Holy Pilgrimage – Chattisgarh and Temples at 10:30 PM

Holy Pilgrimage – Chattisgarh  and Temples 

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is derived from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city.^[3]
The city of Chandigarh was the first planned city in India post independence in 1947 (pre-independence planned cities include Dispur in Assam, New Delhi in Delhi, Jaipur in Rajasthan, etc.) and is known internationally for its architecture and urban design.^[4] The city has projects designed by architects such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew, and Maxwell Fry. The city tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with the highest per capita income in the country at Rs.99,262 at current prices and Rs.70,361 at constant prices (2006–2007).^[5] The city was reported in 2010 to be the "cleanest" in India, based on a national government study,^[6] and the territory also headed the list of Indian states and territories according to research conducted using 2005 data by Human Development Index

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.^[8] 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.^{[citation needed]}
Chandigarh hosts the largest of Le Corbusier's many Open Hand sculptures. Standing 26 meters high, the structure was designed to in the wind . The Open Hand (La Main Ouverte) is a recurring motif in Le Corbusier's architecture, a sign for him of "peace and reconciliation. It is open to give and open to receive." It represents the give and take of ideas. ^[9]
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 Hindi-speaking 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.^[10]
Recently, political groups such as the Akali Dal have argued that Chandigarh should become solely the capital of Punjab.

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 km². and shares its borders with the states of Haryana and Punjab. The exact cartographic co-ordinates of Chandigarh are 30.74°N 76.79°E.^[11] It  has an average elevation of 321 metres (1053 ft). 
The surrounding districts are of Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana and Mohali, Patiala and Roopnagar in Punjab. 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.

Average temperature

• Spring: The climate remains the most enjoyable part of the year during the spring season (from mid-February to mid-April). Temperatures vary between (max) 16 °C to 25 °C and (min) 9 °C to 18 °C.
• Autumn: In autumn (from Mid-September to mid November.), the temperature may rise to a maximum of 36 °C. Temperatures usually remain between 16° to 27° in autumn. The minimum temperature is around 11 °C.
• Summer: The temperature in summer (from Mid-May to Mid-June) may rise to a maximum of 45 °C (rarely). Temperatures generally remain between 35 °C to 40 °C (94 - 101F).
• Monsoon: During monsoon(from mid-June to mid-September), Chandigarh receives moderate to heavy rainfall and sometimes heavy to very heavy rainfall (generally during the month of August or September). Usually, the rain bearing monsoon winds blow from south-west/ south-east. Mostly, the city receives heavy rain from south (which is mainly a persistent rain) but it generally receives most of its rain during monsoon either from North-west or North-east. Maximum amount of rain received by the city of Chandigrah during monsoon season is 195.5 mm in a single day.
• Winter: Winters (November to Mid-March) are mild but it can sometimes get quite chilly in Chandigarh. Average temperatures in the winter remain at (max) 7 °C to 15 °C and (min) 0°C to 8 °C. Rain usually comes from the west during winters and it is usually a persistent rain for 2–3 days with sometimes hail-storms

Environment

Most of Chandigarh is covered by dense banyan and eucalyptus plantations. Asoka, cassia, mulberry and other trees flourish in the forested ecosystem. The city has forests surrounding it which sustain many animal and plant species. Deers, sambars, barking deer, parrots, woodpeckers and peacocks inhabit the protected forests. Sukhna Lake hosts a variety of ducks and geese, and attracts migratory birds from parts of Siberia and Japan in the winter season

A parrot sanctuary in the city is home to a variety of bird species. It has popular gardens, e.g., Zakir Husain Rose Garden, Rock Garden, Terrace Garden, Bougainvillea Garden, Shanti Kunj and many others.

 

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 the Congrès 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, was led by the chief engineer appointed to the project, Ajit Gill. 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.
Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery have a separate section dedicated to the architecture of Chandigarh

 

Transport

Chandigarh has the largest number of vehicles per capita in India.^[16] Wide, well maintained roads and parking spaces all over the city ease local transport.
CTU buses run throughout the city. There are two major bus terminals: ISBT Sector 17 and ISBT Sector 43. CTU buses run to a few cities that are close to Chandigarh.
Chandigarh is well connected by road by NH 22 (Ambala — Kalka — Shimla — Kinnaur) and NH 21 (Chandigarh — Leh). Traffic is very well maintained by the Chandigarh Traffic Police. Usually drivers follow rules. Traffic tickets (chalan) rates are very high.
Chandigarh has a major railway junction of North India. Trains to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, lucknow, Amritsar, Ambala, Panipat, Kalka and major cities are available.
Chandigarh Airport is domestic, but the work is underway for an international airport. Flights from major cities of India are available including New Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Srinagar.

Notable people born in Chandigarh

• Neerja Bhanot, Flight attendant and model
• Jeev Milkha Singh, professional golfer
• Yuvraj Singh, Indian international cricketer
• Kapil Dev, Former Indian international cricketer
• Dinesh Mongia, Indian international cricketer
• Abhinav Bindra, Olympic gold medalist shooter
• Kiron Kher, Indian actress and theatre artist
• Gul Panag, Indian actress
• Ayushman Khurrana, Indian actor

Temples in Chandigarh

Chandi Mandir, Chandigarh

Chandi Mandir (Hindu, Mandir: "Temple") is a Hindu temple near Chandigarh, India, dedicated to Chandi, the goddess of power. It is about 15 km from the city of Chandigarh, which was named after the temple, and about 10 km away from the Mansa Devi Shrine. The temple is situated amidst beautiful surroundings and the backdrop of the Shivalik hills.
During the festival of Navratras, thousands of people visit this temple. The temple has statues of various Hindu deities including Chandi, Radha Krishna, Hanuman, Shiva and Ram.
In the Chandi Mandir area is the Western Command of the Indian army.

 

Other Temples

ISKCON Temple

Mansa Mata Mandir

Patiala Mata Mandir

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...)                                                                                                                              

(My humble  salutations to the great devotees ,  wikisources  and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the collection )