Something concrete, finally, as UT forms Rock Garden society

The society will have Nek Chand as life president and a governing body under him headed by the Home Secretary as an ex-officio chairperson. The other members in the executive committee include the chief engineer, the local Member of Parliament and non-official members recommended by Nek Chand and approved by the Administration. The Nek Chand Foundation was set up in London in August last year following news of the vandalism that resulted in the destruction of many exquisite sculptures in the absence of Nek Chand. There was a general feeling among his admirers that the Garden was facing a slow death.

Launched by John Maizeles, the editor of Raw Vision, which promotes outside art, the NCF has a trans-Atlantic board of advisers comprising British pop artist Peter Blake and Ruth Kohler, director of the John Kohler Art Foundation in Wisconsin, among other eminent artists and art lovers.

Friends of the Rock Garden, the Foundation’s sister organisation in India, is headed by publisher Bikram Grewal in Delhi and has members like Amitabh Pandey, the Punjab Resident Commissioner in Delhi and a promoter of art and culture.

Talking to Express Newsline, NCF director Sara Burns noted that the Foundation’s main aims were the preservation, conservation and completion of the Rock Garden. "We intend to promote awareness about the Rock Garden through mobile exhibitions. We are ready to send art-restorers to Chandigarh who can do the restoration work as well as teach the local artisans about the simple methods that will make the sculptures stronger. Two of England’s well-known restorers have already expressed their willingness for they are great fans of Nek Chand." The NCF will also organise fund-raising events in London and New York next year.

Giving the short-term plans, Bikram Grewal said that the first priority was to get the documentation of the Garden done through photographs, mapping and materials published on the Rock Garden. "Afterwards, we intend to publish a book on the Garden, the royalty and the net profit, which can go into the upkeep of the Garden. In February 1999, we are planning a sponsored trip for visitors from the US and Europe to the Garden," Bikram said. Amitabh Pandey said that this concept of a society was proposed 18 years ago when he, along with people like Aditya Prakash and Rupan Deol Bajaj, had formed "Admirers of Rock Garden".

"There will not be any change in the present set-up in the garden. The employees will be treated as on deputation as it exists now and will be paid by the government. The current level of budgetary allocation will continue but the society will be free to receive and raise its own funds," he said.The society intends to involve the Chandigarh College of Architecture for documentation. Sara Burns added that once the work on documentation was over, they would undertake evaluation of each piece, analysing the requirements. Nek Chand used to say, "What will happen to the Rock Garden after my death?" Now, he can rest assured that the expanding list of his admirers across the globe will look after the fantasy land even when its creator has gone.