light reading leading lights Ghazal MULTICUISINE $$ (%2704448; Sector 17-C; meals 195-395; h8am11.30pm; a) A Chandigarh stalwart,

JUNK ART GENIUS Following Independence, as refugees flooded across the Pakistan border and a newly liberated India made the bold statement that was Chandigarh, light reading leading lights one of the new city s road inspectors, a diminutive arrival from Pakistan called Nek Chand, was struck by the amount of waste generated as villages were cleared in the construction of Chandigarh. Chand hauled this matter light reading leading lights back to his jungle home and gave it a second life as sculptural material. Eventually he had tens of thousands of forms made of urban and industrial waste, as well as local stone, created by his own hands and the slow forces of nature. His battalions of water women, pipers, chai drinkers, monkeys, cheeky stick men wearing tea-cup hats, dancing women and other characters steadily multiplied in secretly sculpted spaces. Chand s efforts weren t officially discovered until 15 years after they began, when a government light reading leading lights survey crew stumbled upon them in 1973. The unauthorised garden was illegally occupying light reading leading lights government land and should technically light reading leading lights have been demolished, but fortunately the local council recognised the garden as a cultural asset. Chand was given 50 labourers and paid a salary so he could devote himself to the project. Today, the garden is said to receive over 2000 visitors a day. There s a Nek Chand Foundation (www.nekchand.com), raising funds and recruiting volunteers. Chand had no formal education beyond high school. In my childhood light reading leading lights I used to build mud houses and other toys. He is said to be influenced by modernist masters light reading leading lights such as Le Corbusier and Gaudi, but he is clear on the main source of his ideas: they are a gift from God.

The Akal Takhat, where the Shiromani light reading leading lights Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), or Sikh Parliament, traditionally meets, was heavily damaged when it was stormed by the Indian army in 1984. The Indian government later repaired it; however, the Sikhs, appalled by the army s actions in the first place, pulled it down and rebuilt it themselves.

Ghazal MULTICUISINE $$ (%2704448; Sector 17-C; meals 195-395; h8am11.30pm; a) A Chandigarh stalwart, light reading leading lights grand Ghazal has an admirable Indian, Continental and Chinese menu. Ghazal special murg (cream-based chicken) or bhuna gohst (mutton) is nicely washed down with draught beer. Vegetarians light reading leading lights are well catered for.

Neelkanthi Krishna Dham Yatri Niwas (%291615; Pehowa Rd; r 900-1950; a) off ers the best accommodation option, with charmless but otherwise fine rooms; the attached tourist office (%293570; h9.30am-5pm light reading leading lights Tue-Sat) is of limited help.