When does a city become a city? This was the question posed to six filmmakers across the world. Each of us were filming a planned city that was less than sixty years old. I made my film on Chandigarh.
Tracing Bylanes
HDV/ 15 mins / 2011
Colour/Stereo sound
Chandigarh, a celebrated instance of modern city planning, was born out of a loss. Partition, in the wake of Freedom, cut the province of Punjab into two. The Muslim majority areas of West Punjab, along with the capital Lahore, became part of Pakistan. East Punjab remained with the now divided, newly independent India – a federal state without its principal city.
A new city was proposed, one that would erase the experience of dismemberment, and break free of Tradition. Le Corbusier was commissioned to plan and build this Capital. He brought with him the idea of an ideal city that desired equality. The grand plan, this city of the perfect grid that Le Corbusier designed, is scientific and even touching in its humanism.
When and why does an ideal city begin to look like an ossified, museumised form? Less than sixty years later Chandigarh struggles to retain its iconic character. A city that is confused by its margins. A city that has to confront the grim certitude of the Outlier overwhelming The Plan.
The city’s residents mark it with their private lives and intimate stories. Tracing Bylanes maps Chandigarh’s unresolved tensions; its illicit aspirations and growing pains. It seeks to recognize Chandigarh’s singular achievements, and holds a mirror to the inevitability of transgressions.
Produced by: SurFilms
Directed by: Surabhi Sharma
Camera: Avijit Mukul Kishore
Sound: Suresh Rajamani
Editing: Monisha Baldawa
Sound Design:Mohandas VP Music: Kuldeep Barve
Part of a film series, And Then It Became A City- 6 under 60
Surabhi Sharma 