Chandigarh

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A planned city in northern India that serves as the joint capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana
2. A northern Indian city, designed in the mid-twentieth century, that acts as the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana
3. The Indian city in the north that functions as the common seat of government for Punjab and Haryana states

Etymology: The city's name is a plain compound, but the fact behind it is more striking: "Chandigarh" was not an old name at all. It was created in the 1950s as the capital of the newly partitioned Punjab, and the name fuses a goddess with a fortress. The first element, "Chandi," refers to a Hindu goddess, a warrior form of Parvati. The second, "garh," is the Hindi word for "fort." The name comes from Chandi Mandir, an ancient temple dedicated to this goddess, which stands near the city in Panchkula District. Hindi itself borrowed the compound, rendering it as "चंडीगढ़" (caṇḍīgaṛh), and the planners adopted it for the new capital. Its meaning is literally "fort of Chandi," tying the modern city to a sacred site that predates it.