Chandigarh’s Rock Garden loses its creator
Nek Chand’s Rock Garden has been the driving force for Chandigarh since decades. It was his creativity that lasted for a lifetime. No doubt, Rock Garden is one of the most iconic tourist attractions in India and all its credit goes to none other than its creator Nek Chand Saini. Unfortunately, Nek Chand bids adieu to this world on Friday at the age of 90. He was admitted to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research following complaint of chest pain, where he breathed his last on late Thursday night.
Born on December 15, 1924, Nek Chand was a self-taught artist. He hailed from Shakargarh region (now in Pakistan) and his family moved to Chandigarh in 1947 after partition. In 1951, he started working as a Road Inspector for the Public Works Department (PWD). In his spare time, Chand began collecting waste materials from demolition sites around the city. He recycled these materials into his own vision of the divine kingdom of Sukrani, choosing a gorge in a forest near Sukhna Lake for his work. Chand’s work was illegal, but amazingly he was able to hide it for 18 long years before it was discovered by the authorities in 1975. By this time, it had grown into a 13-acre complex of interlinked courtyards, each filled with tons of pottery covered concrete sculptures of dancers, musicians, and animals. Made from recycled materials, Chand builds up the mass with a cement and sand mix before adding a final coating of smoothly burnished pure cement combined with waste materials such as broken glass, bangles, crockery, mosaic and iron foundry slag.
As it was illegally constructed, his work was in serious danger of being demolished, but he was able to get public opinion on his side. In 1986, the park was inaugurated as a public space. Nek Chand was then given a title (‘Sub-Divisional Engineer, Rock Garden’), a salary and a workforce of 50 labourers so that he could concentrate full-time on his work. He was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 1984.
A part of Chandigarh has died today – he has given a lot to the city and because of Rock Garden, his name has been written in the history books. He will be remembered for his work and contributions throughout his life.
His body will be kept in the Rock Garden today to enable people to pay their last respects. The cremation is expected to take place on Saturday.
May his soul rest in peace!
Nek Chand
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