It was one of the most beautiful sights: The only thing visible at first was a jetty lay enveloped in mist. As we walked around, the white haze began to move upwards to reveal a clean and calm lake with a lush green belt of trees surrounding it.
The Sukhna Lake was made by Le Corbusier, the architect of Chandigarh. This came about when he constructed a dam on what was called the Sukhna Choe, a rivulet that flowed here, thereby saving the water that flowed away from this seasonal body of water. The manmade lake which lies at the foothills of the Shivalik range is a major attraction and has visitors all through the day beginning with the health conscious doing their rounds of jogs and morning walk to curious tourists.
After a stroll near the lake, we boarded Chandigarh’s hop-on tourist coach. The coach specially made for tourists is an attraction by itself. This vehicle is a double decker bus with an open top. No sooner than the bus began moving, we were at our next destination: the famous Rock Garden.
The Rock Garden is a unique creation spread over 20 acres of land. The garden is made of figures of men and women, gods and goddesses and a number of birds, all made of industrial and urban waste.
This wonder garden was landscaped by Nek Chand who went about gathering stones resembling various living creatures and abstract forms and ended up collecting almost everything that was discarded from soft drink bottles, porcelain, burnt bricks and even locks of hair from barber shops.
Chandigarh is a treat for botanical enthusiasts because of the number of gardens and parks it is home to. Topping the list is the city’s Rose Garden. Spread over 27 acres of land, this garden has more than 17000 plants and over 1500 varieties of roses, the other parks are the Bougainvilla Park in Sector 3, Garden of fragrance in Sector 36, Botanical Garden in Sector 14, Topiary Park in Sector 35, Terraced Garden in Sector 33 and Garden of Annuals in Sector 44.
Another place that draws people in large numbers is Sector 17. This is the commercial area of Chandigarh, which is bustling with activity all the time. Sector 17 is also the biggest shopping complex in the city where you find everything from branded clothes and footwear to handicrafts and eatables and almost everything else.
Neatly divided into 50 sectors, Chandigarh is one of the most well planned cities in India. This city is one you can call a modern city in the true sense. Chandigarh was designed by French architect Le Corbusier and the city has its government offices, its gardens and shopping centres well placed. Each sector has its own schools and shopping facilities and is well connected to other by an efficient transport system.
Getting to Chandigarh: National Highway No. 22 and 21 pass through Chandigarh, making the city approachable from all major Indian towns. The Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT), which is located in the heart of the city, in Sector 17 is the hub of roadway transport.
