Ravi Kalia collection relating to the planning of Chandigarh, Punjab, India, circa 1967-1983

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Summary

Creators:
Kalia, Ravi
Abstract:
With the partition of India in 1947, Lahore, the ancient capital of the Indian state of Punjab, became part of Pakistan. As other towns served as the temporary capital, a site at the center of the Indian state was chosen to create an entirely new capital city. The first Chandigarh plan was prepared by Albert Mayer, a New York architect who had spent time in India in World War II. From his basic plan, the French architect Le Corbusier continued, assisted by his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and the English couple E. Maxwell Fry and Jane B. Drew, in turn assisted by various Indian professionals. Meyer's plan incorporated neighborhood sector concepts and green belts. The collection consists of government publications and photocopies of memos, documents, contracts, correspondence, and articles from journals relating to the development of Chandigarh and the theory of urban planning.
Extent:
3.0 Linear Feet (6 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ravi Kalia Collection Relating to the Planning of Chandigarh, Punjab, India (Collection 1364). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of government publications and photocopies of memos, documents, contracts, correspondence, and articles from journals relating to the development of Chandigarh and the theory of urban planning. Includes blueprints, maps, brochures, audiotape interviews with planners, and publications relating to political problems and conflicts of Chandigarh and the Punjab.

These materials were assembled by Ravi Kalia for his dissertation, completed in the UCLA Department of History, 1984. The materials consist of government publications and photocopies of memos, documents, contracts, correspondence, and articles from journals relating to the development of Chandigarh and the theory of urban planning. There is a small amount of correspondence iniitiated by Mr. Kalia, notably a letter from Maxwell Fry, detailing his attitudes toward the work of Le Corbusier. The papers document the reality of this city which Jawaharlal Nehru saw as "symbolic of the freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past." Mayer's plan incorporated neighborhood sector concepts and green belts and the architects sought (in Drew's words) to "combine something of the philosophic detachment of the east with the industrialization of the west." later items in the collection give details of the present-day political difficulties.

Biographical / historical:

With the partition of India in 1947, Lahore, the ancient capital of the Indian state of Punjab, became part of Pakistan. As other towns served as the temporary capital, a site at the center of the Indian state was chosen to create an entirely new capital city. The first Chandigarh plan was prepared by Albert Mayer, a New York architect who had spent time in India in World War II. From his basic plan, the French architect Le Corbusier continued, assisted by his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and the English couple E. Maxwell Fry and Jane B. Drew, in turn assisted by various Indian professionals. Meyer's plan incorporated neighborhood sector concepts and green belts.

With the partition of India in 1947, Lahore, the ancient capital of the state of Punjab, went to Pakistan. After temporary capitals, a site at the center of the state was chosen - for its central location, natural features, and inspiring setting - to create an entirely new city. This offered various planners and architects the opportunity to put into practice their theories of urban planning and prived later theorists with a project for study. The first Chandigarh plan was prepared by Albert Mayer, a New York architect who had spent time in India in World War II. From his basic plan, the French architect Le Corbusier continued, assisted by his cousin, Piere Jeanneret, and the English couple E. Maxwell Fry and Jane B. Drew, in turn assisted by various Indian professionals.

Acquisition information:
Ravi Kalia, purchase, 1984.
Processing information:

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Albert Mayer, E. Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, and Jeet Malhotra (Box 1).
  2. Le Corbusier, Jawaharlal Nehru, M.S. Randhawa (Box 2).
  3. Articles, clippings, blueprints, maps, brochures, and cassette interviews of city planning and Chandigarh (Box 3).
  4. Government publications (Boxes 4-5).
  5. Draft of Chandigarh regional plan and publications relating to Chandigarh and the Punjab (Box 6).

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ravi Kalia Collection Relating to the Planning of Chandigarh, Punjab, India (Collection 1364). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website