How the second most visited tourist attraction in India was created from garbage
Most of the guests come to India to get acquainted with its ancient temples, picturesque forts and magnificent palaces, and their centuries-old history gives them peculiar charm. But there is an amazing ‘new-build’ that leaves a lasting impression on visitors.
A miracle made from waste - the famous Rock Garden by the self-taught sculptor Nek Chand from Chandigarh - that he started secretly from the authorities in the mid–twentieth century and that was at first in danger of being demolished, spreads over an area of 40 hectares. Today, it is visited by over 5 thousand guests daily, - a little less than the world famous Taj Mahal. Moreover, replicas of the Garden began to appear around the world, so that the creation of a modest official, who collected garbage at night and decorated the wasteland with his works, could well surpass the magnificent mausoleum by its beauty.
Hobby turned into a Fairyland
Nek Chand was born in 1924 into a peasant family in the Chandigarh district of Punjab, which is now located in Pakistan. As a child, he loved the stories told by his mother about kings and queens and beautiful kingdoms. He played in the nearby forest, built forts of stones and branches and inhabited them with clay men decorated with broken bracelets and colored shreds and patches found in the market.
In 1947, after the division of the country, adult Nek and his family crossed the border with India and settled in Chandigarh, which at that time was actively lined with buildings designed by a French architect Le Corbusier. Nek Chand got a job as a road inspector, but in his heart, he always dreamed of being an artist. And every evening after work, instead of going home, he went by bicycle to a deserted forest near Lake Sukhna, where any economic activity was prohibited.
it's worth noting that to build Chandigarh, several villages were demolished by bulldozers and there were piles of debris. Nek Chand cleared part of the forest and built a hut, making it his headquarters. He collected bottles, broken tiles, sanitary porcelain, electrical plugs and bicycle frames, old lamps and other scrap from dumps. When enough materials were accumulated, he began to create kings and queens, dancers, musicians, snake charmers, animals and birds made from waste.
Over 18 years, he managed to build his magic kingdom out of the public eye. His secret was discovered by the authorities in 1975, the illegal garden was in danger of being demolished, but he was able to get public opinion on his side to defend his unordinary creation. Nek was allowed to continue pursuing his unusual hobby, he was appointed a road inspector, a salary was set for him and 50 workers were allocated. With their help, Nek was able to create his own wonderland in three decades using the natural lay of the land. Today, the garden is decorated with deep gorges, waterfalls, arches and streams, there is a giant swing and an amphitheater, a model of a traditional Punjabi village with a puppet exhibition and a small museum dedicated to the creator of all this grandeur.
In 1984, the modest road inspector was honored with the highest civilian state award of India for his selfless work - the Order of Padma Shri, two years earlier a postage stamp was issued, on which the sculptor is depicted at work. He died on June 12, 2015, and since then his son, Anuj Saini and the Nek Chand Foundation have been taking care of the garden.
If you just knew from what scrap...
Yes, indeed, the Rock Garden by Nek Chand, which even leading experts now - without turning an eyelash - call ‘a fine work of art’, was created from construction waste, fragments of rejects, home waste and discarded items. But this was done with such individual touch about it and love that the thought of a dump does not even come to mind when you visit it. All these countless figures of beauties in bright sarees from bracelets, watchmen - chokidars - and athletes, herds of various animals - horses, camels, elephants, wolves, dogs, deer, and flocks of birds - ducks, peacocks and parrots please the eye and keep up spirits of both adults and children.
Not only Indian, but also foreign visitors to the unique park were extremely fond of the sculptures decorating the Garden and made in a naive style. Therefore, recently, a small Rock Garden was opened at the Museum of Naive and Marginal Art in Belgrade; negotiations on the creation of similar expositions are underway with several European open-air exhibitions. Some works have already been displayed in the Museum of American Folk Art in New York and the National Children's Museum in Washington.
And in the near future, by the order of the local authorities, a full replica of the Nek Chand’s creation will decorate Raj Bhawan - a government complex in the very center of Chandigarh. This is an extremely honorable place - the city is also the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana, and has the status of a union territory controlled directly by New Delhi. Everything in the new garden, as in the original one, will be completely made from industrial, household waste and discarded items.
A new ring
The same forest should breathe a new life into a charming fairy garden, which, by the decision of the local authorities, will soon be planted between the garden and Lake Sukhna, where there is practically no green or gardens. In the thematic forest ‘Oriental Horoscope’, fruit trees will grow - mainly cherries, walnuts, as well as precious sandalwood. Soon, there will appear a bird park and a waterfall over 30 meters high. It is noteworthy that anyone can plant a tree in the Forest corresponding to his or her sign of the zodiac.
Public enthusiasts, including foreign ones, follow the trend. Last May, it was announced that at least one million dollars were allocated for the restoration, completion of some projects envisaged by the founder of the Garden, and its preservation. “There is no city like Chandigarh around the world, no place like Rock Garden and no personality like Nek,” said John Meyzels, trustee of the Nek Chand Foundation, who had been a friend of the extraordinary Indian dreamer since 1977, who made his dreams - full of inspiration - come true.
