The ceremonial plaza at the heart of Le Corbusier’s capitol complex in Chandigarh is impressively desolate except for the occasional architectural pilgrim. But hordes of Indians flock each day to what seems to be its alter ego, the Nek Chand Rock Garden down the street. The attraction is the creation of a quixotic former roads inspector who, over 18 years, secretly collected unwanted stones, scrap metal, rejected bricks, broken pottery, old tires, used shoes, and other waste from Le Corbusier’s buildings under construction. Amassed illegally in a jungle clearing, this debris became the raw material for a massive project of reincarnation, as Nek Chand covertly fashioned a wonderland of human and animal statues, artificial landforms, and other fanciful sculptures, following a tortuous route that now extends over 25 acres in whimsical violation of the city’s gridded master plan. When the authorities finally discovered his undertaking, rather than punish its creator they made him a local hero and opened the garden to the public. The Rock Garden’s kitschy organicism may have no artistic significance, but what architect could resist smiling at the insane audacity of the project, executed with such conviction and industry that it managed to subvert local planning regulations and become the city’s chief tourist attraction?
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