Chroniclers to catalysts, these new storytellers of Chandigarh are celebrating town and the way | Chandigarh Information

“Chandigarh has no tradition or alternatives for younger creatives”— that is the narrative that artist Angad B Sodhi grew up with. Having lived in cities worldwide, he at all times thought-about Chandigarh house however by no means really knew it. “I stored leaving for cities with thriving artwork scenes, however now, nearing 40, I’m again with a broader perspective and a drive to vary the narrative that informed us to go away,” he says.

Sodhi seen a quiet however vibrant inventive pulse within the metropolis. His initiative, IXC.Artwork, goals to uncover and chronicle the creators and subcultures shaping Chandigarh, fostering a neighborhood via meet-ups and cultural occasions.

Hidden allure  – Amrita Kaur: @that5amlifestyle 

Digital creator Amrita Kaur found a brand new aspect of Chandigarh via her early morning sprints. “Passing iconic spots like Leisure Valley, Rose Backyard and Sukhna Lake at daybreak felt private, as if town was revealing its quieter, hidden allure,” she shares. Her runs impressed her to doc these moments, showcasing Chandigarh’s dynamic essence.

What started as a web page centered on working and health has advanced right into a platform celebrating town’s architectural brilliance, open areas, and modernist imaginative and prescient. For Kaur, exploring Chandigarh means connecting along with her roots and sharing untold tales that resonate deeply along with her followers, sparking each nostalgia and inspiration.

 Celebrating magnificence – @Le.Chandigarh 

This Chandigarh-based architect prefers to be recognized by the identify of her web page, le.Chandigarh, and for good purpose — her posts on town’s outdated properties have impressed three followers to renovate slightly than demolish their homes, preserving their authentic allure. “It’s humbling to know my web page helped save three properties,” she says.

Annoyed by the disconnect between town’s heritage standing and the notion of its structure, she began the web page to spotlight Chandigarh’s essence. Specializing in particulars like manhole designs, outdated layouts, and economical authorities housing, she admires town via the eyes of a easy citizen, celebrating its understated magnificence.

Preserving the previous – Kismet Nakai: @chandigarhzero172

On the transfer along with her digital camera, Chandigarh got here into focus for photographer Nakai over the past six-seven years when she got here to really admire it from an architectural perspective and thru the tales of its folks. “For me, it’s a long-term undertaking the place I hope to archive town as a result of as most cities do, it’s continuously altering and evolving and I concern nothing of the unique metropolis will stay.  It’s not the canvas I would like however it’s the solely canvas because it’s a Chandigarh-oriented undertaking,” she says.

Town, she feels, is primarily an outdated house and there’s a lot to find in its historical past if one is prepared to look. “I’m extra desirous about that than what it’s changing into,” Nakai says. For now, her digital camera zooms in on preserving the previous.

Shutterbug’s delight – Kunal Walia: @kunalwalia_

Chandigarh was by no means Kunal Walia’s focus till he was drawn to the weather that make it distinctive – the benches, paths, gardens and quiet corners. “As I started to {photograph} these parts, I realised all of them contributed to the general character of town. The gradual compilation of those into photograph collection, helped me form my work round Chandigarh,” he says.

Town, Walia observes, possesses all the weather a photographer might want for: vibrant hues of flora, architectural symmetry, and frames that change with the seasons. “It’s been 4 years since I’ve been posting my photos from town, and actually, by ‘regular’ requirements, I don’t have a big following however once you’re sipping your scorching chocolate and also you get a message from a stranger who used to stay within the metropolis, who felt a way of house miles away due to that one photograph you posted, I feel these are the issues that really matter and preserve me going,” he says.

Rejoicing within the gradual tempo  – Stuti Garg: @tangerinemag.artwork  

Stuti Garg’s journal Tangerine delves into the minds of artists, and Chandigarh serves as her excellent ‘walk-in studio’. “Rising up on this slow-paced metropolis taught me that true creativity thrives in an unhurried atmosphere,” she says. With its evolving artwork scene and beautiful backdrops, Chandigarh has impressed two print editions of Tangerine, embracing the deliberate and fulfilling strategy of creation.

Upcycling within the metropolis — Pritpal Matharu: @Pollybots

If Nek Chand was the legend behind Rock Backyard, then entrepreneur Pritpal Matharu is en path to placing Chandigarh on the map for his larger-than-life sculptures constructed from metallic scrap. And all of it started in his father’s metallic works workshop in Chandigarh.

Be careful for Matharu’s Pollybots that are big Transformer-like robots/sculptures within the metropolis. Sui Ni Mato is one such Samurai-inspired ‘bot’ at Chandigarh Membership whereas Double Barrel is a large metallic rooster in pink on the Airport Street in Mohali.

These one-of-a-kind sculptures have caught everybody’s consideration. “I’ve been making Pollybots since 2012 and my encouragement comes from town. I really discover Chandigarh to be a beneficial metropolis for artists, one which helped me create one thing as genuine as Pollybots. It has given me the house, the eyeballs, the time, and the appreciation. I really feel this metropolis has immense potential for innovation, artists and entrepreneurs,” he says.

Constructing a neighborhood – Mehak Bhan: @105arts

Nestled in an outdated restored bungalow amidst Chandigarh’s putting bougainvillea, 105arts opened its doorways three years again as an area to attach artists, patrons, connoisseurs and each Chandigarh resident with the world of artwork. Artwork curator Mehak Bhan, the founding father of 105arts, needed a platform to provoke conversations round artwork and the place amalgamations might happen.

Bhan opened her artwork gallery right here, moved by town’s modernist structure, openness, and distinctive creative sensibility, and the works of visionaries like Le Corbusier. “Chandigarh’s cosmopolitan but intimate vibe makes it splendid for internet hosting artwork reveals and fascinating with collectors and artists alike.”

There are a lot of layers to town and an abundance of tales to discover. “It’s not only a deliberate metropolis. It’s a dwelling canvas the place artwork, design, and tradition intersect. As town continues to develop, so does its potential to grow to be a focus within the Indian artwork scene,” she says.

Focus Chandigarh – Munish & Gurpreet Jauhar: @aimgallerychd

Artwork. Ink. Musings. Chandigarh’s distinctive mix of nature, tradition, and structure evokes AIM Gallery’s imaginative and prescient. “Town’s seasons, blooming flowers, timeless homes, and biodiversity provide a wealthy canvas for artists,” say co-founders Munish and Gurpreet Jauhar. Via weekly posts and a vibrant platform, AIM retains Chandigarh on the coronary heart of its creative endeavours.

Meals for thought – Udhey Sidhu: @gastronome.in.chandigarh 

Chandigarh loves good meals, and Udhey Sidhu is town’s go-to gastronome, exploring the very best locations to wine and dine. Greater than a meals influencer, he’s a culinary curator who understands the journey from sourcing high quality substances to plating perfection. His web page is a information in your subsequent meal, however his work goes deeper — collaborating behind the scenes with eating places to fine-tune dishes and cocktails, usually freed from price.

“It’s my contribution to town’s F&B neighborhood,” he says, including that he shares follower suggestions with eateries to assist them enhance.

Play on – Nav & Fortunate: @Kru172

Their monitor Shehar Mera Chandigarh has grow to be an unofficial anthem for town, and their 2022 album, Chandigarh’s Hottest Duo – CHD, gained consideration for its intelligent wordplay. Meet Chandigarh’s rappers, Nav & Fortunate, whose uncooked music celebrates town, its quirks, and its roots in Puadh.

Their beats and lyrics are a rallying level for a rising neighborhood of musicians, internet hosting stay reveals and rap face-offs that join artists and like-minded people. Nav & Fortunate share a bittersweet relationship with Chandigarh, town the place they have been born and raised. “Earlier than Chandigarh was constructed, this space was Puadh, Punjab. Many don’t realise that 28 villages have been worn out to make means for town,” they clarify.

Amongst these was their ancestral village Fatehgarh Madran, which is now Sector 34. The gurdwara right here was as soon as the village gurdwara the place their great-grandfather Sardar Kartar Singh served as granthi and caretaker. “We even noticed our home demolished to make means for Sector 56,” they are saying, even because the duo’s music displays this layered historical past — uncooked, nostalgic, and deeply rooted of their id.

Treasure hunt – Gourav Kumar: @tricityupdates

Gourav Kumar got here to town looking for a profession, and he obtained one. Throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, Kumar began a web page for engagements, updates and for connecting all those that wanted medical or another form of assist. “And from there it simply grew…to extra updates, information, views, happenings throughout town,” he says.

Kumar then went on exploring town, its hidden corners, secret gardens, hotspots, tales and historical past. As we speak, his web page has crossed 200k followers.

A ‘secret society’ – Manik Chopra: @Fufuturtles

Since school, Manik Chopra, the inventive director of Mrotion Labs, has been working to create communities that convey folks collectively. “I’ve travelled throughout India, and there’s no metropolis like Chandigarh. It has a definite tradition and setting, however I felt it lacked an genuine connection between folks. That’s once we, together with my buddies, Arush Kalia and Prabhdeep Singh, began Fufu Turtles, and it’s been a enjoyable journey,” says Chopra.

Fufu Turtles is a “secret society” that catches up each week to “run, meditate, leap, dance, train, make buddies, speak, shout, join over espresso – in brief, have a wild time.”

The go-to for metropolis buzz – Chandan Sanwal: @chandigarhbytes 

“Mere liye Chandigarh shehar nahi, mohabbat hai. Aur mohabbat ki baat jitni ki jaye, utni kam hai (For me, Chandigarh shouldn’t be a metropolis, it’s love. And the extra we speak about love, the much less it’s),” says Chandan Sanwal, founding father of The Chandigarh Bytes (TCB) that retains the Tricity updated with every thing.

“This metropolis has deeply formed who I’m at present. The Chandigarh Bytes is my means of giving again. As we speak, I really feel a way of duty to characterize Chandigarh in its true spirit, celebrating its magnificence, tradition, and way of life. This bond drives me each single day,” he says.

“Again in 2016, I used to be unaware of what was occurring in and across the metropolis regardless of being a neighborhood resident. I didn’t know what occasions have been occurring round me or the place to get an excellent kurta pajama stitched from. I used to be positive that there have been extra folks like me. Curiosity and necessity is the mom of invention, and therefore I began this platform,” he explains.

Biking for happiness – Dr Sunaina Bansal and Akshit Passi: @officialcyclegiri

On an excellent day, you’ll be able to see them zip previous you, typically in festive colors, sometimes in sarees tied within the Marathi type, typically in workplace put on, or just in health gear – they’re the avid cyclists of Chandigarh.

A health fanatic, Dr Sunaina Bansal, co-founder of Cyclegiri, discovered that a big chunk of the inhabitants in international locations like Denmark and Amsterdam – that get pleasure from a excessive happiness index – cycled in every single place. “Folks there cycle to work, to highschool, to social engagements, enjoyable… I needed to convey that right here,” says Dr Bansal who runs Cyclegiri with Akshit Passi.

Having began out with three-four cyclists a number of years in the past, the neighborhood has grown to 300-400 within the metropolis and 5,000 on-line. This September, they ran a ‘cycle to work’ problem, encouraging folks to burn energy and never gas. Now that’s what town wants!