Illustration: Sonal Goyal
“Is that a bird?” Tarun craned his neck to look up at a monument in the Chandigarh Capitol Complex. The metal monument was mounted on a very tall pole. “Is it a weather vane? But that’s not a rooster. Where are the arrows?”“You are right. It is a ‘vane’, as it turns in the wind. But that’s not an instrument to tell the weather. It’s a hand; an open one. In fact, it is called the Open Hand Monument. It was designed by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, who designed the modern city of Chandigarh,” said Amma.“Ah! I see it now, the open hand.” He traced the design in the air with his finger. “It’s written here: ‘the hand to give and the hand to take; peace and prosperity, and the unity of mankind’.”Many monumentsThe complex was a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it also housed government buildings. So the family had to seek permission through the official Chandigarh Tourism website before planning its visit. As they walked around, they took in all the monuments: The Palace of Assembly, the High Court, and the Secretariat. “So, everything here is designed by Le Corbusier?”Appa looked up from his camera. “To answer that, we have to go back a bit in history. After the Partition of India in 1947, Lahore — then the capital of Punjab — was given to Pakistan. Now, Punjab needed a new capital. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to embrace all things modern, send out a positive message to the world and present a modern India.”“So that’s where Le Corbusier was brought in to design some buildings.”“No, no... not just some buildings. An entire city — a joint capital for the states of Punjab and Haryana.”Modern artTaran stopped in his tracks at the Tower of Shadows. “It’s like an open grid. No sunlight falls on any of the walls? Or does it? Is this structure useful?”Amma and Appa also joined him. “Well, I’m sure all architecture students study this,” said Appa.“It’s art; a modern-day Hawa Mahal. To stay cool in the Chandigarh summers,” concluded Amma.“It looks stark!” Taran muttered. “Is modern always good, Appa?”“If the intentions are right, I suppose so! Having said that, modern for the sake of modernity feels odd. But sometimes one has to be a visionary,” said Appa.“Haha! Appa, you sound confused.”“I am!” said Appa, putting his hands up in the air.“May be there is no need to leave the past behind. One must embrace it and move forward.”“Yes, that’s what I was trying to say. You are thinking with my brains,” smiled Appa.They had circled back to the Open Hand Monument. “Goodbye, Mr. Corbusier!” Taran waved with an open hand. Published - July 03, 2026 09:45 am IST
