you pack it Don t let the facade put you off. This mid- ranger is a welcome retreat from the bustle of Lawrence

Hotel Kwality Regency HOTEL $$ (%/fax 2720204; Sector 22-A; s/d 1795/1995, deluxe 2395/2695; a) The 14 agreeable rooms have individual character, although the cheapest are small and sun starved (consider upgrading if you need a window). Nevertheless, the marble-adorned deluxe rooms are good value (for Chandigarh), with TV, scatter rugs, writing desk and electronic safe. There s a cosy bar and multicuisine restaurant behind the lobby.

will especially appeal to those interested you pack it in urban planning. Through old documents, sketches and photos, this place chronicles the work of Chandigarh s chief architect. There s a black-and-white photo of a suit- and-bow-tie-attired Le Corbusier on a paddle boat, as well as some fascinating you pack it letters, including one from Jawaharlal Nehru to the Chief Minister of Punjab you pack it dated 4 November 1960, part of which states, I do hope that you will not overrule Corbusier. His opinion is of value.

JUNK ART GENIUS Following Independence, as refugees flooded across the Pakistan border and a newly liberated India made the bold statement that was Chandigarh, 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 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 you pack it 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. you pack it Chand s efforts weren t officially discovered until 15 years after they began, when a government you pack it survey crew stumbled upon them in 1973. The unauthorised garden was illegally occupying government land and should technically have been demolished, but fortunately the local council recognised you pack it the garden as a cultural asset. Chand was given 50 labourers and paid a salary so he could devote himself to the project. Today, you pack it the garden is said to receive over 2000 visitors a day. There s a Nek Chand Foundation (www.nekchand.com), you pack it raising funds and recruiting volunteers. Chand had no formal education beyond high school. In my childhood I used to build mud houses and other toys. He is said to be influenced by modernist masters such as Le Corbusier and Gaudi, but he is clear on the main source of his ideas: they are a gift from God.

Don t let the facade put you off. This mid- ranger is a welcome retreat from the bustle of Lawrence Rd, with contemporary rooms that have either marble or carpeted fl oors. It will pay to check rooms for road noise and thin mattresses. Multicuisine restaurant.