Travel Guide Chandigarh

Chandigarh is the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Completely designed by the famous Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1953, it is organized in sectors, like a large, rational and functional housing estate. It is a must-see for lovers of architecture and urban planning. But it won't fix the image of a colorful India in your retinas.In 1947, the partition of India tore Punjab apart, and Lahore, until then its capital, fell to Pakistan. Nehru decided to turn his back on the past and commissioned the construction of a new, more central city. The site was chosen for its proximity to the Shivaliks and its fertile soil watered by two rivers. The project was originally entrusted to Albert Meyer and Matthew Nowicky, but the latter's death forced Meyer to abandon the project. He was succeeded by Le Corbusier, who modified the plans. The new town was inaugurated in 1953 and finally completed in 1956. Ten years later, the Hindi-speaking regions of Punjab split off to create the state of Haryana. With neither state willing to cede the capital, Chandigarh was transformed into a Union Territory governed directly by the central administration, while the government and assembly of Punjab and Haryana sat there. Alcohol and petrol are tax-free, and petrol stations and wine shops dot the city's outskirts.