Chandigarh

A whiff of Freshness: Poetry of Irshad Kamil

I am sure many young people may not be knowing his name but be humming the songs written by him. The young writer hails from Malerkotla, Sangrur, Punjab. His name is Irshad Kamil. He has breathed a freshness in the Bollywood film songs. It is just a beginning. I am sure, he shall blaze a trail in this field. Man of many gifts, he has dabbled in various professions like a reporter for newspapers in Chandigarh. He wrote scripts of many serials for television. Some of the films he had written the songs for are Jab We Met, Rockstar, Ajab… Read More »A whiff of Freshness: Poetry of Irshad Kamil

The Sparrows

I grew up in a village. In my childhood days, there were lush green fields around our village. The land was very fertile and only animal manure was used to boost the crops. Water for irrigation came  from the canals and a schedule for distribution of water according to the area of land a farmer had was fixed. We used to go to fields everyday after our school. We took many detours on our way to our field. In the summers, we took dip in the cool refreshing waters in the canals in which cattle also cooled themselves. We stole… Read More »The Sparrows

Cactus Garden in Panchkula Haryana India

Panchkula in Haryana India is a part of what is called Tricity. Tricity is Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana and also a union territory. The adjacent areas of Chandigarh were developed following the pattern of Chandigarh. So there is Mohali in Punjab and Panchkula in Haryana adjoining the Chandigarh. These three comprise the Tricity. There are many attractions both natural, historical, religious and man made in the tricity. One of these is Cactus Garden located in Sector 5, of Panchkula. It is Asia’s biggest garden devoted to rare and endangered species of Indian succulents, was named after its… Read More »Cactus Garden in Panchkula Haryana India

A Visit to Rose Garden Chandigarh

A lot has been written about this garden. The garden is situated in the sector 16 of city beautiful Chandigarh. We used to live in small village adjacent to Chandigarh and crossed the garden while going to attend our college and Panjab university on bicycle. We have visited the garden a number of time. Then I went away from my city for job and lived for 35 years out in the places like Dehradun, Sivasagar and Silchar in Assam and Mumbai in Maharashtra. Each city has its own personality which is comprised of monuments, its people and gardens and parks… Read More »A Visit to Rose Garden Chandigarh

Le Corbusier Museum Chandigarh

We belong to a village which is a part of the union territory of Chandigarh. The city called the “City beautiful” is unique in the sense it serves as the capital of two states namely Punjab and Haryana and in itself is an independent union territory. I studied in the Chandigarh from government college and Panjab University. We cycled almost 12 kilometers daily from our home to the university. Our route was Madhya Marg which means the Middle road. On the both sides sectors run. As soon as you encounter a roundabout, it is the beginning of consecutive sectors into… Read More »Le Corbusier Museum Chandigarh

Land Stories 

Land used to be like one’s mother in India as more than 70% people are still dependent on the land for their livelihood. Before the introduction of modern agricultural equipment like tractors, bullocks were used virtually for all agricultural tasks like tilling the land, pulling the cart which the farmer used for bringing the produce and fodder home for cattle. Agriculture was completely manual and commerce was not a factor. A farmer produced only enough for his family needs. Agriculture was dependent on the surface water available through rivers and rains. Thus it was wholly dependent on the natural factors.… Read More »Land Stories 

Fabled Jand Tree

There are many references to “Jand” tree in Punjabi literature. Foremost it is connected to a place called Danabad the village of Mirza in the legend of “Mirza-Sahiban”. After getting Sahiba from her home on the day of her marriage to someone else, and sneaking on his mare-called Bakki in local language, he decides to take rest under the cool shade of Jand tree. He was overconfident that even after taking rest for the summer noon, he will make it easily to his native place before the end of the day. Rest is well known. He was killed by Sahiban’s… Read More »Fabled Jand Tree

How clean was water of Sukhna Choe once upon a time 

“Choe” in local language in Punjab means a stream or a rivulet. Sukhna choe is the name of stream after which the lake in Chandigarh is named. The choe passes through areas of union territory Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab before merging into Ghaggar river. Many unauthorized settlements have mushroomed along it particularly in Union territory of Chandigarh. Some industries have also come up near it. There was a time about 50 years ago when the clean water flowed from the dam but these days if you pass by the gates of Lake hardly any water flows there. At that time… Read More »How clean was water of Sukhna Choe once upon a time 

Rock Garden in Chandigarh

World famous Rock Garden is located in Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. As such the Chandigarh is called City Beautiful because it is a planned city based on modular units called sectors. Every sector is a complete city in itself with a market, milk supply centers, dispensaries and schools. Then there are some sectors which are commercial sectors having big stores, cinemas and offices. On one end of the city in a row are Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Legislative Assembly and Secretariat which incidentally is biggest building in the city and houses the offices of… Read More »Rock Garden in Chandigarh

Facing Floods in Assam….

I worked as a scientist with ONGC which is the premier oil and gas company of India. I was posted in Cachar Project of ONGC during 1987 to 1991. Our company was desperately looking for oil and gas in this area. Five rigs were employed for these operations in different areas around the town of silchar located in the southern part of Assam adjoining Agartala and near this town is another town called Badarpur which is a gateway to north eastern states like agartala, Manipur and Mizoram. The area where drilling operations were being conducted bordered Bangladesh. Two rivers namely… Read More »Facing Floods in Assam….