Artistic Expression from Waste - Rock Garden Chandigarh

Published in "The International Malayalee", Dubai


Artistic Expression from Waste



Nowhere can such a cornucopia of trash hold its spectators spellbound. The vast amalgam of urban waste - bottles, broken glass bangles, ceramic and chinaware, washroom fixtures and tiles, metal rods, cement sacks, rags, cycle tyres, pebbles and coal slag – get a life of their own, molded imaginatively into human and animal forms. The 64 acres sprawl, a world of fantasy, the handiwork of one single individual, is a visual delight as one saunters through a maze of paths, chambers and canyons to savour creativity at its most marvelous.

It would be no exaggeration to refer to Nek Chand Saini’s Rock Garden as being the pride and one of the prime attractions of Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh. In times when mammoth waste is generated by the day and such discards form gargantuan mounds even in the midst of bustling commercial and residential areas in several Indian cities, contributing to environmental pollution, Chand’s efforts and ingenuity breathe a whiff of fresh air. No wonder then, the aesthetic landscape that is part natural and part created, has been the cynosure of all eyes – Indian or foreign since it was thrown open to the public in 1976.

The Garden where mute rocks and throwaways have been transformed into art objects draws millions of visitors each year, winning its humble creator the Padma Shri in 1984 after the Rock Garden was featured on an Indian postage stamp and accolades from across continents. Chand exhibited some of his creations in Paris’ Museum of Modern Art and in several other cities including Holland, Berlin, Madrid and London. He not only donated several of his scintillating sculptures to the Capital Children’s Museum in Washington D.C, but also spent some months there, installing them and conducting workshops.

Men, women, animals, birds and imaginary creatures appear to narrate their own little saga, subtly conveying the environmental message of conservation, preservation, reusing and recycling when reducing may not be possible or be the ideal.

The Rock Garden has been built over a period of time in three phases, each exhibiting different aspects of the whole. Chand has used strangely shaped stones to sculpt God’s varied creations, vividly expressing their individual personalities by his mere alchemy of touch and fantasy. In Chand’s fancy world, worn down cycle parts have been used in creating the animals – saddles assuming animal heads, forks becoming legs and frames, their body. Walls of the chambers have been created from waste mosaic, crockery, oil drums, electric plug moulds and fluorescent tubes.

His figures, both human and animal are draped in countless broken glass bangles, in mosaic, feathers and in foundry slag. One is held wonderstruck at the life size rag dolls that adorn various sections of the garden. These gigantic figures are held rigid with the use of metal armatures. Even more mesmerizing are the sculptures shaped from roots of upturned trees which are inextricably woven with waterfalls that enhance the ambience of the garden.

A mere Rs.10 entrance ticket to this world of fantasy keeps you in a state of trance as you weave your way through little canyons that open into chambers, the walls of which are artistically sculpted from earthenware pots, electrical sockets and mosaic. The human figures are thematic in places, with dancers, musicians, village artisans at work, the royalty, all of them distinctly having the flavour of India. Yet, the message they carry is very much global in essence.

As we wend our way deeper into the maze, we come to the deep man-made gorge, resplendent with huge streams, waterfalls and “palatial” mansions. Come out of this cool ambience and there is a massive open area, much like a courtyard with mosaic steps made from a motley of colourful waste tiles. Even as youngsters and the elderly relax in the warmth of the cool surroundings, there is the ring of delightful laughter as children and adults alike, sway themselves to giddy heights in the several swings that are artistically made from tree roots, metal, cement sacks and other waste. The walls of the courtyard host atop them several birds and animals, yet again chiseled from waste.

The beauty of Chand’s genius lies in the fact that he did not begin or proceed with his huge landscape with any formal draft plan or design. Yet his final product – the entire Rock Garden takes on the hues of a well-planned out architectural masterpiece! Replete with imagery and symbolism, the Garden is a veritably a world monument that voices environmental concerns through imagination and ingenuity.

Chand was born in 1924 in Berian Kalan village in Shakargarh, now in Pakistan. When his family moved to Chandigarh in 1950 following India’s partition, he took up employment as a Roads Inspector for the Chandigarh Public Works Department. The period coincided with the construction of Chandigarh as a new city, designed by Le Corbusier. The process gave way to significant masses of waste wrought by the demolition of several villages and buildings to make way for the new metropolis. And in this debris Chand visualized his dream kingdom. Secretly and silently, he began toiling under the cover of darkness for eighteen long years, assembling together a medley of castaway materials, stowing them in a hut he built, ensconced in thick undergrowth outside the city. It is believed that the site for his magnificent paradise, once a kingdom, was revealed to Chand in a dream!

Chand’s stoaway land was not his own. Further, it was a government area where no development or building of any kind was permitted. Yet he continued relentlessly in his pursuit to create El Dorado, carting stones, tiles and every form of waste on the back of a bicycle. He carried water in bamboo containers to make his haven and heaven, a verdant splendour. He worked on his figures at night by the light of burning tyres in total secrecy for fear of being discovered by the authorities.

When a pair of thousand sculptures were finally discovered in 1972, adorning an area upon which the activity was illegal, in a region forbidden for development, government officials were in a quandary. Businessmen and the mass who by then had thronged to see the amazing array of creations, strongly outwitted bureaucracy and Nek Chand became an instant hero. Businessmen chipped in with their contributions to enable Chand transport waste with ease. Public pressure forced the local authorities to relieve Chand of his duties as Roads Inspector and focus his energies towards developing this environmentally friendly venture. In 1976, Chand’s kingdom was inaugurated officially as the Rock Garden and began to be administered by the city of Chandigarh.

Encouraged by the response, Chand developed innovative waste collection methods which resulted in the city having one of the largest recycling programmes in Asia. The fruits of his labour bore ample reward and Rock Garden celebrated its silver jubilee in 2001 March amidst much fanfare. Celebrations were held for three days during which period artists, art aficionados, environmentalists, architects, the public and delegates from the UK and USA representing the UK-based Nek Chand Foundation, gathered together to honour Chand, the visionary.

Nek Chand is an international name today. His exhibits find a permanent place in Berlin and Washington, D.C. He had a year-long exhibition entitled Bhool Bhooolaiyan at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. He was awarded the Grand Medaille Vermeil, the highest distinction bestowed by the municipality of Paris. In London, the Nek Chand Foundation was established to promote and preserve the garden. In 1996 Chand undertook a lecture tour of Europe and the USA.

No amount of awards and accolades are enough to reward the committed resourcefulness of a man whose spirit of renaissance has transformed huge magnitudes of urban and industrial waste to something artistic that can generate revenue. His environmental message is subtle, sure and clear – it is a message that every individual in society, every organization and every nation should view as gospel truth to act upon and contribute towards a cleaner and greener world.


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