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 ”.

Le Corbusier, the planner of the conceived the Master Plan of Chandigarh as analogous to a human body with a clearly defined Head (Capital Complex), Heart (City Centre), Lungs (Leisure Valley and Gardens), the Limbs (Cultural and Educational Institutions) and the Circulatory System (7 Vs). The conception of the City has been formulated on the basis of four major functions: Living, Working, Care of the Body and Spirit and Circulation.

The leisure valley, gardens, sector greens, forests and trees of Chandigarh are the lungs of the city.

LEISURE VALLEY

A continuum of various theme gardens to take care of the body and spirit of the city. Le Corbusier retained the eroded valley of a seasonal rivulet on the original site of the City and sculptured it into a Linear park now over 8km long .It starts from Sector 1 in the north and leaves Chandigarh at its southern most edge in sector 53.

RAJENDRA PARK, Sector 1

The Leisure Valley starts from the Rajendra Park. The park is a vast stretch of land of about 400 acres abutting the Secretariat building on its eastern side. Le Corbusier himself designed the landscape scheme of this park .Trees with round canopies and evergreen foliage have been planted here. It was started in 1954 and is used for long walks, learning to drive and horse riding.

BOUGAINVILLEA GARDEN, Sector-3

It spreads over an area of 20 acres. The natural choe running through the valley starts from here. The garden is devoted to hundreds of varieties of bougainvillea. A few flowering trees have also been planted to give colourful effect during the intervening period of bougainvillea flowering time. It was opened in 1976.

FITNESS TRAILS, Sector 10

The Physical Fitness Trails have been developed with a view to enjoying physical exercises amidst the beauty of Nature. It is an ideal place for long walks and physical workouts.

To the south of Fitness Trails is located the Flower Garden where seasonal flowers have been planted in one portion and the remaining portion is punctuated with sculptures by renowned artists. Some area has been left vacant for organizing various cultural activities.

ROSE GARDEN, Sector 16

Named after India’s former President Dr. Zakir Hussain, the garden was established in 1967 under the guidance of Chandigarh’s first Chief Commissioner, Late Dr. M.S. Randhawa.

The largest Rose Garden in Asia, is spread over an area of 27 acres and has more than 17000 plants representing some 1600 varieties of roses. Along with the roses, emphasis was also given to the trees of medicinal value and some unique species of trees to enhance the beauty of the garden. The annual “Festival of Gardens” is organized in the Rose Garden in the month of February and is listed in the “National Calendar of Events”.

SHANTI KUNJ, Sector16

Shanti Kunj is situated between Rose Garden and Cricket in Sector 16. This is a completely noise-free area with natural undulations. The natural stream running through this garden divides the park into five areas. The five parts of the garden depict different kinds of trees such as medicinal plants, vertical shaped trees, flowering trees, trees for shade and environmentally suitable areas.

CHILDREN TRAFFIC PARK, Sector 23

The area of Leisure Valley in Sector 23 has been developed into a Children’s Traffic Park. The roads have been constructed and traffic lights have been installed in miniature form. This park is meant for children who are learning to cycle and designed to reach them the rules of road safety.

HIBISCUS GARDEN, Sector 36

It covers an area of 8 acres and about 40 different varieties of Hibiscus shrubs have been planted to provide colour throughout the year.

GARDEN OF FRAGRANCE, Sector 36

Situated to the south of the Hibiscus Garden, it is very popular for different varieties of aromatic and fragrant plants. The flower plants like Raat ki Rani, Motia, varieties of Jasmine, Demask Rose, Mehndi, Champa, Haar Shingar and many others cast a pervading aroma in this part of the Leisure Valley. 
 

History of Chandigarh

August 15, 1947, the day of independence of India was also the day of division of a nation into India and Pakistan, this was also the day of division of State of Punjab (Punj+Aab) named so for being the land of five rivers being divided into two states West Punjab gone in Pakistan with retaining Lahore as its capital and East Punjab in India became a state without a capital. Shimla which used to be the summer capital of India and had the infrastructure was selected as the temporary capital of Punjab.

The Government of Punjab selected brilliant young engineer Mr. P.L. Verma to undertake the tasks of search for a permanent Capital City for the State of Punjab.

At that time the Punjabis were very nostalgic about Lahore. Till the last moment they hoped that Lahore would remain with India. The loss was felt acutely and people were eager for a city similar to Lahore be built. So Verma and his team of engineers savoured the concept of a larger independent town, when most of the bureaucrats and politicians favoured the concept of a small settlement attached to one of the existing towns. Bureaucrats were conscious of the acute shortage of funds and the very small financial outlay for Punjab. Each politician was eager that this capital be built in the area from where he came. All politicians were trying to pull the capital towards their own constituency.

Under such circumstances Mr. Verma had to lobby intensively with the bureaucrats and the politicians. And it was essentially an account of his dedicated and relentless efforts and lobbying that this idea of a large independent town was finally accepted by Government of Punjab.

Selection of Site

After investigating a no. of sites, the team of engineers & bureaucrats headed by Mr. P.L. Verma, selected the existing site of Chandigarh which met almost all the requirements for a new city.

The area was a flat, gently sloping plain of agricultural land dotted with groves of mango trees which marked the sites of 24 villages or hamlets -- one of which was named Chandigarh on account of its temple dedicated to the goddess.

The general ground level of the site ranges from 305 to 366 meters with a 1 per cent grade giving adequate drainage. To the northeast are the foothills of the Himalayas -- the Shivalik Range -- rising abruptly to about 1524 meters and a dramatic natural backdrop. One seasonal stream, the Patiali ki Rao, lies on the western side of the city and another, the Sukhna Choe, on the eastern side. A third, smaller seasonal stream flows through the very center of Chandigarh. The area along this stream bed has been turned into a series of public gardens called the Leisure Valley.

And finally in March, 1948, the Government of Punjab in consultation with the Government of India, approved a 114.59 sq. km tract of land at the foot of the Shivalik Hills in Ropar district as the site of the new capital. An existing village gave its name (Chandi - Goddess of Power + garh - fortress) to the new city.

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the First prime minister of India was also quite intimately involved with the Chandigarh project.

Pandit Nehru immediately took the final decision and on his visit to the project site on April 2, 1952, said," The site chosen is free from the existing encumbrances of old towns and old traditions. Let it be the first expression of our creative genius flowing on our newly earned freedom.-----Let it be a new town symbolic of the freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past and expression of the nation's faith in the future.---The new capital of Punjab will be christened as Chandigarh - a name symbolic of the valiant spirit of the Punjabis. Chandigarh is rightly associated with the name of Goddess Chandi -- Shakti, or power."

Courtesy: Chandigarh Tourism