When I remember My Home: Manimajra
By Aaryan Bhalla
I Aaryan Bhalla lived in ManiMajra for 12 years but, as the family expanded and enlarged, we ought to take a Kothi, which we took at Sector 9 Panchkula, Because the streets were quite congested there, ☹️ the car Parking did not look as well and the wind could not cross properly and we wanted a house with fully open ventilated rooms.😔 But we know that old is gold and it would be very difficult to extinguish old items and old places. 😌😌
So, yes, if we want to know more about Mani Majra, the first thing to know is that Chandigarh is a union territory of India, which is also the capital of two Indian states, Punjab and Haryana.🤔🤔
However, Manimajra is a small town in the Union Territory of Chandigarh in northern India. There is a historical fort of the Sikh Empire period, due to which this place is called the old Manimajra Old Fort. 🏰 Panchkula city of Haryana is near it. It is a town with a cluster of thousands of small streets.😌
Chandigarh’s name means the fort of silver. It is because of the temple of Chandika or Chandi, a form of Hindu goddess Durga. This temple is still in the city. It is also called City Beautiful and the city of Peace. 🤔👍❤️
The distance of Panchkula is 2 km from here to Manimajra. It is a friendly place to live in. The Main market of Manimajra is famous all over the Tricity and it has a motor market which is the largest motor market in Chandigarh.
I was born on March 26, 2007, in PGIMER, sector 12 Chandigarh. All my memories of my childhood belong to this place. As we have adopted to the place for 20 years. The entire house was taken by giving 22,000 rupees by my grandfather.
Let us see all the sweet memories, events, festivals, and celebrations celebrated there which would be never forgotten and remembered in our minds. 😃
Celebrations at Manimajra
- Raksha Bandhan
Neha Didi is my fathers’ sister’s daughter. (My Buji’s Daughter) Nowadays she is in Bangalore because of her job.
But, she always came to meet us in October every year.
If she cannot come. Her mother Mala Bua came on the occasion Raksha Bandhan wore us Rakhi and Bhai Dooj.
Here are my mom and smaller uncle — Harcharan Singh Rana (my mama Ji) my mother’s bigger brother. But, smaller than our elder uncle. Isn’t it confusing? But that’s the truth. 😝😛
Basically, Som Nath Uncle is the eldest one Bittu uncle is the younger one and my mother is the youngest.
This is our Som Nath uncle’s daughter Tanvi Rana, our cousin’s sister. She is always close to us. 😏☺️
But, nowadays she is in Dubai and busy there. When she is not here, her mother Naresh Rana comes and wears us Rakhi.
That’s our Mamma’s sister’s daughter. I mean my (maasi’s) Aunt’s daughter i.e. my cousin sister — Priyanka Jarial.
You already know how music changed my life. If didn’t saw then the article’s link has been posted to you. It was the first time we organized a kirtan in our home. Playing Dholak and singing bhajan with small kids.
Birthday Celebrations
Grandfather’s birthday
My grandpa celebrates his birthday every year on the delightful day of Vasant Panchami.
Birthday celebrations at our home.
From left to right: Niti, Gaurvi, me, Nikki, his sister, and Rahul
Durga Ashtami
Kanjak is the festival of Chana, Puri, and halwa which we always celebrated on the occasion of Durga Ashtami. but we also celebrated it on my father’s birthday every year. We refer to all the girls as Mata Durga.
March 22, 2018
Grandmother’s Birthday
My sweet grandmother, Mrs. Smt. Naresh Bahri Bhalla was very loving and very caring. But now she is not with us and has left us in 2019 but, will always live in our hearts and minds. We all miss you baddi mamma.
March 22, 2019
One of the simplest things we can do is to spend some time with them daily and get to know about what happened every day with our grandparents is that we can also take them out for a walk or a drive in our car. We must give them special care when they are sick and help them get their medicines on time.
They were very lucky to have completed 51 years of togetherness. Unfortunately, in the year September 2019. My granny passed away. It has been a year since you left us but you are always in our hearts and minds. We all miss you Baddi Mamma. Our parents and grandparents are our guiding angels, always by our side. I am sending my blessings on the wings of a dove, not only for today but every day, We think of you always; we love you so much..!
Happy Holi…..bura na maano Holi Hai
Holi always had a memorable festival at Manimajra. Blessings from parents and grandparents. Balloon fights, eating Gujiyas, and enjoyment. We celebrate it with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.
Holi is known as the festival of colors. It is one of the most important festivals in India. Followers of the Hindu religion celebrate Holi each year with zeal and enthusiasm in the month of March. Those who celebrate this festival, wait for it every year eagerly to play with colors and have delectable dishes.
Holi is about celebrating happiness with friends and family. People forget their troubles and indulge in this festival to celebrate brotherhood. But balloons, tomatoes, and eggs create panic and irritability.
One day before Holi, people conduct a ritual called “Holika Dahan”. In this ritual, people pile heaps of wood in public areas to burn. But, we didn’t do any of that ceremony.
The vibrancy of colors is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colors is a day worth rejoicing.
We always celebrate Eco-friendly Holi with natural colors and flowers. Ideally, the joyous festival of Holi celebrates Spring while the colors used in Holi are to reflect the various hues of spring. But unfortunately, in modern times Holi does not stand for all things beautiful. Chemicals are used, artificial colors can harm us.
Diwali
Diwali always had fun in Manimajra, not only firing and crackers but rangoli’s too. It is certainly one of the biggest festivals in India. It is probably the brightest festival in the world. People of different religions celebrate Diwali. Most noteworthy, the festival signifies the victory of light over darkness.
According to Ramayana, Diwali is the day of the return of Rama. On this auspicious day, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya along with his wife, Sita. They made this return after Rama defeated demon King Ravana. Rama’s brother Lakshmana and Hanuman also came back to Ayodhya victorious.
Finally, to sum it up, Diwali is a great joyful occasion in India. One cannot imagine the delightful contribution of this glorious festival. It is certainly one of the greatest festivals. The only thing I hate is the burning of over crackers which can create enormous noise.
Karva Chauth
“Karva Chauth” is one of the most important festivals of the Hindus. Karva Chauth is a ritual that reflects the relationship between a bride and a woman. The ladies had to take a fast for the age of their husbands and for a day without water and any food material.
Valmiki Ji Jayanti — Garbade
Maharishi Valmik Ji is the author of Ramayana, and his contribution to that book can never be forgotten. The children celebrate this festival in the evening each year on Puranmashi after the Dussehra festival.
गरबड़े भाई गरबड़े बूढा-बूढी लड़ पड़े
Garbade is the name of the earthen pot with holes, which are lighted with divas putting in them which make it unique as the light partially comes from the holes of the pot. Basically, Garbade is marked as the birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmik Ji.
We mainly celebrated it in North India, especially Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. We place Gadbade in corners of the house toward away the Andhkar (darkness). You can find many shapes and designs of Gadbade lamps on the market. Even these days you can find beautifully decorated Gadbade lamps which are decorated using various colors and stones.
Dusshera
Dusshera is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of the 2nd Navaratri every year in September or October. The festival celebrates the Hindu god Rama’s victory over the demon king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil. Thus, the epic Ramayana tells the story of Lord Rama, who wins the lovely Sita for his wife, only to have her carried off by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Every year at different places, putla’s are ignited in the empty grounds and people used to come to enjoy the Mela and Ravan Dehan of Dusshera.
Dussehra falls two to three weeks prior to Diwali. Everyone waits for this festival enthusiastically. It brings great reason to rejoice by all.
This festival signifies the victory of the power of good over that of the power of terrible evil. In Hindu mythology, it is said that on this day Goddess Durga removed the demon called Mahishasura from the earth.
My brother always used to take part in Ram Leela of The Azad Dramatic Club, Manimajra Chandigarh. The ram Leela Association used to recall all the drama acts, talks are made, scripts are made and in just 10 days at Quila Ground, Old fort Manimajra, Sector 13, Chandigarh.
Ganesh Chaturthi
Maharashtra Mandal has already completed their 25 years of organizing the Ganesh Chathurti program for the community at Ganga Devi Dharamshala, Manimajra. But, when we used to shift from Panchkula to manimajra, it was difficult for me to attend the programs they followed. So, I decided to make my own eco-friendly Tree Ganpati at home.
Our neighbors also celebrate and place a beautiful Ganapati in their homes every year. I am sharing the drive link so that one must click and see the precious memories.
Friends and Fellows
Here’s me Tanisha, and Nitti. I miss the fun I had with my friends. I pray to God to keep them happy forever.
From left to right: Isha, Kavya, Niti, Tanisha, Guaravi, Natisha, Niki, me, Rahul, and Manu.
Playing with Tenants Children always had fun as they were very sincere and charming.
From left to right: Me, Hansika, Pulkit, Khushi, and Anick.
Can you believe an imaginary house from waste materials only? Yes!!… I, Khushi, And Hansika made a beautiful house from waste-we did it DIY. I was happy to make and play with them with their own imagination. It was really fun doing that.
The year 2016 was a topsy-turvy year for all of us and our family as my uncle met with a very dangerous accident in December 2016 at Housing Board Chowk and he had very serious injuries, admitted PGIMER for almost 2 months. However, now he is fine. But, he needs to use a stick to walk around.
Now, let us discuss the tourist places or areas which can be spotted. There are a lot of places to visit in Mani Majra which are written the following — :
1. The Fort of ManiMajra
2. Main Bazaar
3. Shivalik Garden
4. Shiva Kheda Temple
5. Rani Di Haveli
6. Hanuman Temple, Dharamshala, and many more.
Tell us to see them about one by one
1. Manimajra Old Fort
Mani Majra was a princely state during the Sikh period and there is a fort built by Gareeb Dass, native of the area, Jatt by caste. Mani Majra was a town of (then) Ambala district of Punjab Province, which was conquered in 1821 by a local zamindar Ghareeb Dass along with 84 other villages and turned into the capital of his newly created State.
The state was last ruled by Bhagwan Singh of the clan of Ghareeb Dass. As Bhagwan Singh was childless, the Government took control of the property of this fort. The present condition of the fort is not good and it is deteriorating day by day. The premises are a playground or for parking vehicles by people living in the adjoining area. The walls are decaying and weed growth is visible on the walls. The fort became more popular by shooting an Oscar-winning movie.
2. Main Bazaar
The main market is crowded all the time, day or night, and if there is always a festival or a jhaanki, then it definitely comes out of the market like Jagarnath Yatra Ram Ji’s journey Dussehra Gurupurb Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s On every festival market is crowded here, and the children go to see the market with enthusiasm in the hearts of all the old, the fun also comes big, the market is crowded even on Monday, however, the market of Manimajra on Monday is a holiday but most of the time there is still a crowd if one wants to do cycling. then it is unable to run in the market because the crowd is so large and the market is close to everyone’s house. There are several big shops like Kaput Sports, AB Traders, Punjab Ram Pritam Das, etc.
3.Shivalik Garden
The Shivalik garden is the largest garden in manimajra and is one of the most beautiful and famous spots.
Manimajra has completely changed now, as well as the Shivalik garden was also very much inhabited here at first, but people were very angry, they are getting diseases due to which they did a big thing and completely changed the Shivalik garden.
If you go to Chandigarh, then try to go to Mani Majra and go to this park. This time there is also a snake ladder in this bar, as well as a big pond where children play cricket, as well as small grass made here.
There is also a maze, this park is not just for swings but for many things. Yoga is also done by people and they also play with their children. A confusing Maze is also made. The famous Haryani Teej festival is also celebrated every year here and stalls, tents, night shows, and fete are also organized
Now let us go towards the Shiva Nagar Kheda temple of Manimajra.
4. Shiva Nagar Kheda Temple
Although there is a Nagar Kheda temple in every city, Mani Majra is not a city but a town And is a little smaller than the city, is much older than my father who was married then my father was the first in the same temple. I had seen from the video of my father’s wedding. However, Kheda temple is in the middle of the main market, in front of that our shop Bhalla Jewelers is also there.
5. Rani Di Haveli
By the way, Rani Ki Haveli is called Rana Ki Haveli because in reality there were people from a large family and they had a big mansion and that was Rani. Rani’s mansion has the biggest crowd in Mani Majra because there Rani ki Haveli has one of the biggest fruit vegetables and the biggest pride is Vishal Dairy since the 1990s in Mani Majra and most people take ice cream, milk, and paneer from it, near Mori Gate, which is in Mani Majra. Most of the clothing shops are there as well as its Mani Majra’s Pride.
The burger, noodles, junk food, and Ganne ka ras are Manimajra’s-famous each and every child had just eaten them.
6. Hanuman Temple, Dharamshala
It is said that Tuesday is the day of Hanuman Ji, my father and I always used to make offerings of emeralds of ₹ 10 in this Hanuman temple of Manimajra on Tuesday and also every year in Dharamshala for 10 days in the week of Ganesh Chaturthi. The program has been celebrated in the Hanuman temple and Dharamshala, where few people live. It is said that it has been ancient since maybe 20 years ago.
11. Mata Mansa Devi Temple
It is one of the prominent Shakti temples of North India involving 7 goddesses, namely Mata Mansa Devi in Panchkula, Naina Devi, Jawalamukhi Chintpurni, Brajeshwari, and Chamunda Devi in Himachal Pradesh, and Jayanti Devi in Punjab. Thousands of devotees visit the shrine from various parts of the country, and especially during the Navratra mela, this number rises to lakhs every day for the nine auspicious days.
Maharaja Gopal Das Singh of Mani Majra, who was enthroned in 1783, constructed the present main temple of Shri Mansa Devi Temple, which is on the Shivalik foothills in the District of Panchkula, 2KM from Manimajra during the period 1811–1815. This temple had the patronage of Manimajra Princely State. There are 3 temples in the complex and the main temple is the oldest. We do not want will not go into much detail.
Terrace of our home
Having fun flying kites, playing cricket, cycling, enjoying the evening weather, everything used to be on the terrace. Enjoying the rain, watching the birds drinking water, watching the rainbow after the rain.
Watering of plants, care of plants used to be on the roof of Manimajra. Enjoying the sunshine of winter and talking with neighbors is everything one remembers. The key thing which my mom and I remember is the terrace of our home at ManiMajra. We had a glorious garden and several types of plants on our terrace.
We all need to spend leisure time and relax in sunlight during wintertime. My mother is fond of writing poems in her diary and down this poem to express her feelings.
‘पुराने घर की छत’
This poem was written by my mom when we shifted to Panchkula. On May 16, 2019, at 1:30 AM
पुराने घर की छत तुम बड़ी याद आती हो,
आंखों को नम कर जाती हो। गवा थी तुम मेरे दुख सुख की मेरे दर्द मेरे आंसुओं की,
बच्चों की किलकारी यों कि उनकी शैतानी यों की होली के रंगों की पटाखों के शोर की।।
याद है मेरा पौधों से बातें करना उनको सह लाना, रूठ कर तेरे पास आना घंटों तेरे साथ बिताना।
वह सर्दी की धूप, बारिश में नहाना वह सूरज का निकलना शाम को ढल जाना।।
कैमरे में उन्हें छुपाना, गर्मी में शाम को टहलने और गाना बजाना।
आज भी याद है बच्चों का चलना छत पर नहाना, खेलना और साइकिल चलाना।।
लाइट जाने पर चारपाई लगा कर सो जाना फिर टिमटिमाते तारों को देखना,
ए छत तुम बड़ी याद आती हो आंखों को नम कर जाती हो ।।
Manu Cat- A lovely stray pet
We tamed this small kitten when one day roaming I glanced at it. We offered milk and biscuits and really enjoyed them. Finally, it came regularly in front of the door in the stairs calling mew mew. But as we shifted, she disappeared, roaming the streets.
Benefits of living in Manimajra
1.Several tenants to let and rent are readily available at a very cheap price per month.
2. The market is very near and products, cosmetics, jewelry, and medicinal shops, etc. are promptly open
3. Security helps a lot. Whereas there’s no chowkidar.
4. Goods at low prices
5. Scooter bicycle repairs are quick and cheap
6. You get a lot more than a bus or any public vehicle.
7. Highway helps a lot connecting Panchkula and Chandigarh
8. People are very good-natured and also help in trouble or in times of need. Mutual love goes, people see a tableau of festivals, emanating from thousands, and are very attractive.
9. There is a lot of beauty in temples, too. Bhajans and Kirtans and there.
10. Electricians, plumbers, or repairmen are easy to find and we do not have to pay much labor/money because they are less than cities.
Disadvantages
Each and everything has benefits and disadvantages as well.
1.It is impossible to take a car or any four-wheeler in the streets because the streets are quite narrow. With this, you can only go by cycle or two-wheeler, such as a scooter.
2. Building a house is expensive because there is no place to store goods.
3. There is a lot of waste of water because people leave their motors running and the tank continues to overflow, which is very shameless for them.
4. Because of the streets being small, they parked the cars on narrow roads, which increases traffic and the fear of accidents.
5. The problem is that the houses are connected and touching each other.
6. The light does not cross well, and the light does not come properly, it has to go to the roof, which can have an adverse effect on health.
7. There is a lot of lack of cleanliness in the streets because the government servants do not come there and do the cleaning and people do not take responsibility towards cleaning, which causes fear of diseases.
Manimajra renamed Sector 13, Chandigarh
City Beautiful now has Sector 13 too. The UT administration has notified the renaming of Manimajra as Sector 13, along with the renaming of certain other colonies and villages as sectors…
WHY SECTOR 13?
The residents of the Modern Housing Complex (MHC), Shivalik Enclave and Uppal Marble Arc had for long been demanding these areas be included in the sectoral grid of the city.
The Resident Welfare Association, Modern Housing Complex, said, “In February 2019, we again wrote to the UT administrator and adviser to grant the status of Sector 13 to these areas. The administration was not sure about using number 13, so they had offered to rename the area as Sector M.”
This, however, was rejected by residents. “Residents don’t consider number 13 inauspicious. In fact, it will be a fitting tribute to Guru Nanak on his 550th birth anniversary, as he shunned all forms of superstition and propagated the true meaning and value of "tera" (13) in his teachings,” Singh said.
Sunsets and sunrises of Manimajra
Sunsets and sunrises were so gorgeous and we were lucky that we could see the sun live going to bed and early to rise from the terrace of our home as our house had 3 floors.
God is great as if painted himself this sky with a mixture of paints pestled with a brush and painted the whole sky. Hope you liked this one about how our memories remain with our old home and old things and keep reminding them again and again for a couple of days.
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