Nek Chand (“ >Remembering a ‘rock star’ , June 19) was much more than an artist. It is a pity that our administrations are not sensitive enough to having art and creativity in public places.
The writer does not see the irony in saying that Nehru “wanted to create a new memory and a new sense of India because he was tired of the violence of Partition”. Partition would not have happened had Nehru followed Gandhi’s wishes. He was in a hurry to assume leadership, as is clear in Ram Manohar Lohia’s book, The Guilty Men of India’s Partition . Was it his elitist, personal ‘tiredness’ that allowed a city to be designed by a foreigner when Indians could have done so more suitably by accommodating all sections of society? The description of Chandigarh as “India’s greatest planned city” needs correction. It may be planned but it certainly isn’t ‘smart’ nor so legendary in comparison to planned cities elsewhere in the world. And highly planned cities that do not allow breathing room for spontaneity are soulless. Chandigarh has no convenient public transport and the poor are still out on the fringes. There is a clear division between the haves and the have-nots. It is perhaps comfortable for middle class retirees and some professionals, but the common citizen of India cannot live there unless attached to an institution or has a steady income.
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