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Born in 1923, M N Sharma was educated in Lahore and Mumbai before proceeding to England in 1946 for higher studies in architecture. He graduated in 1949 and became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1966.

He joined the Chandigarh Capitol Project in June 1950 and worked with the American team for the first Master Plan. In 1951, he worked with the second team of architects led by Le Corbusier. Sharma was chosen to be the first Indian Chief Architect in 1965 after retirement of Pierre Jeanneret and was also appointed the secretary of the Department of Architecture at the Chandigarh College of Architecture. During this tenure 1965 to 1979, he completed most of Le Corbusier’s unrealised works in the Capitol Complex and completed the first phase and designed the second phase of the city. He helped in organising the first Chandigarh Exhibition at the Centre Le Corbusier in Zurich in May 1968.

He is recipient of many national and international awards for his contribution to the profession including the French Award given by the Institute of Life for creating the best environment for the common man in 1973. He received the Gold medal of the Indian Institute of Architects in the year 2000 and, in the same year, the Architect of the Year Award from JK Cement Industries. He was also conferred the title of ‘Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters’ by the Government of France in 2005. Sharma is invited to most countries in Europe to share his experiences.

Presently, Sharma is dedicated to creating public awareness for the preservation of Chandigarh including Le Corbusier’s great works and conservation of the human environment.

In conversation with IA&B, veteran architect and practitioner M N Sharma talks about his beginnings in Chandigarh and the city he loves, as he remembers how and why Chandigarh matters.

Image: courtesy M N SharmaData & Curation: courtesy Surinder Bahga

Reminiscing a dreamt Utopia

let’s partnerIA&B: Tell us about your association with Chandigarh since its inception and your contribution in building of the city?MNS: I came back to India in May 1950 to join the Capitol Project at Shimla and worked with the American team of Albert Mayer Town Planner and a bright young Polish-American architect, Mathew Nowicki, who arrived in June 1950 to work further on the Master Plan and design of buildings. I was assigned to work with Nowicki who wanted to adopt some aspects of Indian architecture with latest construction methods. The sudden death of Nowicki in a plane crash on 30th August 1950 necessitated the search of a new team of architects in Europe. Well-known British Architects E Maxwell Fry and his wife Jane B Drew agreed to work for a period of three years in India. Le Corbusier was initially reluctant due to the distance, finally agreed to design the city-plan and its major works in the Capitol Complex and desired Pierre Jeanneret to work full time in India. The new team arrived in February 1951 and finalised the Master Plan in March 1951 which was accepted by the East Punjab Government. For the first time Le Corbusier got the opportunity to apply the doctrine of the CIAM’s Charter of Athens 1933 for which he played major role. Fry, Jeanneret and Drew faced constraints of financial resources, extreme climates, and age-old construction methods. With local building materials they evolved new kind of architecture which became modern classic.

Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew left in 1954 after completing the three-year contract. Pierre Jeanneret continued to work and in 1960 became the Chief Architect and Town Planning Advisor of the Punjab State with Chandigarh as its capital. Due to failing health Pierre chose to retire and I was asked to take over as the first Indian Chief Architect on the 1st July, 1965 and worked in this position for a long period of 14 years. Le Corbusier’s sudden death on 27th August 1965 came as a big shock as the entire responsibility of completing pending works fell on my shoulders. In this great task I was supported by the most dedicated and talented young architects.

We continued to work tirelessly to finish the remaining projects of the first phase including those of Le Corbusier’s unrealised works of the Open Hand, Tower of Shadows, Geometric Hill and made concerted efforts to get the fourth major building Museum of Knowledge built. I designed the biggest Rose Garden in Asia, three famous fountain-sculptures in the City Centre (Sector 17), new Architectural Controls along the major roads and the sub-city centre in Sector 34. We designed most of the second phase of Chandigarh. We were able to create purely utilitarian forms of brick buildings with remarkable results. Special attention was paid to the low-income group housing which was adjudged the best for creating living environment for the common man. In 1969, I was awarded the fellowship of Rockefeller Foundation in New York for a period of three months for the outstanding work in Chandigarh, in addition to many other awards and lecture-tours of most European countries. I left Chandigarh in 1979 to be the Consultant Advisor for the New Federal Capital of Nigeria – Abuja.

After the departure of the first team of famous architects and most of the notable architects of the Indian team, there was a gradual decline in the Department of Architecture resulting in heads of other departments having a better say on planning and architectural issues. All the laws and regulations governing Chandigarh are being ignored. Periphery Control Act of 1952 was violated resulting in creating haphazard and chaotic developments on all sides of Chandigarh. This has become a major threat to the future of Chandigarh. All efforts for coordinated planning are futile under the prevailing conditions.

IA&B: What would you say about Chandigarh not appearing like an Indian City or adhering to the Indian traditional living? MNS: Chandigarh is the greatest experiment in the contemporary history of planning and architecture for healthy living standards of all classes of citizens that would be an example for other cities in developing countries and other parts of the world. Chandigarh could possibly not be like any other city here or elsewhere because Le Corbusier wanted to meet the socio-economic changes taking place in the fast developing economy due to industrialisation. In Chandigarh, Le Corbusier got the opportunity to apply theories and ideology he was advocating in the past twenty years. India was fortunate to have Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister to guide India’s destiny and asked Le Corbusier to design Chandigarh undeterred by the traditions of the past to make it the true expression of resurgent India. Chandigarh brought some changes for the better in the traditional living of the common man. Chandigarh has stood the test of time and has made itself the pride of India that attracts tourists and art lovers from all over the world. In fact, Chandigarh has become the ‘Mecca’ of architects.

IA&B: There are thirteen categories of houses for Government Officials as per their pay scales, regardless of their family needs. Can you explain the rationale for doing so?MNS: The architects were asked by the Government to follow this categorisation in designing of these houses on their paying capacity. It was not upto the architects to bring changes in the social set-up, they are supposed to follow norms of the Government housing. It was for the first time in India that before beginning to design the housing, efforts were made to determine the “minimum house”. It was decided that the smallest house should have two bedrooms, kitchen, verandah, bathroom and WC in addition to a spacious back and front courtyard. With rising prices it became difficult to keep upto these standards and on becoming the Chief Architect and Secretary it was decided to rationalise the catagories of houses to only five types to reduce the disparity. There are changes in living standards due to financial affluence which will continue to change, hopefully, for the better.

IA&B: The citizens feel disparity between the Northern and Southern sectors of Chandigarh – Why is this so?MNS: At the very outset, it was decided to build the new Capital City for half a million people in two phases. Phase one comprising 30 Sectors to contain 1,50,000 persons and the Phase two of 17 sectors of much higher density for the population of 3,50,000. The Phase one had bigger sizes of plots for housing and civic infrastructure as, in the early fifties persons in authority were used to living in much larger houses compared to the rest of the population. Even so, the architects utilised their earlier experience and spared no efforts to make lives of residents of the second phase of Chandigarh equally splendid. Some research scholars comparing sector 22 (first sector of the earlier phase) with sector 35, (first of the second phase) considered the later sector far better. Also, some of the new buildings were widely published for the new expression in architecture.

As regards the maintenance of the second phase of the city, it is evident that much lesser attention is being paid for its upkeep due to lack of interest of the authorities. I am confident that the second phase of Chandigarh will get better attention when the citizens will pay property taxes and also compel the Municipal Corporation to do the job they are responsible. Citizens are the true guardians of the city and that is why Le Corbusier wrote the Statute of the Land for the guidance of the citizens and the future administration.

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Mr. Jeet Malhotra - another veteran architect, academician and visionar y remembers Chandigarh and its inception in conversation with IA&B, as he thinks about a misunderstood Utopia and a future that promises one.Image: courtesy Jeet MalhotraData & Curation: courtesy Surinder Bahga

Continuity and Condensation

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Jeet Malhotra worked with iconic town planner Dr Otto Koenigsberger and moved to work on the UN project during its transition from the League of Nations in 1949. From 1951 to 1966, he worked on the Chandigarh Project with Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry. He has seen the city develop from a sketch to a concrete reality. He served as the Chief Architect of Punjab from 1981 to 1985. He has lectured extensively and was the principal of the Chandigarh School of Architecture. He is one of the pioneers in evolution of the concept of ‘Environmental Planning’ in India.

IA&B: Tell us about your association with Chandigarh and its architecture. What do you think about contemporary Chandigarh?JM: I was a participant witness to the planning and construction of Capital Project of Chandigarh, I worked on this project from 1949 to 1951 in the office of Dr Otto Koenigsberger at New Delhi. I also worked on the ‘First Master Plan’ prepared by Albert Mayer and Mathew Nowicki. I was associated with the ‘Second Master Plan’ in the team of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret from 26th May 1951 to August 1966.

The then town is growing into a city now! It badly needs the third ‘Newer Master Plan’ to meet the present requirements. It will be impossible to make future city slum and pollution-free if we don’t go vertical, yet not more than 50 feet or so. All plots in the sectors should be allowed deconstruction and must be provided with underground network of suitable metro rails.

More land should be saved for poor people who are needed to run the city. This needs careful and detailed urban/city planning without killing its existing landscape and open spaces. This will prove very beneficial for city development.

IA&B: You were a part of the dream of building a Utopian town. Do you see your vision being translated to reality? What would you like to change?JM: In my views, now, nothing is Utopian for ever! Yesterday’s Utopian thought is a reality today! And today’s Utopian will be reality of tomorrow!

Chandigarh was planned as a modern town only. It was not planned to be a limitless city. It must be now planned as a future city. It should be compact to increase its density for better use of available land. We should allow in the entire first phase of II Master Plan deconstruction and go vertical as we are doing in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, in all residential plots. Why not? We can have stilted floors for parking and four residential/mixed-use flats on top. Please see the latest Delhi 2021 Master Plan.

IA&B: Chandigarh was perhaps the biggest urban initiative of independent India. Can you tell us about the years of planning and building the town?JM: Yes, Chandigarh was the best original initiative in town and country planning of independent India, as it taught us the new thinking and action in the fields of ‘holistic architecture, rural, urban interfacing of the cities, towns and the country side’, giving due consideration to the environmental morality of the life as a whole for the good of entire mankind! We now call it Environmental Planning Unit.

Environmental Planning Unit is flourishing in different parts of all countries of UNO at this point of time! This concept can make the entire world safer for all. Everything must change for the better and we can help this to happen. Professionals have a role in this great venture, globally!

Chandigarh is to be made into a compact city without destroying its original grid-pattern plan by providing the best infrastructure necessary for city life. I don’t know the population growth of a future compact city; the respective team is already working on it.

IA&B: You have worked with the stalwarts who created the town. Do you agree with the vision? Did you have an alternative idea of the town?JM: The stalwarts I worked with in the past, would make me/us to do a better job in the Newer Master Plan, for the balanced growth of the region as a whole. It is a matter of doing now or never! It is very big work of city plan.

It is impossible for any single architect/planner to prepare city plan for Chandigarh. We need a good team of professionals to do this job.

I know it is being done by the Chief Architect of Chandigarh in the Department of Urban Planning for Chandigarh Administration. We all should help her to do a very well co-ordinated project now. I have already written to the Administration of Chandigarh.

IA&B: Chandigarh has become a global icon of modernism and Le Corbusier ’s architecture. According to you, is it an ideal town? Are people happy with the vision?JM: I like Chandigarh’s planning and architecture. Its present requirements and functions have changed. So now we need a new Master Plan which can be implemented in next 25 years. Preparing a good Master Plan is not a joke. It is a job of experts.

Exposed concrete has got blackened now. So buildings are not looking very good as they should. We should find a solution for the preservation of concrete buildings. A system of regular maintenance should be evolved.

The t wo inter v iew s form an essent ia l pro logue to the narrat ive on Contemporar y Archi tec ture in Chandigarh, page 105.

april 2012 lets partner

Documents

preservation of chandigarh

chandigarh matters

chandigarh exhibition

chandigarh capitol project

indian institute of

new team of architects

n sharma talks

indian chief architect