Making of Chandigarh: A Vintage History
Chandigarh is a giant experiment in town planning and architecture in India and the world. Being one of the best cities planned and built afresh on virgin land, Chandigarh attracted the global community of architects, planners, and historians. Resultantly, copious works have been written on Chandigarh, and much literature exists on the subject.
“Making of Chandigarh: A Vintage History” is the latest addition to the number of books written by various authors on this subject. Of all the treatises published earlier, this book is unique in its approach, contents, and presentation. The book focuses on recording the process of making a city through 575 black-and-white photographs. Several photographers have clicked these photographs since the city's inception in 1950 till the 1990s. This book is a tribute to the numerous known and unknown photographers who recorded the history of Chandigarh through their photographs.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and photographers are worth a million. Imagine, if we glance through hundreds of pictures clicked on a particular subject over a period of 40 years beginning in 1950, how easy it will be to grasp the historical aspect of that subject! With this aim, the “Making of Chandigarh: A Vintage History” has been conceived and presented as a pictorial journey of the city.
Apart from the rich collection of vintage photos, the book includes more than 50 drawings of important city buildings and campuses. An elaborated essay, 'Making of Chandigarh', explains the whole story of the capital city and throws light on the essential campuses, complexes and buildings designed by master architects like Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, and their Indian colleagues.
About the Author: Sarbjit Bahga (b1957) is a Chandigarh-based architect, author, photo artist, and archivist. He is the Principal Architect of Bahga Design Studio LLP. Earlier, Bahga worked in the Department of Architecture, Punjab, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, and Punjab Mandi Board in various positions.
He has more than 43 years of practical experience designing various types of buildings, complexes, and large campuses. His completed works include an eclectic range of administrative, recreational, educational, medical, residential, commercial, and agricultural buildings. A monograph on his selected works titled “MODERN REGIONALISM: The Architecture of Sarbjit Bahga” has been published.
Bahga is also a keen researcher and a prolific architectural writer. He has 12 books to his credit, which include Modern Architecture in India, New Indian Homes, Le Corbusier, and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture, Trees in Urban Habitat, Landscaping Human Habitat, New Indian Architecture -1947-2020, and Hand-Drawn Perspectives and Sketches. Bahga’s contribution to architecture has been largely recognized. He is a three-time recipient of the World Architecture Community Awards. His name has been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for designing the "longest covered concrete corridor" in Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health, Amritsar.
Arun Mirchandani (b1957) is a New Delhi-based Civil Engineer and Administrator by profession and Archivist by passion. He graduated from IIT-Delhi in 1979 and worked in PEC Limited - a company engaged in the international trade of projects, equipment, and commodities. He retired from this company as Chairman-cum-Managing Director. Mirchandani is passionate about preserving old documents and photographs of historical importance. Several photographs from his archival records have been published in leading newspapers, journals, and books. Being born in Chandigarh, he has a special love for the city. His father, (late) ID Mirchandani was an eminent Civil Engineer who had taught at Punjab Engineering College in Lahore and Chandigarh and worked on the construction of Chandigarh, IIT-Delhi, and HAU Hissar. Later he retired as Chief Engineer, PWD Himachal Pradesh and UNICEF, Ethiopia. ID Mirchandani was an avid photographer and art collector. His son Arun Mirchandani has, thus, inherited a rich collection of photographs and documents, which he is maintaining exceptionally well as a hobby.
- Hardcover: 410 pages
- Publisher: White Falcon Publishing; 1 edition (2023)
- Author: Sarbjit Bahga & Arun Mirchandani
- ISBN-13: 9798892220118
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 X 11 Inch
Indian Edition available on:
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