Nek Chand Rock Garden of Chandigarh




Back in the 1960s, when Le Corbusier, the famous French architect had designed and built his bold architectural master pieces for Chandigarh, another man of humble origin was creating his dream world secretly.
A road inspector in the Chandigarh administration, Nek Chand would work on his project after office hours well into the night from a tiny hut hidden in a thicket. For years he painstakingly collecting discarded building waste and curious shaped rocks from the distant Shiwalik hills and created the famous rock garden. Officially opened in 1972, the rock garden has expanded and grown over the years. Today it is visited by thousands of people every day and is described as the greatest artistic
achievement seen in India since the Taj Mahal.



Enclosed by a high wall made from discarded coal-tar drums, the rock garden is a fortress, which showcases Nek Chands dream world. The theme revolves around the simple elegance of village life in India and Nek Chand has depicted this by using thousands of sculptures made from waste material transformed into bizarre shapes. Broken tiles, discarded crockery, broken coloured bangles, bottle caps, pot shreds and waste building material, have been used with great ingenuity to depict people, animals, birds and mythological figures. The cobblestone paths and deep gorges with cascading streams and waterfalls lead the visitor from one scene to another which are full of metaphors and one can spend hours interpreting the scenes.




Nek Chand’s Rock Garden is a befitting monument for a modern planned city for it is not only a creative masterpiece but also has a world wide appeal. One only has to visit it to truly appreciate its beauty.