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1. Introduction

1.1 Genesis and Current Status

A glorious testament to the artistic and intrinsic value of trash stands in the

middle of the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and

Haryana, India's storied northwestern state on the border of Pakistan

!he"ock #arden, also known as $ek Chand%s "ock #arden, was constructed by

$ek Chand, a self&taught sculptor, who was a road inspector when the city of

Chandigarh was being built post&Independence period sing the natural

topography of the edge of a woodland, the garden is a veritable assemblage

of several chambers, one leading to another, separated by walls (also made

of broken ceramic plates) and themes *arge groups of animals, birds and

human beings provide a visual and cultural treat As surprising as it may

sound, but the fabrication of this Avant #arde was started as more of a

private hobby by its very creator who tried to conceal it for eighteen years

before it was discovered by the authorities in +-. !his master piece wasconstructed out of natural rocks and the fragmented remains of the village

destroyed during construction of city of Chandigarh !he "ock #arden, as of

now, spreads over /0 acres and witness, on an average of, .000 people

every day

$ek Chand%s work of "ock #arden has been considered as an 12utsider Art%$ek Chand was a road inspector of public work department of the then newlyestablished city of Chandigarh and in his spare time he started constructing"ock #arden as a private hobby Initially this piece of work started illegallywith the bestial and anthropomorphic rocks and other objects $ek Chand

collected from the nearby rivers and ruins until it came to light by theauthorities in +-3 It was, by then, vast collections of rocks and sculptureand was eventually the then illegal "ock #arden became legali4ed $ekChand, by then, became an icon amidst of the economic crisis hoveringacross the country "ock #arden got opened up to public and got 5nancialsupport from the government $ek Chand has a passion for collection rocksfrom di6erent places and rivers He would venture to hills, almost daily, onhis bicycle in search of speci5c rocks He would also collect rocks from theriverside !he raw materials also include strange looking metal pieces, overburnt bricks, China wear, odd shaped or charred tree trunks, weeds, rags,plastic dolls, battered hats, used shoes, rusted bicycles, in short, items that

are often di7cult to dispose 8etting up collection centers throughout thecity, $ek Chand amasses the waste generated by hospitals, hotels andrestaurants 9omestic waste is sourced through local networks thus ensuringa trash&free environment for this beautifully designed city He wasconstrained to bring only a few rocks because the bicycle wouldn%t allow toput on more wait so he was very choosy when it comes to the selection ofrocks :hat was more important to him was not the supply of rocks whichwas endless, but the method of retrieving the rocks and even more

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important was how to store and put them to better use in the sculptures Itcould be seen in his works that some of the rocks he used back then weremore or less shaped as molten magma rocks, some of them, as is evident,being the river side rocks Also in his work can been seen humanoid 5guresthat resembles the ancient art representing Indian sculptures of dances and

celestial beings Also, as visible from his work, there are sculptures ofanimals resembling bison and creatures from ;urassic park

2ne has to walk through the ravines when entering the rock gardens coveredby the overlapping rocks !hese ravines opens up to a scenographic view themain focus of which is the waterfall topped with an arcade !he waterfallgives very paradisiacal feel !he large waterfall at the gateway to Phase&< issplit into three parts= the tallest section contains the water !he secondcomponent is the waterfall itself with a series of sculptures positioned at thetop of the fall !he 5nal aspect is a tall concrete 'tree' structure thatphysically links the two mountains together and reappears as part of the rear

structure2pposite to the waterfall are found a series of semi&closes spaces locatedbesides large amatures that seem to be grappled around the top of the walls!he structure is more or less clumsy with no distinct relationship among itscounterparts !his represents $ek Chand%s incremental approach to building!hese structures are deliberately created in this manner

In order to safeguard the sculpture and still make the pieces available forpublic viewing, the 5gurines are placed on high sloping terraces connectedby pathways and divided by tile& embellished walls with narrow, lowdoorways >ost of the sculptures are smaller than life si4e and range in

subject from human 5gures to monkeys, peacocks, elephants, bears andmany imaginary creaturesIn Phase II one can see a miniature village with shops, houses, paths,temples and a cascading waterfall !his environment friendly gallery of artalso shelters hundreds of birds that live in the garden%s small nooks andcranniesIf a single person can work to create an art kingdom that becomes the pridean entire city, imagine what a movement can do? *et%s try to use ourimagination and creativity to turn waste into aesthetically appealing artforms

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