Jaipur
A visit to the Pink City
By D Baskar, Dec'1998
I was always waiting for an oppurtunity to visit Jaipur during my last 4 years of stay at Delhi as Jaipur was situated closer to Delhi and my friends used to kindle my interest about its Palaces, Havelis and forts. The last week-end of December'98 seemed to be ideal as i had 3 holidays in a row and some of my friends were willing to give company. So, we decided to make a visit and took-off without any pre-planned booking over there (typical of my all trips). So, we took off in one of our friend's car in the evening and reached Jaipur in the night after 6 hrs of journey covering the distance of about 260 Kms. With so many hotels near the central Bus stand of Jaipur, we booked in one of them.
Jaipur, the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan is surrounded by rugged hills, each crowned by a formidable fort, beautiful palaces, mansions and gardens dotted throughout. The city was founded in 1727 AD by maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, after whom the city was named as Jaipur, who moved his capital from Amber to the present city. In 1863 AD, Jaipur dressed itself in Pink to welcome Prince Albert, consort of Queen victoria, since then the city earned the epithet "The Pink City". The bustling ancient part of the Pink city is still dotted with the fairy-tale palaces. The only planned city of its time, Jaipur is encircled by a formidable wall. A young bengali architect, formalised the city's plans in a grid system. The wide straight avenues, streets, lanes and uniform rows of shops on either side of the main bazars were arranged in nine rectangular city sectors, in accordance with the principles of town planning set down in the 'Shilpa Shastra" - an epochal treatise on the Hindu architecture.
With the list of
places to visit ready before-hand (due to my friend's previous
trip), next day morning we took off early to Amer, former capital
of the Kachhwaha rulers for seven centuries. First we went to the
Jaigarh fort, which is 15 Kms away from Jaipur standing on a high
hill, this overlooks the palaces and city of Amer below. It is
one of the many military structures of medieval India, retaining
its ancient splendor in palaces, gardens, man made reservoirs for
the inmates of the fort, a granary, an armoury, a well planned
cannon foundry, several temples, a tall tower and a 
giant mounted canon - the Jaivan, one of the
largest in the country are preserved here. The Jai Ban dates back
to 1720 AD and was manufactured during Maharaja Sawai Jaisingh.
It has a 20 ft barrel and wheels of nine ft diameter. For a
single shot from the cannon 100 kg of gun powder had to be pumped
in. After a test fire, it never had an oppurtunity to be used
against enemies, as at the test fire itself it created much loss
with its booming sound and after shocks. The cannon foundry
provides excellent details about the transfer of technology in
those days of how the Rajput kings acquired the gun powder
knowledge from the Mughal kings. The extensive parkotas (walls),
watch towers and gateways of Jaigarh dominate the western skyline.
Been attacked in every 2 years during 18th century, it has
withstood all the battle scars and test of time and still stand
tall with its majestic grandeur.
After Jaigarh fort,
we went down the slope along the fort to Amer palace which is
situated down the hill. 
It consists of
beautiful complex of palaces, halls, pavillions, gardens and
temples built by Raja Man singh, Mirza Raja Jai singh and Sawai
Jai singh over a period of about two centuries. The palace
complex is situated just above the placid waters of the Maotha
lake. A spectacular pillared hall - Diwan-e-Aam and a d
ouble
storeyed painted gateway, Ganesh Pole dominate the front
courtyard. An elegant tiny garden in Charbag style beyond the
corridors, has Sukh Niwas to its right and Jas Mandir to its left.
The latter combines the Mughal and Rajput architecture, seen in
its beautiful interior with intricately carved jali screens,
delicate mirror and stucco work and painted and carved dadoes.
The Sheesh mahal located inside is considered by many as the
world's best chamber of mirrors.
You can take the other way also, by
opting for a elephant ride from the Amer to the Palace and then
proceeding uphill for the Jaigarh fort.
On the way back from Amer to City, is the Jal
Mahal. This small palace built by Sawai Jai Singh I, is set in
the middle of the Man sagar lake. A paved causeway leads upto the
beautiful palace.
Then we visited Jantar Mantar (observatory), which was built during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, in the 18th Century. Largest of the Jai Singh's five remarkable observatories (one is Jantar Mantar at Delhi). These huge masonary instruments were used to study the movement of constallations and stars in the sky. Enormous sun-dials still provide the accurate time of the day. the most striking of these are the Ram Yantras, used for gauging altitudes. An interesting place to visit for people interested in astronomy.
We then went to the
Hawa mahal, which is just behind the Jantar Mantar. Built in 1799
AD, Hawa mahal (the Palace of Winds) is the most recognisable
monument of Jaipur. The five storeyed pyramidal building in pink
splendour with overhanging latticed balconies is unique in
conception and is designed to catch the cool breeze on hot summer
days. It is decorated by Semioctagonal and delicately honey
combed sandstone windows, for enabling ladies of the royal
household to watch everyday life and royal processions of the
city, without being seen by outsiders.
By this time, the visiting hours were over. Even we were tired with our day long visits. So, back we went to our hotel. The evening passed off with a stroll in the old city streets.
Next day morning, we
went straight away to the City Palace situated in the heart of
the old city. I
t is the former royal residence built in a blend
of rajasthani and Mughal styles and still a part of it forms the
residence for the royal family. It is decorated with carved
arches supported by grey white marble columns ornate with floral
motiffs in gold and coloured stones. The palace houses a museum
with a collection of Rajasthani costumes, 
chariots and armoury of Mughals and Rajputs
including varieties of swords. The palace also has an art gallery
with an excellent collection of miniature paintings, carpets and
rare astronomical works in arabic, persian, latin and sanskrit,
acquired by Sawai Jai Singh II to study astronomy in detail.
After this we visited Albert Hall museum, which is situated in Ram Niwas garden. The foundation of this graceful building was laid in 1876 AD by prince Albert, after whom it is named. the museum contains a large collection of archeological and handicrafts pieces.
After an another day in the midst of this beautiful city, we were back on roads to Delhi, carrying the sweet memories.
Useful Links
With Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) providing the accommodation and transport facilities for the tourists in and around Rajasthan, it is always better to stay at any one of its hotels dotting across the city and take their guided tours, which comes at reasonable rates. Make sure that u have ur booking made in advance at any of the RTDC hotels, as they are always full to its capacity. For making any advance booking and more details, contact;
Useful tips for fellow travellers
As most of the Museums, Palaces and Forts are open mostly between 9 AM to 4.30 PM, make sure u are at the respective spots early and well planned to cover other spots during the day.
Keep some change ready as always u have to pay for the fee for the entry and camera at every place.
Right time to visit Jaipur, is between October and March (ie., before the onset of summer).
