Corbusier was reluctant to join Chandigarh project: MN Sharma

CHANDIGARH: Le Corbusier was initially reluctant to join the Chandigarh project. This is one of the many interesting revelations made by MN Sharma, former Chief Architect of Chandigarh, in his book “Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After”.

Punjab and Haryana Governor-cum-UT Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki (centre) releases a book, “Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After”, during a function at the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Sector 10, Chandigarh; and (below) Solanki engrossed in the book. Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 4

Le Corbusier was initially reluctant to join the Chandigarh project. This is one of the many interesting revelations made by MN Sharma, former Chief Architect of Chandigarh, in his book “Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After”.

Born on August 4, 1923, MN Sharma joined the project in June 1950 and worked with an American team during the preparation of the first master plan. In 1951, he joined the team of architects, led by Corbusier. Sharma became the first Chief Architect of the city in 1965 after Pierre Jeanneret retired.

The book reveals that the making of Chandigarh was not an easy task as it saw many ups and downs.

The book contains 17 chapters that throw light on Corbusier’s early schooling, designing of buildings in Chandigarh and the latest challenges faced by the city.

Mentioning the initial reluctance of Corbusier, Sharma writes,“ In November, 1950, Chief Minister Gopi Chand Bhargava asked Administrator PN Thapar and Chief Engineer PN Verma to search for a new team of architects from Europe. I lent Verma a book on the modern European architecture to familiarise him with it and the key architects and their works before his visit to Europe. Thapar and Verma engaged noted British architect Maxwell Fry for three years. Fry suggested that they meet Le Corbusier. Both of them met Corbusier at Paris in 1950 to convince him to accept the assignment of designing the city. At first, Corbusier showed reluctance to travel such a long distance but offered to design the city from his Paris office. After a lot of persuasion, he agreed to visit the city twice a year for a month and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret was appointed for full-time work in India. Later, the contract with both architects was signed on December 20, 1950.”

In the last chapter, Sharma mentioned the challenges faced by the city and appealed to the Administration and the residents to help keep the original character of the city intact.