Nek Chand Education Resources
Nek Chand was born in 1924 in Berian Kala, Tehsil Shakargarh, India (current day Pakistan). After the Partition of India, when British rule came to an end in 1947, Chand’s Hindu family was forced to flee their village in the Shakargarh region, which fell within the borders of Muslim Pakistan, and they settled in Chandigarh, India. In 1955, Chand began working as a road inspector for the Indian government’s Public Works Department. Chandigarh was going through a major shift at this time: the government had engaged the Swiss architect Le Corbusier to design and rebuild a new capital from scratch, which quickly changed the layout of the city. Chand, believing that everything in nature transforms itself from one form into another, began collecting rocks, discarded materials, and recyclable items from the demolition of surrounding villages. He used these materials to create the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, an eighteen-acre sculpture garden that he secretly constructed for many years. On January 24, 1976, the Rock Garden was formally inaugurated as an official public space by the Indian government.
Beginning in 1996 and lasting over the span of eight years, over 150 sculptures from the Rock Garden of Chandigarh were gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Chand aided the Arts Center and the Kohler Foundation, Inc., in the selection process, carefully choosing works to receive lasting care and be seen in significant groupings outside of India.
