Location: Sector 1                                      Photo gallery

Some go the extent of calling it the finest architectural monument of modern times after the Great Taj Mahal. This may sound a bit exaggerated to many, but ask those who have been to the Rock Garden of Chandigarh and all of them would bear testimony to the fact that it is not-at-all an ‘exaggerated’ comment. A visit to this monumental work of art is a delight, an experience in itself and one cannot help but sing praises of the man who conceived, constructed and gave us this amazing garden. The man is called Nek Chand, or rather Padmashree Nek Chand.

The Man behind it…
Nek Chand, a road inspector in the Engineering Deptt. of Chandigarh Capital Project, is credited with the distinction of being the man who built this empire of beautiful structures made out of waste materials. He used things as unusual as kitchen sinks, tiles, broken bangles and industrial waste to erect this epitome of unsurpassed beauty.
His effort has culminated into such a scenario that many people bow their heads upon seeing him and he has been awarded a long list of international awards, included the Rolex Award For Enterprise (1990), Padmashree (1994) and the ‘Great Model of Burmeal’ title by France, all because of this garden. Yet, his modesty and simplicity is an example for the generations to come!

The Toil behind it….
 A hut by the side of a stream served as the workshop in the initial years as the project had no backing of the authorities. Actually, to state a fact, the whole idea was illegal.
He chose a gorge in a nearby forest area to build a little unusual garden, an area that had been designated as land conservancy; a forest buffer established in 1902 that nothing could be built on.
Roaming around the Shivaliks for the first seven years, Nek Chand started collecting different rocks, quaintly-shaped stones among other little things that could be used in sculptures. Slowly and gradually, the number of these stones grew and he ended up with a collection of more than twenty thousand rock forms and stones of amazing beauty. He also salvaged a variety of debris from demolished structures (as the whole city was under construction at that time!), waste from lime kilns, discarded street lights, electrical fittings, broken sanitary ware, crockery etc.
He started building the garden and gradually, a variety of discarded materials such as frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, crowns of soft drink bottles, porcelain, auto parts, broken bangles, pieces of slate, burnt bricks and even human hair recovered from barbers’ shop found their way into the sculptures of humans, rabbits, dogs, and many other amazingly artistic structures.
After getting sanction and recognition from the authorities, with the government’s help, Chand was able to set up collection centers around the city for the so-called waste, especially rags and broken ceramics.

The trying times
The first hurdle came in the year 1975. By the time the authorities discovered the garden in 1975 (yes, he managed to hide it for 18 long years!); it had grown into a twelve acre full fledged work of art.  
His work was in serious danger of being demolished and he was himself in the danger of being prosecuted.
But with public opinion on his side, he was able to come through the crisis and in 1976 the park was formally inaugurated as a public space.
Nek Chand was given a salary, designated as “Sub-Divisional Engineer, Rock Garden”, and a workforce of 50 laborers so that he could concentrate full-time on his work.
Another hurdle that showed up was when Chand left the country on a lecture tour in the year 1996, the city authorities suddenly withdrew the funding, and vandals and anti-social elements attacked the park.
At such times,  The Rock Garden Society took over the administration and monoitored the upkeep of the one of the world’s biggest visions of life itself, an artistic expression par excellence.

The Geography
Located between the Capitol Complex and Sukhna Lake in Sector 1 of Chandigarh, it is nestled amidst 20 acres of woods in the form of an open air exhibition hall. It is, without doubt, a tourist spot that is a must on the itinerary of every visitor to Chandigarh.

The garden itself- A kingdom!
 Rock Garden has fourteen different chambers that makes it a make believe kingdom of sorts. The chambers include structures like the forecourt that houses natural rock-formations, a royal poet’s chamber and a musician’s chamber complete with a royal pond and a little hut. The King’s Durbar has the throne, natural stone forms depicting gods and goddesses, a private swimming pool for the queen, etc. etc.
Another part of the garden comprises the grand palace complex, several minars, water falls, an open air theatre, a village, mountains, over bridges, pavilions and the traditional areas for royal pleasures. The strikingly beautiful tree-and-root sculpture offers a powerful counterpoint to the existing vegetation.
The open air theatre and a vast pavilion with a centre stage are the other highlights of the Rock Garden apart from the corridor with the mirrors that make you look like a camel, a tortoise and even a dog! Here, art and culture blend with the rustic, wild and exotic environs of the garden.
The Teej Festival has a unique place in the garden’s scheme of things. Rock Garden assumes a festive look, holds a special attraction for tourists during the festival as young maidens and beautiful damsels take part in the fun and frolic by swaying on the giant swings, by adorning their hands with traditional Mehandi amidst the sound of joyful songs and dances.
 Another feature of the garden is that you might be pleasantly surprised anytime! The unassuming, charming, down to earth artist Nek Chand himself, in flesh and blood, could be in front of you or supervising his ‘kingdom’, and at times even improving the enigma called Rock Garden.

An inspiration….
The visit to the garden, which found itself on an Indian Postal Stamp way back in 1983, leaves you awestruck by the sheer beauty of imagination that has gone behind the project. The very fact that it is all made of the so-called waste gives birth to the thought that ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’. It is a gem in the crown of the City Beautiful and has a message too. The message is loud and clear but we will still spell it out here, it is - ‘Concrete jungles, industries and mechanical lives are not responsible for the lack of beauty in life, all we lack is the vision, a vision similar to that of the great man, Nek Chand!’