Being in Chandigarh is the most fashionable moment in life of any resident of Punjab. As youngsters, just by being in Chandigarh and doing meager things like “Ghedi” (Leisure travelling around sector markets and on Chandigarh roads) was the ‘IN’ thing and this tradition is being followed even by today’s youth.
I am a resident of Ambala and since time immemorial we had been travelling all the way, covering 65 Km, just to enjoy the city beautiful’s shopping malls and sector markets and is done till today. Driving around on the roads of this well planned city in India is indeed a treat. Not just renowned for its well planned and well laid out city, Chandigarh offers serene and green surroundings like Rose garden, Rock garden and Sukhna Lake.
This visit to Ambala/Chandigarh was not to the sophisticated, air-conditioned shopping malls but to a rare yet beautiful rock garden as I wanted my son to connect to the nature as well as have a gala time. What is so peculiar about this garden that we need to go there? Well the most fascinating thing about this garden is the up-cycled and recycled sculptures scattered in a very systematic fashion all around the garden.
Nek Chand was the creator of this garden and he creatively utilized materials from demolition sites to create these sculptures on this gorge near Sukhna Lake. Actually this masterpiece is his visualization if a fantasy kingdom. He had used bottles, bangles, ceramics, glasses, building waste etc to erect his army of dancers and musicians. Not to forget the herds of animal which was the center of attraction of our visit to the rock garden as my son was most fascinated by these creatures. Also to mention the picturesque yet man-made waterfall is a perfect picture spot in the garden. Capture some moments there and see the whole garden speak out the story of its creation.
Adjoining the rock garden is the most frequented spot of Chandigarh, Sukhna Lake. This artificial lake is located beautifully at the foothills of Shivaliks. When we reached there it was dusk and the lake was calm and cool. The setting sun and cool breeze simply awed me and my senses. I could feel my nerves relaxing after the strenuous walk in the Rock garden . And what awed my son were the boats in the lake and he wanted to ride one. We went for a boat ride and were lucky to get mesmerized by the sight of migratory birds lazing around. What a sight it was. One needs to be there to enjoy the exotic moment.
Modernity and calmness goes hand in hand for this capital city of Punjab and Haryana. This visit to Chandigarh made me believe that this city beautiful is a quintessence of best amalgamation of modernity and nature at its best.
