Iconic Rock Garden creator Nek Chand passes away at 90, Modi condoles death

Chandigarh: Nek Chand, creator of the iconic Rock Garden who has amazed people for decades with his unique sculptures made from waste, died today at a hospital in Chandigarh following a cardiac arrest. He was 90 years old and was suffering from diabetes, hypertension and cancer. The architectural autodidact had been ailing and was admitted to a private hospital here for the past few days. He was shifted to PGIMER last evening where he died shortly past midnight after suffering cardiac arrest, officials said. [caption id=“attachment_2292342” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rock garden creator Nek chand dies. Nek Chand Foundation website[/caption] Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Nek Chand, the creator of Chandigarh’s famous Rock Garden. “Nek Chand-ji will always be remembered for his artistic genius and fabulous creation that is cherished by many. May his soul rest in peace,” Modi said in a tweet.

The Chandigarh Union Territory administration has declared a holiday in its offices on Friday. “We have declared a holiday in view of Nek Chandji’s demise. His body will be kept in the Rock Garden tomorrow to enable people to pay their last respects,” Chandigarh’s Additional Home Secretary S B Deepak Kumar told PTI. The body will be kept in the Rock Garden on Friday for the people to pay tributes and will be cremated on Saturday in Chandigarh, the family members said. Nek Chand was the most-exhibited Indian artist ever with his creations being part of leading cities like Paris, London, New York, Washington DC, and Berlin, and numerous books in different languages being written about him. He had been offered the honorary citizenship in various countries. He was a road inspector in a construction project in Chandigarh in the 1950s and 60s. At that time this city, popularly called ‘City Beautiful’ was being designed by French architect Le Corbusier. Nek Chand developed the art of creating figures from waste material discarded by people and secretly set up his laboratory in a forested area in north Chandigarh to help his creations get into shape. He was honoured with the Padma Shri award in 1984 but the Nek Chand Foundation believes his contribution to Indian art deserves a much higher award. All kinds of waste material like broken bangles, cutlery, chinaware, electrical fittings like switches, plugs and tube-lights, marbles, tiles, household junk, stones, building material waste and other things have found their way into art creations by Nek Chand. The Rock Garden, located in Chandigarh’s Sector 1 on a sprawling 35-acre campus can be best described as a ‘kingdom’ created by Nek Chand which depicts the life and ecology of India, including rural settings and palaces. It also has waterfalls, an open air theatre, and pools. Agencies