SSC
Who created the famous Rock Garden of Chandigarh?
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Answer: Option C — Nek Chand Saini
Detailed Solution
Nek Chand Saini (1924-2015) was a self-taught artist who created the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, one of the most famous examples of "outsider art" in the world.
Nek Chand was born in the village of Berian Kalan, near Shakargarh, in present-day Pakistan. After the Partition of India in 1947, his family moved to India. In 1951, he started working as a road inspector for the Public Works Department (PWD) in Chandigarh, which was then being built as the new capital of Punjab.
In 1957, Nek Chand began secretly collecting waste materials from the demolition of villages cleared to build the city, along with industrial and urban waste, such as broken pottery, bangles, tiles, bottles, electrical fittings, bicycle frames, wash basins and stones. He used these to make sculptures of people, animals and figures, and arranged them in a forest area near Sukhna Lake. He worked secretly at night for years, since the land was a government conservation area where no building was allowed.
His work was discovered by the authorities in 1975. Instead of demolishing it, the officials, recognising its value and popularity, decided to preserve it. In 1976, the Rock Garden was officially opened to the public, and Nek Chand was given a salary and workers to continue his work. Today the garden covers about 40 acres and includes thousands of sculptures, waterfalls, pathways and courtyards. It attracts thousands of visitors every day and is a symbol of creativity and recycling.
Nek Chand was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. His sculptures are also displayed in museums abroad, such as the American Folk Art Museum and the Capital Children's Museum in Washington.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect, planned the city of Chandigarh and designed its Capitol Complex (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
- ✗Satish Gujral was a painter and architect who designed the Belgian Embassy in New Delhi.
- ✗Charles Correa was an architect who designed the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya at Sabarmati.
Quick tip
Remember: Nek Chand = Rock Garden, Chandigarh (from waste materials, opened 1976), Padma Shri 1984; Le Corbusier = planned Chandigarh.
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Famous Personalities & Founders — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Famous Personalities & Founders, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous personalities from India and the world: leaders, reformers, scientists, entrepreneurs and their nicknames, along with the founders of organisations, companies, institutions, religions and movements. Questions often use popular titles such as 'Iron Man of India' (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) or 'Nightingale of India' (Sarojini Naidu), or ask who founded an organisation, such as the Ramakrishna Mission (Swami Vivekananda). Grouping people by field and by title makes revision faster and helps you spot wrong options. Practise the famous personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.