. Interestingly, while the city has sectors ranging from 1 to 60 (and increasing) Chandigarh has no Sector 13. This is attributable to Le Corbusier’s belief that the number 13 is unlucky.
Sector 17 is the city’s heart and retail centre. It is a favourite haunt for the city inhabitants for an evening out and has many restaurants and hotels in addition to shops carrying virtually every Indian and foreign brand of goods.
Sector 35 is another restaurant and bar sector.
Leave a Reply