Chandigarh & Shimla

Chandigarh

 Chandigarh (Hindi: ) is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city.It is occasionally referred to as The City Beautiful. As the first planned city of India, Chandigarh is known internationally for its architecture and urban planning. Chandigarh is home to numerous architectural projects of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer.

History
After the partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was also split between India and Pakistan. The Indian state of Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partition. After several plans to make additions to existing cities were found to be unfeasible for various reasons, the decision to construct a new and planned city was undertaken. Of all the new town schemes in independent India, the Chandigarh project quickly assumed prime significance, because of the city's strategic location as well as the personal interest of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. Commissioned by Nehru to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook, Chandigarh was designed by the French (born Swiss) architect and urban planner, Le Corbusier, in the 1950s. Le Corbusier was in fact the second architect of the city, after the initial master plan was prepared by the American architect-planner Albert Mayer who was working with the Polish-born architect Matthew Nowicki On 1 November 1966, the newly-formed Indian state of Haryana was carved out of the eastern portion of the Punjab, in order to create Haryana as a majority Hindispeaking state (with a Hindu majority), while the western portion of Punjab retained a mostly Punjabi language-speaking majority (with a Sikh majority) and remained as the current day federated state of Punjab. However, the city of Chandigarh was on the border, and was thus created into a union territory to serve as capital of both these states.

Geography and climate

Chandigarh is located near the foothills of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas in northwest India. It covers an area of approximately 44.5 sq mi or 114 km. and shares its borders with the states of Haryana in the east and Punjab in the north, west and south. The exact cartographic coordinates of Chandigarh are 30.74N 76.79E It has an average elevation of 321 metres (1053 ft). ChandigarhClimate chart 7Average max. and min. temperatures in CPrecipitation totals in mmSource: World Weather Information ServiceImperial conversion The surrounding districts are of Mohali, Patiala and Roopnagar in Punjab and Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana. The boundary of the state of Himachal Pradesh is also minutes away from its north border. Chandigarh has a humid subtropical climate characterized by a seasonal rhythm: very hot summers, mild winters, unreliable rainfall and great variation in temperature (-1 C to 41.2 C). In winter, pieces of snow sometimes occurs during December and January. The average annual rainfall is 1110.7 mm. The city also receives occasional winter rains from the west.

Architecture and urban planning

Taking over from Albert Mayer, Le Corbusier produced a plan for Chandigarh that conformed to the modern city planning principles of Congrs International d'Architecture Moderne CIAM, in terms of division of urban functions, an anthropomorphic plan form, and a hierarchy of road and pedestrian networks. This vision of Chandigarh, contained in the innumerable conceptual maps on the drawing board together with notes and sketches had to be translated into brick and mortar. Le Corbusier retained many of the seminal ideas of Mayer and Nowicki, like the basic framework of the master plan and its components: The Capitol, City Center, besides the University, Industrial area, and linear parkland. Even the neighborhood unit was retained as the basic module of planning. However, the curving outline of Mayer and Nowicki was reorganized into a mesh of rectangles, and the buildings were characterized by an "honesty of materials". Exposed brick and boulder stone masonry in its rough form produced unfinished concrete surfaces, in geometrical structures. This became the architectural form characteristic of Chandigarh, set amidst landscaped gardens and parks. The Open Hand Monument Chandigarh Museum and Art gallery have a separate section dedicated to the architecture of Chandigarh

The Open Hand Monument

Chandigarh Secretariat Building

Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh

Gandhi Bhavan built by Pierre Jeanneret for Punjab University

Rock Garden

 Shimla (Hindi: ), formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British. Located in the north-west Himalayas at an average altitude of 2,205 metres (7,234 ft), the city of Shimla, draped in forests of pine, rhododendron, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture dating from the colonial era. Shimla is connected to the city of Kalka by one of the longest narrow gauge railway routes still operating in India, the Kalka-Shimla Railway. Shimla is approximately 100 km (68 miles) from Chandigarh, the nearest major city, and 365 km (226.8 miles) from New Delhi, the national capital. The city is named after the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali

Places of interest
The Mail: The Mall is the main shopping street of Shimla. It also has many restaurants, clubs, banks, bars, Post Offices and tourist offices. The Gaiety Theatre is also situated there. People walk up and down the Mall slowly, stopping to gossip, as it is the main meeting place for everyone. The Ridge and Scandal point are the two main meeting points at the Mall. The mall is dotted with many eating places .The most famous among them is Trishul bakery which is known for its pastries. Christ Church: Situated on the Ridge, Christ Church is the second oldest church in Northern India. It has a very majestic appearance and inside there are stained glass windows which represent faith, hope, charity, fortitude, patience and humility. Jakhu Hill: 2 km from Shimla, at a height of 8000 ft, Jakhu Hill is the highest peak and offers a beautiful view of the town and of the snow-covered Himalayas. At the top of the Hill, is an old temple of Lord Hanuman, which is also the home of countless playful monkeys waiting to be fed by all visitors. Shimla State Museum: The Museum, which was opened in 1974, has tried to protect hill-out and the cultural wealth of the state. There is a collection of miniature Pahari paintings, sculptures, bronzes wood-carvings and also costumes, textiles and jewellery of the region. Indian Institute of Advanced Study: This institute is housed in the Viceregal Lodge, built in 188488. Annandale: Developed as the playground of Shimla, Annandale is 24 km from the Ridge at a height of 6,117 ft. It is a favourite spot for cricket, picnics and polo. Tara Devi: 11 km from the Shimla bus-stand. Tara Devi hill has a temple dedicated to the goddess of stars on top of the hill. There is a military Dairy Town here as well as the headquarters of Bharat Scouts and Guides. Sankat Mochan: A Lord Hanuman temple is located here.. Anand Vilas Midway between Shimla and Junga. "Sarva Dharma Mandir", Temple of all Faiths, is a spiritual group dedicated to Mother Nature. Thousands of visitors and devotees come here every year. There is an "Art is Values" school with students from all over India. Classes are provided free of cost. Mashobra: 13 km from Shimla, site of the annual Sipi fair in June. Chharabra: 13 km from Shimla on route to Kufri. Naldehra: 22 km from Shimla, with a nine-hole Naldehra Golf Club. The annual Sipi fair in June is held in Naldehra Tatapani: Location of sulphur springs which are found near the Tatapani mandir(holy temple)

Temple Near Rohru, Shimla

Wooden Work At The Outer side of A Temple

Gorton Castle At Shimla

Indian Institute of Advance Studies Shimla

Jakhu Temple Shimla

Tara Devi Temple Shimla

Petter Hoff Shimla

Wood Villa Palace Shimla

Wooden Work At The Outer side of A Temple

General Post Office Shimla

Shimla Railway Station

Sankat Mochan Temple

Tara Devi Temple

Railway Board Building Shimla

View from Wild Flower Hall Shimla

Sankat Mochan Mandir

Wooden Work In An Old Building

Temple Near Rohru Shimla