Rock Garden in Chandigarh: A Critical Evaluation of the Work of Nek Chand

ROCK GARDEN IN CHANDIGARH - A Critical Evaluation of the Work of Nek Chand is original research thesis for which its author SS Bhatti was conferred the degree of Master of Architecture [M. Arch.] in 1983 by The University of Queensland, Australia. As one of the three examiners had succinctly observed "The book is valuable one which records and analyses the work of a great, courageous and enormously energetic artist. Mr Bhatti has recorded his painstaking examination of Nek Chand's creation, the Rock Garden in Chandigarh." It is a definitive treatise on what is now called "Outsider Art," so much so that articles based on it and published internationally by the distinguished scholar eventually made Chandigarh's Rock Garden world-famous and its creator Nek Chand a global celebrity.

For its sheer thoroughness, insightful analysis, perceptive synthesis, and pragmatic comprehensiveness this book is the first one of its kind, and provides enormously delightful and profoundly enriching reading. It embodies what, according to another examiner, is "A positive reaction to a book that has been written with a thoroughness that makes it a most valuable record and commentary on an exceptional work of art." It would be wrong to regard the relevance of this (pioneer) work as being confined to the field of architecture and landscape architecture. It has something to say to urban and social planners as well as to artists of all kinds. The major thrust (of investigation) is in the objective recording, and this is both a valuable task and one performed with great care and comprehensiveness by the researcher.