Punjabi...or should I say Funjabi?

Off to another site visit! This time: Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a Union Territory of India with it's own government.  It also serves as the capital of Punjab and Harayana, the neighboring states.  This city is India's first "planned city," designed by the French architect Le Corbusier.  It's divided up in to rectangular puzzle pieces called sectors. It's so clean and organized, that it only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get from one side to another. That is unheard of in Delhi! (10 to 15 minutes would be considered a very "close" distance to travel)

Chandigarh City Plan:We stayed in Sector 6, right by the lake!

It was beautiful, but "peaceful"?  That might be taking it too far....it is a city after all.

 The governmental organization we were visiting was called PEDA: Punjab Energy Development Agency.  They were located in sector 33 in this SWEET solar passive building with solar panels on the roof:

PEDA's cool building

PEDA's role is pretty much the same as the roll of CREDA from Chhattisgarh - to carry out the policies of the MNRE and implement projects around the state of Punjab.  They are doing alright...we came to find out that Punjab is a very electrified state (by the conventional grid), so there is not as much of an urgency to implement renewable energy.  The awareness of the environment/global warming/etc. is also not there, so pretty much there is no incentive for people to change their energy source.  Well, I guess that saying applies here:  Necessity is the mother of invention.

We were mostly there to study Chandigarh, a "Model Solar City."  They are one of the 4 Model Solar Cities in the country, which basically means they are implementing a lot of renewable energy with funding from the central government. Fun fact: did you know Ann Arbor is a Solar City through the US version of this program?  I certainly didn't until I did a little research!


We also got a chance to see renewable energy in some villages of Punjab.  Agriculture is the main profession here, so we saw fields upon fields of wheat, vegetables, corn, etc.  They are also really into growing mustard plants - every part of this plant can be used for something, whether it is spices or the green leaves. Biji and Bouji (my grandma and late grandpa) were from villages in Punjab, so it was AWESOME to finally see the village life.   Some day, I will have to make it to their villages and explore my heritage some more.

Meenal and I with villagers

A typical view of the villages in Punjab

Can you believe it....I saw a John Deere tractor at one farm house in the village! Crayyy!

The last day, we got some fun sightseeing in.  These sights included the bazillions of beautiful gardens in the city, the International Doll Museum, the Art Museum, and the Rock Garden. The Rock Garden was especially awesome - it is a HUGE maze-type garden made out of industrial waste.  All the sculptures, art, etc. is made out of old crockery, metal pieces, old rocks, and anything else you can think of.   There were even sculptures made out of old bangles!  It was definitely cool.

I just love this pose...it makes me feel so India. Ha.

A SWEET sculpture in the Rock Garden made out of old bangles

Finally I got to see Punjab....my quest to explore my heritage continues!