Sector 17 — the evergreen heart of Chandigarh

Nowadays, the heart of City Beautiful, Sector 17 shopping plaza, wears a deserted look.

But during the ’80s and most part of the ’90s, when mobile phones were unheard of and televisions did not have many channels, the heart of the city was a one-stop entertainment centre.

People came in hordes for various reasons. For me it was my fascination for books, which were quite expensive, and resources were scarce.

So I asked the proprietor of English Book Depot, Sector 17, if he could give me books on rent. He replied that there was no such system. “But you can sit in the corner of the shop and read till the end of the day," he offered kindly. I thanked him profusely.

I devoured lots of fiction, non-fiction and spiritual books.

Khalil Gibran, RK Narayan, Osho, Raman Maharishi, Ruskin Bond were my favourite authors.

While I enjoyed reading about fictional characters, the plaza had many interesting real-life characters. There was Jai Kumar, an illiterate man of about 35, who would sit opposite the GPO and sell his expensive "magical" black tablets for "extra stamina" to educated people.

Then there was the sturdy Pathan who sold "Pathan Ka Halwa" opposite the State Bank of India building. His halwa was some an aphrodisiac concoction made by mixing strange herbs with some honey-like sticky liquid.

Haryana Canteen was a favourite of all, selling eatables at very reasonable prices. A samosa was sold for 50 paise, jalebis for Rs 15/kg, and my favorite besan barfi used to be 35 paise/piece!

There was flute seller Ram Kumar who entertained visitors by playing sweet melodies. I once requested him to give me few lessons on flute, he obliged. In the scorching afternoons of May, under an Amaltas tree in Rose Garden, he taught me how to play a flute.

Chandigarh may have changed with time but for diehard Chandigarhians, the charm of the city never fades. For them, Chandigarh is not merely a city, it is their very soul!

Sanjay Gargish, Chandigarh