Ho Gaye Teri Balle Balle

There’s a reason that India’s Olympic medal winning boxers and wrestlers are from Punjab or Haryana. The Jats and Sikhs are ‘large’ people. The ones who aren’t really muscular make up for it, with excess layers of body fat. So, here in Chandigarh, I don’t want to get into any kind of fight or wrestling match.


In fact, in a board outside the Sukhna Lake, one of the ‘don’t dos’ is not wrestle lakeside. Such is the need to show strength in these parts that wrestling is a very popular sport. May these people wrestle each other in the international arena and win many medals for India!

I got a glimpse of this fight-preparedness, while waiting for a bus to Manali. An argument breaks out between 2 strangers at around 10 pm and the men come to blows. To try and halt the proceedings, I yell “police, police!” That doesn’t stop this epic battle. We’re talking about Ali vs Frazier here. One of them bumps a woman and when she screams, a crowd swoops in shouting the Punjabi Oi, Oi! They break up the fight and peace is restored. That bus to Manali can’t come early enough.

An Indian city minus the chaos

If I had to describe Chandigarh in 6 words, the title of this blogpost would suffice. The city looks completely organised even from the aircraft. Le Corbusier decided to use brick-red as the dominant colour of the buildings and walls in the city. The fact that everything is so well-planned and organised makes the city absolutely empty.


As in most parts of India, the auto-drivers are a bunch of con-artists, but there is an excellent network of local buses that connects just about every sector in the city. I guess the buses are empty since Chandigarh is more or less a rich city and most families own 2 cars. There was a disproportional number of Mercs and BMWs in the city. There’s a lot of money now in the smaller towns and cities in India.

A visit to the Sukhna Lake area is enough to spot a glimpse of the well-heeled residents of the city. The fashion and brand-conscious citizens of Chandigarh also take their fitness seriously and they have a moderate climate to support a good fitness regime.

For someone coming from chaotic suburban Bombay, the broad streets and glorious tree-lined avenues, was something of a shocker. No matter how much you read about a place, it isn’t you see it with your own eyes that you understand what it’s all about.

I wouldn’t classify the capital of Punjab and Haryana as a particularly friendly city but there were some nice people I ended up having random conversations lakeside. I’d have to say that the Rock Garden is Chandigarh’s most unique attraction. A fine collection of sculptures made from rocks, recycled pipes, tubes, ceramics and other waste. The founder is a real genius!

Sitting up in the Interstate Bus Terminus in the city, I realise that I am really in North India. Buses go from here to Pathankot, Jammu, Maler Kotla and Gurdaspur. Now that is what I would call exotic.

Seeing how this example of a planned city works, I don’t understand why other cities weren’t built using the Chandigarh model? India is in desperate need of them.