Museum and Art Gallery

This provides an interesting aspect on how Chandigarh was founded. It begins with the principles on which Chandigarh was built, selection of the Architects, the design for the people etc. The correspondence between the Punjabi officials overseeing the construction of the city, and the Federal Government in Delhi is fascinating, and well worth taking a few minutes to read. Close by is the Government Museum and Art Gallery as well as the Museum of Science and Natural History Museum.

The city houses the largest rose garden in Asia. It also hosts an annual rose festival which is quite popular among the local population.

You have to jump through some hoops to visit the Secretariat. First you need to find ‘Reception’, which is just a small building out the back, and show them your letter to get a visitor permit, then you need to see Security, who will let you in, then you need to see the main security officer inside, who will send you up to the Registrar, who will then send you back to the main security office. Thankfully you are escorted through most of this confusing, overly complex procedure, usually by a junior soldier with large machine gun. The whole process takes about 30 min to an hour. Once it’s all clear you can go up to the roof, check out the geranium gardens and take in an expansive view of all of Chandigarh. Then they will let you have a look out the front, which is more interesting.

In 1992, Nek Chand, a humble transport official, began to clear a little patch of jungle to make himself a small garden area. He set stones around the little clearing and before long had sculpted a few figures recycled from materials he found at hand. Gradually Nek Chand's creation developed and grew; before long it covered several acres and comprised hundreds of sculptures set in a series of interlinking courtyards. After his normal working day Chand worked at night, in total secrecy for fear of being discovered. When they did discover the garden, local government officials were thrown into turmoil. The creation was completely illegal, a development in a forbidden area. However, rather than demolishing the garden, they decided to give Nek Chand a salary so that he could concentrate full-time on his work, plus a workforce of fifty labourers.

Most of the capitol complex is fenced off due to tight security, the open hand is accessible and from there you can see the main buildings, albeit from a distance. If you want a closer look at the Capitol, you need to do a tour with the Tourist Center daily at 10AM, noon and 3PM—you need to be there 20 min before. Note the capitol and bureau are only open on M-F. This is one of 17 worldwide works by the architect Le Corbusier to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This is the Assembly for both Punjab and Haryana. It's easy to run out of time, so make sure you have a whole clear weekday to appreciate all the capitol buildings.