New book ‘Chandigarh: The Backstory’ traces the sepia-tinted years of city’s infancy

Chandigarh, April 12, 2024: An event was organised to discuss a new book titled, ‘Chandigarh: The Backstory – and the city it couldn’t be’ by senior journalist Vibhor Mohan at Bahrisons Booksellers, Sector 8, on Friday.

The book traces the architectural history of the city, beginning with the decision to create Chandigarh as the new capital of East Punjab after the partition. Apart from the works of master architect Swiss-French Le Corbusier, the book highlights the contributions of the three other European architects in his team – Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. It was the optimism of the then chief engineer PL Varma and administrator of the capital project PN Thapar kept alive the idea of Chandigarh during the period of teething troubles.

In conversation with Jaskiran Kapoor, the author talked about the unique aspects of the book and his journey as an author. Published by White Falcon Publishing, ‘Chandigarh: The Backstory’ is an outcome of more than three years of extensive research and field visits to gather facts. After the conversation with the author, the guests participated in a quiz on Chandigarh’s architectural history.

The book describes the opening scenes of Chandigarh’s story and narrates the oral history of the erstwhile villages. It also draws comparisons of Corbusier’s Chandigarh with the first master plan by Albert Mayer and Matthew Nowicki that remained on the drawing board. The book would tell the readers interesting backstories about the capitol complex, the first lot of government houses, Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake. They will also get glimpses of how Mayer and Nowicki had visualised the city. At the same time, it critiques how Chandigarh has evolved with time.

Beyond the anecdotal accounts of the city’s early life, the book is the outcome of a deep dive into piles of official records to stitch together the city’s past – the triumphs and tribulations of its people, the foresightedness and failings of the planners.
Signed copies of the author are available at Bahrisons.