Mosaic sculptures to handcrafted waterfalls: Chandigarh's Rock Garden creator Nek Chand passes away

[caption id=“attachment_2292378” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  Creator of world famous Rock Garden Nek Chand died in Chandigarh today at a hospital where he had been admitted following complaint of chest pain. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292384” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  The Rock Garden, which spreads over 40 acres, was built by Nek Chand from industrial and home waste and other discarded items. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292386” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  Deep inside his massive garden of handmade waterfalls and sculptures, Nek Chand recalls toiling away secretly in the dead of night for a staggering 18 years to create his wonderland in north India. Riding his bicycle after dark to a state-owned forest, Chand spent night after night clearing patches of ground and transforming the landscape into a majestic garden that would eventually cover 20 acres (8 hectares). AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292388” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  It was in the early 1960s that he began to clear a little forest patch near Sukhna Lake to create a small garden. He set stones around the little clearing and then sculpted a few figures from discarded and recyclable materials he found at hand. His creation grew covering several acres and comprising hundreds of sculptures. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292392” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  When his secret was finally discovered in 1975, authorities threatened demolition, claiming he had violated strict land laws. But an amazed public rallied behind him. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292394” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  A tourist walks along a bridge in the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292396” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  The garden was inaugurated as a public space in 1976, bringing him glory that would last a lifetime and beyond. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292400” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  Chand uses discarded objects, such as broken crockery, electrical fittings, glass bangles and bicycle frames, building up the bulk of the figure with cement and sand mix. A final coating of smoothly burnished pure cement combined with waste materials would then be added. Chand believed that each figure contained the spirit of a human being, god or goddess. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_2292398” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  This file photo taken on October 31, 2014 shows Nek Chand Saini talking to journalists on the eve of his 90th birthday at the rock garden that he built in Chandigarh. AFP[/caption]