A manhole cover as an objet d'art

Having transformed from functional items to artistic collectibles, manholes have achieved a cult status in many countries

An old friend from Chandigarh, now settled in the US, recently boasted on one of our WhatsApp groups that he had paid $20,000 (about Rs 17 lakh) to buy himself a manhole cover from The City Beautiful. Chandigarh manholes have become collector’s items over the years. I am not surprised by the inordinately large sum paid out for the Le Corbusier-Pierre Jeanneret-designed sewer cover: Sotheby’s too auctioned one in London recently for Rs 10.15 lakh. Designed to celebrate the first modern city of the country, these covers were installed in the first phase of Chandigarh till 1970, after which the