Chairs with A-shaped legs and ‘acronyms’ on their backs denoting the department they belonged to, and a chair similar to that of the Punjab and Haryana judge, are among furniture items resembling “Chandigarh heritage furniture” that have been found in use at different places in Shimla. Himachal Pradesh government authorities say they will look into the matter as it requires close scrutiny, but a debate has meanwhile been instigated, seeking to preserve these furniture items until their authenticity is established. The Indian Express has learnt.
These furniture items have been found at various locations, including a Verka milk booth on National Highway (NH) 5 in Shimla, Government Middle School in Kanlog, and the office of the Himachal Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (HPSIDC) in Milsington Estate, Shimla.
However, possessors seem unaware of their furniture’s plausible heritage status. And, if their authenticity is established, these furniture items were designed by Pierre Jeanneret, the cousin of French architect Le Corbusier, who designed Chandigarh.
HPSIDC manager Krishan Chand told The Indian Express that they auctioned old furniture such as worn-out chairs and tables, among other items, in 2024.
“We still have one or two such pieces of furniture in our office, but I can’t say with certainty from where these chairs, tables, etc., were procured by our department. I’m not sure if the auctioned chairs belonged to the HPSIDC headquarters in Shimla or were sent from our branches in Mandi, Kangra, etc. But I am sure these items were decades old.”
One of the two chairs that looks like an HC judge’s chair is in the possession of the Government Middle School at Kanlog.
Officiating Principal Maya Sharma said, “I joined the school a couple of months earlier. Some senior staff members told me that they had procured two to three wooden chairs after they were left unclaimed, following an auction. Of the three sch chairs, two are still in the school.”
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Deepika Gandhi, former Director of Le Corbusier Centre in Chandigarh and a faculty member at Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA), said, “The chair at the school appears to be that of a high court judge’s chair.”
“Shimla was part of undivided Punjab. It is well documented that when Pierre Jeanneret and his artisans designed the furniture, several items were moved from one place to another. Also, several offices of undivided Punjab were at that time in Shimla. The furniture items at Shimla need a close scrutiny. As furniture designed by Jeanneret was a status symbol, people would make replicas of original furniture,” Gandhi added.
Pankaj Lalit, former director at Art, Language & Culture of Himachal Pradesh, said, “So far, we have not documented Chandigarh heritage furniture in Shimla, even though we have countless British era heritage buildings in Shimla. US Club, Barnes’ Court, which is known as the Lok Bhavan (Governor’s House), and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) building are all heritage buildings, and so is the furniture inside these buildings. I don’t think our people have knowledge of the Chandigarh heritage furniture, except for these buildings. But the possibility of Chandigarh heritage furniture items at other than these heritage buildings can’t be ruled out.”
Rima Kashyap, Director, Art, Language & Culture, said, “We will definitely look into this matter. Chandigarh was constructed in the late 1950s. Chandigarh has its own definition of heritage furniture. As a matter of fact, we don’t consider an object antique or heritage until it is at least a century old.”
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Advocate Ajay Jagga, who takes up the cases of Chandigarh heritage items auctions abroad, said, “Several unaccounted Chandigarh heritage furniture items are lying unnoticed in several parts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal. Outside Chandigarh, people hardly understand the importance of these furniture items. To preserve these furniture items, it is necessary to verify their authenticity. Until we preserve these items, their illegal auctions won’t stop abroad.”
“Earlier, we had received information about the presence of Le Corbusier’s designed manhole covers in Shimla,” Jagga added.
Noted Shimla historian Raaja Bhasin said, “Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret’s stay in Shimla is well documented. The two had visited Shimla and stayed at the US Club and the Barnes’ Court several times. But, I doubt the presence of Chandigarh heritage furniture was documented in Shimla.”
The milk booth owner, who possesses a chair, said, “One of my friends working with a government department gave me this chair.”
