The Lifestyle Of Chandigarhians
The story behind the city of Chandigarh is not perhaps as old as that of the other major cities of the country. This has also been the reason for the uniqueness of the city and closely associated, the reason for the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the city, which again, is unique in many ways.

The city was conceived and designed after the independence of the country in 1947, to take over the role of capital city of the state of Punjab, which had lost its old capital to Pakistan, it being Lahore. As the people were quite sentimental about this loss, every effort was put into select the most appropriate territory and then to build it up to take over this role in the best possible manner, with the constraints of money, time and space.

Under the personal supervision of Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, the state went abroad to appoint a competent engineer to take up this challenging task and though one Mr Albert Meyer, an American engineer. He however could not complete his assignment due to the untimely death of his brilliant assistant Mr Nowicki. The incomplete task was thus given to the famous Frenchman Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, popularly called Le Corbusier.

It was his wisdom that made the most well planned city of the country and today, the city boasts of the lovely gardens, buildings and most well located amenities in the vast expanse, thanks to the manner in which the administration pursued the project of setting up of a city!

The Chill-factor
The people of Chandigarh have always been casual, leisurely and easy going. This however has now been replaced with a fast and busy lifestyle, which can probably be attributed to the growth the city has seen in the recent years. In general, today’s Chandigarhian is peaceful and friendly and also broad minded.

Thanks to the fact that the people are broadminded, the citizens here have not been weary of experimenting and this has made the city pretty famous for creating ripples in the field of fashion. The city is now known to be one of the trendsetters in fashion. This is also because of the very high percentage of college going crowd as well as youngsters of the IT and BPO companies in the area.

Some of the carnivals and festivals held here have also created an image for the people of the place. Like the Navarathri celebrations of Gujarat, Chandigarh is famous for the annual Chandigarh Carnival, which is a showcase of the talent of people of this area. This carnival as well as other such art exhibitions ensures that the residents as well as people from nearby get a chance to improve their talent and boost the same in the area.

No wonder, the city has been able to nurture the artists who still have been able to carry forward many of those beautiful art forms that they have inherited from their predecessors.

Geri- the traditional time – pass
What is also heartening is the fact that this one of the few cities of the country that can boast of a well run public administration with most of the state run offices and service centers notable well maintained and positive minded. Another uniqueness is the term ‘GERI’ which is the local colloquial term for moving around in the area.

This is a done thing for especially the young students who would go around the area when they get some free time, on a ride to many of the city colleges, to take a look at the crowd around.

Night Life
Though not known for a vibrant night life, the youth of the city frequent the outdoors, visiting eating joints hang around areas, cinemas and multiplexes and of course the lovely gardens that are scattered across the length and breadth of the city. These gardens make the city one of the most romantic city destinations anywhere in the country.

What is also interesting is the remarkable ease with which the elderly and the young have been able to adjust to each other. A city with a high number from both these categories, the different generations have gelled well and live with due respect for each others’ likes and dislikes!

Of late, with pubs and discos springing up slowly, there has been a slow shift for the young crowd, with late night parties and chill out sessions.

One of the reasons why the people are friendly, cheerful and fun loving is perhaps the proximity to Punjab, which usually boasts of its people being warm and friendly always. Whatever be the reason, the city can claim to be a very safe place with a healthy mix of the traditions and modern lifestyles.

With such a large number of youngsters in the city and wide, clean, well maintained and empty roads available all around, it is not too surprising that there is a high density of ownership of cars in the city. The craze for cars is also attributable to the fact that being a Union Territory, the city is rather cheap to own a car when compared to the other cities of the country.

The Car Craze
There are a great number of car pool arrangements and hire a car facilities existing in the city. Also noted is the great density of old vintage cars in the city. There are a number of car rallies that are organized in the city that attracts a very large number of participants most of whom are from the city itself. The recently organized SAARC rally is one of the city one of the well-publicized car event that happened in the city.

Also, with the large number of young executives enjoying cushy salaries, it is not surprising that the roads of Chandigarh witness the entry of most of the latest entrants of the dynamic Indian car market in a very short span of time. There are also a large number of car reviewers who are based at the city and that is not surprising in the context of the above situations existing in the city!