Grids in a Garden leads an in inquiry into the contested realities of Chandigarh. Having grown up in the iconic city for 21 years I have had a first hand experience of the overbearing presence of Le Corbusier's Master Plan in almost every aspect of Chandigarh’s urban experience. The master plan represents the literal transference and unscrupulous application in the Indian context of the building design and physical planning concepts which evolved in Europe. Through this project I tried to understand the kind of invisibilities produced by such a vision of urban planning. The cluster of 'non-plan' settlements - 'lal dora' that are interspersed through out Chandigarh, became a key site for my inquiry. These urban villages which the master plan effectively hides in plain sight, continue to remain vital to the city’s existence. The city’s negative attitude to these villages is symbolic of an inegalitarian imagination of the city - an imagination I hope to critique through this ongoing project. The work includes cement drawings of maps, an audio piece, government furniture installation and a moving image piece.

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