Chandigarhians have evolved a culture of their own
Reeta Sharma

I fell in love with Chandigarh in 1973, when my family shifted here. Everything about Chandigarh was fascinating. It was the first time in my life that I enjoyed the rains: I didn’t have to remain imprisoned in the four walls of my home, as was the case when I lived in Ambala, Jalandhar and Amritsar. There was no stagnant, stinking water on the roads to schools, colleges or offices. Even the street in front of my house provided me an unforgettable scene, when for the first time I witnessed raindrops dancing on the sparkling jet-black road.

The captivating ornamental trees carefully planted on both sides of the roads of Chandigarh were the next to catch my attention. I would walk miles together on these roads looking at these trees, as if in a trance. If one road was full of the splendour of yellow amaltas, the other would be adorned with either silver oak or golden oak. In the burning hot months of May-June, gulmohar would soothe my eyes and soul. Be it the blooming purple jacaranda or the baby pink laurgestia or the thick grove of mango trees or full bloom of pink and white kachnar or the bewitching burning hot red ‘jungle fire’, Chandigarh was laden with the most majestic trees. Although many butchers of environment have slaughtered a number of the trees which I had seen in 1973 yet the city continues to remain under a divine green cover.

Another thing that fascinated me about Chandigarh in 1973 was the smooth traffic on velvety roads. I never had a bumpy ride on my bike. In 30 years, the velvety Chandigarh roads have been burdened with population as well as vehicle explosion. Chandigarh today is the city with the largest number of vehicles in Asia. The expansion of Chandigarh and the different treatment given to the southern sectors as compared to the northern ones has affected the beauty of the city. Yet, the ill-maintained roads of the southern sectors are still better than those of any other town in Punjab or Haryana. Thankfully, they are at least neither congested nor burdened with blind turns as in most of the old towns in the country.

I have yet to see any other part of India where the police has made massive and consistent efforts to make people aware of traffic rules as in Chandigarh. The Chandigarh Police (speaking from my stay of 30 years in the city) has been successful to a great extent in inculcating traffic and road sense in the majority of the Chandigarhians. By and large, you will not find people jumping red lights, overtaking, changing the lanes in a wild manner or driving in a rash manner. But this is not to say that there are no traffic violators. On the whole, you will witness a certain discipline on Chandigarh roads, which is completely missing in Punjab, Haryana and dozens of other states. The only exception in matters of traffic sanity is Mumbai. I love Chandigarh because till date I can still enjoy driving on its roads, despite too many vehicles giving me company.

I find Chandigarh so livable because it has given me a number of opportunities for personal growth. Be it theatre or sports or classical music and dance, Chandigarh always had something to offer. In fact with the years, the offerings have increased manifold. The city offers the latest sports facilities to our youth. No wonder, Chandigarh has produced a number of national and international sports champions like Kapil Dev, Yuvraj, Chetan Sharma, Kanwal Thakur Singh, Abhinav Bindra, Irina Brar and Chiranjeev Milkha Singh.

The most essential part of our lives revolves around academics. Chandigarh once again has to be admired as an enviable centre of education. Despite its small size, it has hundreds of government and private schools and nearly a dozen colleges, including a medical college and an engineering college. In addition, there is the prestigious Panjab University, which has carved a special niche for itself in academics, both nationally and internationally. Recently, the university earned a feather in its cap by introducing a postgraduate course in environmental science. Chandigarh is also host to the Institute of Microbial Technology and Museum of Art.

Chandigarh’s professional colleges like Arts College, Home Science College, College of Architecture, College of Education, and Technical Teachers’ Training Institute have produced many well-known professionals.

Chandigarh also has the prestigious Centre for Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO). This organisation is known both nationally and internationally. The academic culture of Chandigarh not only adds to its beauty but also earns the respect of 10 lakh people who live in this city and the ones who arrive here to study and learn professional skills.

I love Chandigarh for it provides me satisfactory medical care. The kind of hi- tech specialties that the PGI offers, one can only thank one’s stars to have been lucky enough to be living in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh can legitimately be called the ‘city of gardens’ too. Besides the famous Rock Garden and Rose Garden, over the years it has added Shanti Kunj, Fragrance Garden, Terrace Garden, Botanical Garden, Hibiscus, Bougainvillea Garden, the unique Leisure Valley and the newly set up Nature Park to its wealth of scenic beauty. I can say with pride that there is no other city in the country which can boast of so many gardens, so well maintained. Even Bangalore, which is called the ‘City of Gardens’ and the coastal areas which are lined with endless palm trees can only be dubbed poor cousins of Chandigarh. In addition to its gardens, Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake is yet another beautiful spot that is visited every day by thousands of residents. The Asian rowing championships are held at the lake.

Outsiders, who obviously are oblivious to these rich facets of Chandigarh, often tend to pass rash judgment on this rather enviable and beautiful city. In the process, they hurt the sentiments of lakhs of Chandigarhians who love their city. The most offensive criticism speaks of "Chandigarh having no culture." Chandigarh, in fact, has a very rich culture, be it related to environment, academics, sports, performing arts, professional training or other avenues. These outsiders often tend to be totally insensitive to a whole generation that has been born and brought up in Chandigarh in the past 50 years. These Chandigarhians have evolved their own culture.