Chandigarh: The Backstory - And The City It Couldn't Be  (Paperback, Vibhor Mohan)

Tracing the sepia-toned years of Chandigarh’s infancy brings nostalgia that is both heartwarming and oddly melancholic. The new capital of East Punjab came up bit-by-bit, beginning with sector 22. But before that, Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier’s team had to grapple with some pertinent questions: Why can’t the city have skyscrapers? Why have cleaners’ passages and purdah screens in houses? A blueprint by American architect Albert Mayer was ready before Corbusier stepped in. But Mayer lost his Polish associate Matthew Nowicki in a plane crash and quit. It was a jittery transition from Mayer to Corbusier. Beyond the anecdotal accounts of the city’s early life, the book is the outcome of a deep dive into piles of official records to stitch together the city’s past - the triumphs and tribulations of its people, the foresightedness and failings of the planners. Let’s go back to March,1948 when it all began.