More Chandigarh

This is a continued entry from the previous one - So we went to the Capitol Complexl Corbusier's big master piece of his designs for the government buildings - the Secretariat, The Assembly, and the High Court. I must say I was really surprised and really disappointed. The buildings of the capitol complex are of course well designed, but the sighting of them is not great at all. I had read that the scale of the plazas was much too big, and it was, but I didn't feel that this was even the main problem. They are so far apart and there isn’t a clear line of sight between them. And especially it seems there was little thought as to the entry vistas by the road. There is no visual impact until you are directly in front and you can’t really see the buildings unless you go through the police guards. I think the view of the capitol complex is much better in Gandhinagar. There is a main road leading to it with a big linear garden in the median which lines with the center of the capitol buildings and seems to make a much better vista. If Corbusier was so concerned with his buildings, I am surprised he didn't take more care to make them more highly visible. The idea of democracy is quite strong in India, but the kind of 'hiding' the government buildings gives it even more a sense of being inaccessible to the people.


After we had a snack at Sukhna Lake; it was nice to see so many people enjoying the area. The landscaping of the city is really pretty; there are lots of big old mango trees. I really didn’t expect to like Chandigarh at all, because I knew Gandhinagar was based off of it’s plan, and I don’t like Gandhinagar. But Chandigarh was different; it had a lot more of the vibrancy that Gandhinagar lacks. There are all these parks and gardens – a rose garden, Bougain Villa garden…We drove around the campus of the big university there. Actually after seeing Chandigarh, I think you can't really compare Gandhinagar and Chandigarh at all; the similarities are only in the physical planning of sectors and roads. There are so many other factors that have contributed to the unique development of each city. For example, Gandhinagar is so close to Ahmedabad that it is really just a satellite town, while Chandigarh has developed into a major hub of it's region and people come from all around to shop. Also Chandigarh has many more tourist attractions than Gandhinagar. The population of Chandigarh is quite affluent; I have never seen so many cars in an Indian city. However, Gandhinagar's population is mostly lower income groups so they don't have the buying power that Chandigarh has. And the Punjabis are so proud of this city! Proud of the design, the cleanliness, the many plants. When you talk to someone in Gandhinagar, no one likes it, most people seem to prefer to live in Ahmedabad. Overall it was really interesting to finally see this city that I had read so much about! It was really a pleasant surprise!

Then went to one of the oldest sectors in the city to see the housing there. I think the housing doesn’t look sad and drab like it does in Gandhinagar, and people have little gardens with potted plants in front. Even the community commercial areas seem nicer and it looks like there’s a lot less empty, open space like in Gandhinagar.

When we went back to Harpreet’s house, his mom’s sister and her daughter were there. They live close enough that they come almost every day. They have both lived in Australia for awhile, and his aunt took me us in her car for a drive around Mohali. Then we came back and had an awesome Punjabi dinner. The paratha were great! I can see why Harpreet only likes Punjabi food – but he says he only likes it if it’s “oily, rich, and spicy.”