Chandigarh is a city, a metropolitan city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of the two neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. It is 195 km away from international border
Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the north, the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It is considered to be a part of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which includes Chandigarh, and the city of Panchkula (in Haryana) and cities of Kharar, New Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur (in Punjab). It is located 210 km (162 miles) north of New Delhi and 198 km (143 miles) southeast of Amritsar.
It was one of the early planned cities in post-independence India and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design.The master plan of the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, which transformed from earlier plans created by the Polish architect Maciej Nowicki and the American planner Albert Mayer. Most of the government buildings and housing in the city were designed by the Chandigarh Capital Project Team headed by Le Corbusier, Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry.Once Maxwell Fry, said that it will be called the “city of Empire “. In, 2015, an article published by BBC named Chandigarh as one of the few master-planned cities in the world to have succeeded in terms of combining monumental architecture, cultural growth, and modernisation.
Chandigarh's Capitol Complex was in July 2016 declared by UNESCO as World Heritage at the 40th session of World Heritage Conference held in Istanbul. Nearly 55% of monuments in Chandigarh are under UNESCO heritage. UNESCO inscription was under "The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier an outstanding contribution to the Modern Movement". The Capitol Complex buildings include the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab and Haryana Secretariat and Punjab and Haryana Assembly along with monuments Open hand, Martyrs Memorial, Geometric Hill and Tower of Shadow and the Rock Garden.
The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. The union territory has one of the highest Human Development Index.In 2015, a survey by LG Electronics ranked it as the happiest city in India over the happiness index.[14][15][16] The metropolitan area of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula collectively forms a Tricity, with a combined population of over 1,001,000.
The name Chandigarh is a compound of Chandi and Garh. Chandi refers to the Hindu goddess Chandi and Garh means fortress.[18] The name is derived from Chandi Mandir, an ancient temple devoted to the Hindu Goddess Chandi (Parvati) near the city in Panchkula District.[19]
The motif or sobriquet of "The City of Beauty" was derived from the City Beautiful movement that was a popular philosophy in North American urban planning during the 1890s and 1900s. Architect Albert Mayer, the initial planner of Chandigarh, lamented the American rejection of City Beautiful concepts and declared "We want to create a beautiful city..."[20] The phrase was used on as a logo in official publications in the 1970s and is now how the city describes itself.
Chandigarh was a new city constructed on the orders of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was divided into two provinces, East Punjab in India (mostly Sikhs and Hindus) and West Punjab in Pakistan (mostly Muslims).The Indian Punjab required a new capital because the former capital, Lahore, had become part of Pakistan after the partition.In 1949 the American planner and architect Albert Mayer was commissioned to design a new city to be called "Chandigarh". The government carved out Chandigarh from about fifty Puadhi-speaking villages in the then-state of East Punjab, India.Shimla was the temporary capital of East Punjab until Chandigarh was completed in 1960.
Every year, in September or October during the festival of Navratri, many associations and organisations hold a Ramlila event which has been conducted for over 50 years.
The Rose Festival in Zakir Hussain Rose Garden every February shows thousands of subspecies of roses.
The Mango Festival held during the monsoons, and other festivals are held at Sukhna Lake.
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