CHANDIGARH: Le Corbusier might have dedicated Sukhna Lake and the Open Hand monument to the citizens of Chandigarh but a similar wish to pay homage to an unlikely figure — the donkey — may have died with him due to the master architect's sudden demise.

"He was so fascinated by donkeys, pressed into action while the city was being built, that he often compared himself to their lot. This was the period when he was extremely busy. He completely shunned social gatherings during his stay here," recalls MN Sharma, first Indian chief architect of Chandigarh and a close aide of Corbusier.

Sharma is, at present, penning his memoirs for the Le Corbusier Foundation. Sharma plans to name his book 'Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After.'

"At that time, it seemed he would someday build a statue of a donkey at an appropriate place in the city to pay homage to the creature that worked hard in the making of Chandigarh," Sharma told TOI.