Given the historical relevance of the place, it is a surprise to know that a very few people in the city are aware of the Lily Garden.

While the name suggests it is a place where lilies bloom, it’s anything but that. Tucked away in the heart of Sector 9’s residential area, the place, at first seems like any other garden with cemented paths and towering trees. There’s nothing here — no boards or signages — that gives you a lead regarding its importance. This, until you literally stumble upon a huge cuboid-like structure housed just off the middle of the garden. Made from cement, it boasts of two dilapidated plaques that have certainly seen bad weather.

The iron bar circling it on the ground along with a thick undergrowth make it difficult to take a closer look — you can squint and just about make out what it reads. ‘Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, saw the layout of Chandigarh from this spot on 2nd April in the year 1952’ it says across a black granite slab.

That’s how important a place it is!

Circle the square and there’s another plaque, in an equally regretful state. It reads: ‘This memorial was inaugurated by M S Randhawa, Chief Commissioner, Chandigarh on Februrary 27, 1967.’ Finally, you realise that Lily Garden actually houses a memorial to Nehru’s vision of planned urban development.

But there’s nothing left now to celebrate the importance of this place.

Interestingly, a hundred metres or so, you notice another structure. This one is tall like a tower and has huge iron frames surrounding it from four sides. Here too, there is no mention of what the tower is or its significance. As one enters the area, you notice something’s amiss.

... contd.