Chandigarh (otherwise Chandigar; Hindi चंडीगढ़; V.-Panj. ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ; English Chandigarh) is a city in northern India (about 240 km north of Delhi), the capital of two states - Punjab and Haryana. At the same time, Chandigarh is not administratively part of these states, but has the status of a union territory administered directly from New Delhi.

Internationally renowned for its architecture, Chandigarh is one of India's post-Independence cities, entirely in a new location (1953). The author of the city project is the famous French architect Le Corbusier.

The name "Chandigarh" translates as "Chandi Fort". The name is borrowed from the Chandi Mandir temple, which is located 12 km from the city and is dedicated to the Indian goddess Chandi. In some cases, Chandigarh is referred to as the "City of Beauty".

Geography
Chandigarh is located at the foot of the Sivalik mountain range belonging to the Himalayan massif in northern India. Its area is approximately 114 km². In the east, Chandigarh borders with the state of Haryana, in the north - with the state of Punjab. The western part of the city is considered the capital of Punjab, the eastern part is considered the capital of Haryana. Not far from its northern outskirts is the border of the state of Himachal Pradesh.
The exact cartographic coordinates of Chandigarh: 30°44′ s. sh. and 76°47′ E. e. Height above sea level - 304-365 meters, hilly slope 1%.

Adjacent to Chandigarh are the cities of Mohali, Patiala and Rupar in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana.
It has a humid subtropical climate characterized by a seasonal rhythm: very hot summers, mild cool winters, intermittent rainfall and large temperature ranges: from +1 °C to +16 °C in winter and from +19 °C to +39 °C in summer (sometimes up to +44°C). In winter, frost (down to -1 ° C) sometimes occurs in December and January. Occasional winter rains from the west also come here. The average annual rainfall is 1110.7 mm.

History
When British India was divided into India and Pakistan in 1947, Punjab was also divided between these states in accordance with the religious composition of its population - areas inhabited mainly by Muslims went to Pakistan, Sikhs and Hindus to India. The newly formed Indian state of Punjab needed a new capital, instead of the former, the city of Lahore, which was ceded to Pakistan as a result of separation. After various possibilities were weighed to adapt any of the existing cities for this purpose, partially reconstructing it, it was decided to build a new capital in a new place.

Of all the large urban development projects existing at that time in India, the Chandigarh project quickly gained the importance of the main one - both because of the strategic location of the future city, and because of the personal interest of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. This project was his initiative and was intended to reflect the new national perspective of the development of a country that has embarked on the path of progress. Nehru solemnly announced that the new capital of Chandigarh, "signifying freedom from the backward traditions of the past, will become a symbol of national faith in the future."
The first to be approached for the project were the Americans - the firm of Albert Mayer, engaged in urban development, and the architect Matej Nowicki, a Pole by origin, who was to develop the architecture of the city center. An initial master plan was developed. Later, at the end of 1950, the project was handed over to the French architect Le Corbusier. According to his designs and drawings, in 1952-1956, Chandigarh was generally built. Its intensive development did not stop in the subsequent time, up to the present day.

In November 1966, the new Indian state of Haryana was formed from the eastern part of the Punjab - with the aim of creating a Hindi-speaking majority state - while the western part of the Punjab, with a Punjabi-speaking majority, remained (and remains to this day) state of Punjab. The city of Chandigarh turned out to be located on the border of the states and began to serve as the capital for both of them - both for Punjab and for Haryana. At the same time, in the interests of this task, it was transformed into the United Territory, with the subordination of New Delhi.

Architecture and urban planning
The city of Chandigarh was built in 1951-1956 according to the project of the famous master of architecture Le Corbusier, with the active participation of foreign and Indian architects working in the same team.

The original layout of the city was prepared by the Americans - Albert Mayer and Matthew Novitsky. Le Corbusier retained the general idea of ​​the plan, but added a lot of his own to it. A new place was proposed for the city - on a plain at the foot of the Himalayas, between two rivers, among the greenery of eucalyptus and bamboo groves. The plan of the city consisted of 47 sectors, the size of each sector was 800 mx 1200 m. Each of them represented - theoretically - an independent entity, with a place to live, work and leisure. They are essentially self-sustaining towns, each with its own schools, colleges, temples, marketplace, all within a 10-minute walk, within sector boundaries. Transport arteries are differentiated according to their purpose: the system of main highways is combined with lower level access roads and scenic landscaped footpaths within the sectors. The complex of administrative buildings, the Capitol (Sector No. 1), is moved outside the city and forms an independent architectural ensemble.
A green area 16 kilometers wide was envisaged around the city. This green ring, which limited the spread of the suburbs outside the city limits, was to ensure that no new construction would take place in the immediate vicinity of the city. Leaving much of the architecture of the city to other members of his team, Corbusier took responsibility for the overall master plan, as well as for the execution of projects for some public buildings, including the Palace of Justice (High Court), the Assembly (Parliament), the Secretariat, related to the Capitol complexand the Museum and Art Gallery. The building of the Art School and the Yacht Club at Sukhna Lake are also attributed to his authorship. The principles of modern architecture Corbusier managed to organically combine here with some traditional techniques of Indian architecture - such as, for example, openwork jali sun-protection grilles on the facades of buildings. These buildings, made in mighty sculptural forms, where ultra-modernism is combined with a peculiarly interpreted exotic in the national spirit, are perhaps the most impressive of all that can be seen here. Here Le Corbusier succeeded in a very interesting and constructive, and not only decorative, combination of the rationalism inherent in modern architecture with elements of national Indian architecture.

Most other structures are residential buildings, colleges, hotels, university, intercity bus terminal - designed by Pierre Jeanneret (cousin of Le Corbusier) together with the British, husband and wife Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, with the participation of a group of nine Indian architects - M. N. Sharma, A. A. Prabhavalkar, B. P. Mathur, Pilu Moody, U. E. Чаудхари, Н. С. Ламба, Дж. Л. Мальхотра, Дж. С. Десе и Адитья Пракаsh.

During the life of Le Corbusier, 30 urban sectors were laid and built (by now there are already 57 of them). The construction of the basic urban infrastructure was completed in the 1950s and early 1960s.
As a unique experience in urban planning and architecture, Chandigarh, just built (official opening - 1953), became the object of close attention from architects, sociologists and architectural critics around the world, and the assessment of this experience was not always positive. Nevertheless, today Chandigarh is considered one of the most beautiful, clean and comfortable cities in India.

Cultural life
Chandigarh is a city of people of different cultures, languages, a lot of people of various creative professions, there are many different artistic movements. Artistic actions take place almost daily. The city has several art galleries (including the National Gallery of Portraits), museums (eg the Museum of the City, the Museum of Evolution, the Museum of Fine Arts at the Punjab University, the International Puppet Museum), theaters - such as the Theater. Tagore Theatre, Rock garden Open Theatre, several cinemas. There is also a wide variety of opportunities for sports - there are specially equipped gyms, swimming pools, golf courses, etc. for this.
In addition to traditional religious and national holidays, there are holidays and festivals celebrated only by the inhabitants of Chandigarh. Among them:

The Garden Festival is a three-day holiday in the last week of February, also included in the national holiday calendar. The content of the holiday is the performance of music and dances, both classical and national, flower exhibitions and shows, children's events, various kinds of entertainment.

Baisakhi is the first day of the new year in the traditional Vikrami calendar, celebrating the wheat harvest. This is the main holiday for Sikhs because it is Khalsa foundation day. Since Chandigarh is the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana, on this day there are festivities organized by both state governments and the United Time Government for all residents of Chandigarh.

Tii Ying is a traditional holiday in the first week of August, which is celebrated mainly by women. His arena is the Rocky Garden, with its swings and pavilions, and the whole day is, in essence, a big picnic with songs and dances, with the purchase of new jewelry, with hand painting (c) mehndi.

The December Chrysanthemum Show is held in the Flower Terraces Park in sector No. 33, where visitors can admire a colorful carpet of chrysanthemums, hundreds of different varieties.

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