Living in Zirakpur – A modern Indian city

Lying just south of the famous city of Chandigarh, Zirakpur is a rapidly developing city that, somehow, has managed to combine all the amenities of modern living and city dwelling, whilst still retaining wide open green spaces.

The city of Zirakpur has grown, from just a small number of villages scattered around the outskirts of Chandigarh, to a bustling and modern city with all the modern amenities. Unlike many such developing cities around the world, though, planners of new developments in Zirakpur pay as much attention to the trees and plants as they do with the bricks and mortar aspects of their designs.

Just as Delhi has its suburbs such as Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad, the city of Chandigarh has Zirakpur. Good transportation links between Zirakpur and Chandigarh is one of the reasons that Zirakpur is fast becoming the green and pleasant city that workers in Chandigarh come home to.

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As the city of Zirakpur grows, so does the need for quality housing and this is being catered for by the development of new townships and property developments.

These new property developments in Zirakpur provide residents with all the amenities like modern malls, entertainment centres within the city of Zirakpur itself and the nearby city of Chandigarh, whilst retaining a pleasant and soothing atmosphere, away from the city itself.

Unlike the planned city of Chandigarh, which was famously masterminded by the Swiss-French architect, Le Corbusie, it is the developers themselves of Zirakpur who are designing a new way of living for the people of the Punjab

One such developer is MT Zirakpur who is currently developing Property in Zirakpur at a number of different sites. Their aim, it seems, is to bring the fresh air of the country to their city dwelling residents.

That’s certainly a refreshing change from cramming people into small, overcrowded, high rise developments that many other developing regions seem to be destined to do.

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Zirakpur is not just a city of new property development’s, Zirakpur also has a rich history is and the city has associations with Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Peer Buddhu Shah, Dargahi Shah and Bhai Jaita.

One such historical site of religious significance that can be found in Zirakpur is the Gurudwara Baoli Sahib. A Gurudwara, which means, gateway to the guru, is a place where Sikhs come together to worship. The story behind the Gurudwara Baoli Sahib is that, when the tenth and the last of the Sikh Gurus, visited the region, he found that there was a sacristy of water. The guru surveyed the surrounding land and, at one particular point, he thrust his sword into the soil and clean, fresh water began to bubble up from under the ground. The guru also paid with his own money for the erection of a permanent facility on the site and that is where Gurudwara Baoli Sahib now stands.

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Like all Indian city’s, Zirakpur enjoys many festivals of social and religious significance, including Diwali, Holla Mohalla and Baisakhi.

Vaisakhi, or, Baisakhi, is a festival that is celebrated by people of many different religions, for different reasons. That makes Baisakhi a New Year’s Day and Harvest Festival all rolled into one and, the people of Zirakpur and throughout the Punjab region celebrate the day with a great deal of dancing, music and festivities.

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Zirakpur is also home to an impressive zoological park. ChattBir Zoo, which used to be known as Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, has a fine collection of many different types of animals, including their pride and joy, a Royal Bengal tiger. The zoo also has its own Asiatic Lion reserve, where visitors can see the beasts roaming freely in a safari park setting. The zoo was built back in the 1970’s and is now one of India’s premier safari parks.

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Another of Zirakpur’s claims to fame is its ride to prominence as the unofficial wedding capital the Punjab region of India. A Punjab wedding is a lavish affair and both Hindu and Sikh weddings share some of the same rituals and both are filled with dance and song.

So popular has Zirakpur become as a wedding destination, there are now some 60 different wedding resorts, which used to be known as wedding palaces, in the city and over 900 weddings are conducted in Zirakpur every year.

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Unlike its neighbour, Chandigarh, which was developed and planned by Le Corbusier, based on his vision of the perfect “Radiant City”, the city of Zirakpur has grown, from just a few scattered villages, into a major city, without anyone having a grand master plan. Yet, responsible property developers are creating a greener city that people will really want to live in.

Zirakpur is a city that India can be proud of and a credit to property developers who appear to have taken on board what people really want.

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