Nek Chand

Nek Chand was born in 1924 in Barian Kalan village in the Shakar Garh region in Punjab. He came from a family of agriculturists. He remembers that the migrations began suddenly in 1947. He couldn’t understand why so many people were leaving behind all their possessions and property in such haste. One evening, they untied the animals and his family too left suddenly and they moved to his maternal grandfather’s home in Jammu and Kashmir. It was a two-hour journey, and everyone was felt concerned for their safety, he recalls.

They reached Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and stayed there for about twenty days. Due to heavy rains, the River Ravi was flooded. Mr. Chand’s family crossed the flooded river and reached Qadian village in Gurdaspur district. The entire region was inundated but the family decided to stay put and lived there for two years.

When the waters receded, Mr. Chand joined a group that was making houses for the people who had migrated due to Partition. He says that even though they were made of mud, the houses were very stable. Later on, Mr. Chand began attending school again. But the classes were in English, and he knew Persian and Urdu.

After completing his education, he joined the Public Works Department of Chandigarh in Haryana and began collecting stones and scrap items - a habit that later gave birth to the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. He began constructing sculptures with the items in secret on a piece of empty land in 1958, and continued until 1976. When authorities learned of his work and the landscape of sculptures was revealed, the public showed great support, and Mr. Chand was appointed director of the Rock Garden. What began as is hobby transformed into a city’s identity worldwide. He was invited to the United States, France and Germany for collaborations on similar projects. He was also invited to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore. There he met his old friend Allah Rakhaa. His village, very close to the international border, was uninhabited and in ruins. Mr. Chand remembers the village of his childhood, and he says that he misses local sweets the most.

His message to the world is to be mindful to recycle and reuse whenever possible, which is the philosophy behind the Rock Garden. Nek Chand passed away on June 12, 2015, and is survived by a son and a daughter.