Chandigarh, known
as The City Beautiful,
nestles in the foothills
of Shivalik Hills (the first of
three parallel chains
of the Himalayas). It was
Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru’s Dream City of modern
India. The city was
named as Chandigarh.
This is the first planned
city of India.
At one time Punjab
became a state without a capital.
Though there was a
temporary secretariat at Simla
in Himachal, the political
leaders grew anxious.
A capital had to be
formed.
This responsibility
was given to the French architect
La Corbousier. With
the help of brother Pierre Jinert,
the English couple
Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew,
as well as a number
of Indian architects, Chandigarh,
the present capital,
came into being at the foot of
the Sivalik Hills,
running parallel to the Himalayas.
So, that’s how the
City came into existence in
1953. It is being
administrated by Central
Government of India,
but it serves as capital of
two states instead
of one, the state of Punjab
and state of Haryana.
Its a union territory.
The city got the name
Chandigarh from the name
of Shri Chandika,
the goddess of power, whose
temple is on the border
of Chandigarh. The temple
is known by the name
of ChandiMandir.
It is considered to
be an ancient site
and has a major religious
significance for Hindus.
