Unbidden, my mind flies to a World War II cemetery in Imphal and a little plaque placed by the parents of a young British soldier that read: ‘‘A soldier to the world, he was the whole world for us.’’

These brave men, they will always mean the whole world to us.

Shrine to a soldier

• Chandigarh War Memorial was conceived by former Punjab Governor Lt Gen J F R Jacob (retd) in 2003 at the instance of The Indian Express, which had earlier built a similar memorial in Pune in 2003

• Its groundbreaking ceremony at the majestic Bouganvillea Gardens took place in April 2005 and the memorial will be ready by end of July

• A people’s initiative led by The Indian Express, the memorial is being built with Rs 57 lakh

• A first-of-its-kind in the north, the memorial will enshrine the names of around 9,000 martyrs from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh who laid down their lives for the nation since independence

Brick by brick

• The al-fresco memorial was designed by two students of Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA)— Nanaki Singh and Shivani Guglani—whose entry was adjudged the best following a competition amongst CCA students

• Its 22.5-foot-high central sculpture has been designed by assistant architect Shams A Shaikh, a graduate of Sir JJ College of Architecture

• The memorial, which has got what architects call a ‘churning’ shape, consists of circular walls that taper down to 5.6 feet

... contd.