Hey all! Al here. We’ve got another wonderful guest post for you, this time from my Aunt Shashi! We’re so happy to have gotten to travel together. Without further ado, here is her recollection of our time in Chandigarh.
After 5 days in the busy & thrilling city life of Delhi and filling my lungs with its smog, it was a welcome relief to spend some time in the open clean spaces of Chandigarh. First, a bit of history about Chandigarh. It was designed by French architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. It was India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru's idea of a beautiful modern city. After India's partition in 1947, the state of Punjab was broken into west and east Punjab. Chandigarh would serve as capital to the new (eastern) Punjab and the state of Haryana. Also, it would resettle Indians who were uprooted from West Punjab. In contrast to Delhi, 2000 acres were set aside for parks/gardens. When taking an Uber around this city, it is impossible to miss these open green spaces, parks and gardens. One of my favorites was the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden. Spread over 30 acres, 50,000 rose bushes smile out at you, with 1600 different species, many of them labeled. When it first opened, it was known as Asia's largest.
I totally agree with Massi Shashi: the architecture of Chandigarh is amazing. We thought it was so great that Camille, Meera, my mom and I booked a tour with local architect Pamal. Little did we know that the tour was meant for fellow architects. That, and Jon Hamm, apparently.
We took a walking tour through the design of neighborhoods where people lived. We got to see a range of homes by size and affluence, a preschool in session with children, and a symmetric greenhouse at the center. It was so fun taking in the modern wonders and nerding out with our guide over urban planning.
My other favorite garden here is the Rock Garden. It was created by Nek Chand, a government official who began building it secretly in his spare time in 1957. When I walked into this garden, I was astounded to see broken pieces of materials reinvented into an artistic form. Broken glass bangles make up a flock of birds on a wall. An entire wall is made of broken pieces of plastic. Industrial and home waste has been thoughtfully recycled to become art and new structures in this vast garden maze.
Needless to say, the best part of our time here was TIME with family. We were overjoyed to spend time with dear Tutu and Satish, as well as their daughter, Prerna and husband, Rohit and their daughter Saher. We also got to visit with brother Vijay (missed Lily who was in Montreal with her new granddaughter). It was a special treat to celebrate some birthdays with everyone. Food as always was center-stage and we had some amazing meals together. Not surprised to learn that golf and club memberships are a thing here.
Noticed traffic in Chandigarh seemed more orderly for some reason. Definitely less chaotic than in Delhi, where red lights & lanes are more like a suggestion. No surprise to find out there’s a good reason - police enforcement of laws & tickets!
The city definitely felt like a big departure from the rest of the country. Upon entry, I remember feeling like I was transported back to San Diego. Chandigarh has a reputation in India for being really posh. So much so that a Punjabi rapper even boasted that he roams around Chandigarh like Obama.
Such a pleasure spending time with family. Their hospitality and generosity warmed our hearts & filled our bellies. Though we had to leave super early on the morning of departure, they still sent us off with homemade paranthas (delicately stuffed Indian bread). Loved every bite!
The homemade rotis were also amazing :)
Bonus! Delhi Part 2
We originally were meant to go to Shimla, but changed plans to spend more time with family, which was so so precious to us. We all were so relieved with this decision.
This change of plans afforded us a few more days in Delhi. This time around, we spent our time in New Delhi. Meera, Cam and I stayed near the Hauz Khas Village, and the rest of the family returned to the Ambassador.
These two days were a blur, but a restful one. Instead of seeing sights this time around we really just did things on a whim. This included my mom, auntie and cousins visiting the neighborhood where my great grandparents lived (where my mom was raised until she was five) and all of us exploring the hip Hauz Khas Village.
I planned a special treat for the last day of our family trip to India. Earlier, I had gotten dinner reservations at Indian Accent, the alleged number 1 restaurant in all of India. We all enjoyed their tasting menu and wine list, which has the most sublime expression of classic North and South Indian cuisine.
Over this exquisite meal, we took turns sharing our favorite memories from the trip, all of us expressing gratitude for our experiences and for our time together. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to three-to-six weeks of travel in this wonderful country.
For Meera, Cam and I, we had one last adventure. We went to a hip club called Sundown Social to meet a friend that I had made while in Bali. He just happened to be visiting home in India the time we were there, and it worked out perfectly that I got to say hello to my friend Sun. Maybe this meant we only got two hours of sleep, but it was well worth it.
To learn more about the history of Chandigarh, we recommend listening to this podcast episode!
Thanks so much Massi Shashi for the terrific post! It was such an pleasure to go on this adventure with you and Ria! Here’s to many more!