Rajnish Wattas’ Celebrating Chandigarh’s Treescapes: Symphony of Seasons is an attempt to educate people about various trees that dot the city

Sheetal

Making Chandigarh truly the City Beautiful in spring, trees in and around it play a vital role. So, listening to the call of season, Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi has organised a photo exhibition on the theme of Celebrating Chandigarh’s Treescapes: Symphony of Seasons. It presents nearly 40 of Chandigarh’s magnificent trees, capturing their beauty through the play of seasons.

It is photographed by architectural historian and critic Rajnish Wattas, who also is former principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture.

The exhibition is not just about how the trees add their own flavours into the overall vibe of the changing seasons but also an attempt to educate people about the importance of the trees in the city, making it no less than a live-able heaven in India. Along with the basic information about the trees, the exhibition also includes a compiled illustration of Le Corbusier and how he incorporated trees as an integral part of Chandigarh’s planning.

Rajnish, who feels that even though he isn’t a great art photographer, but he remains true to his passion and obsession for documenting and cherishing the architectural brilliance of Chandigarh. He adds, “While planning the city, even trees were given a place and display on the drawing board, which is rare. And that makes it the most unique modern city in the world. If truth be told Le Corbusier included landscaping as an integral part of its layout. In association with Dr M S Randhawa, an eminent civil servant and botanist, Corbusier prepared a detailed tree plantation scheme on open spaces and roads for shade, foliage and colour.”

Rajnish has co-authored two books Trees of Chandigarh and Sukhna — Sublime Lake of Chandigarh and co-edited Le Corbusier Rediscovered: Chandigarh and Beyond. His favourite place to visit in Chandigarh is Leisure Valley for it has the most variety of trees from Pine trees to jacarandas to white-pink blossoms of kachnars to seemul trees. And to know the whereabouts of these, one just needs to visit the exhibition at the Underpass connecting Sector 17 with Rose Garden.

On till May 10 from 11 am to 7 pm.