Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and the former capital of a princely state of the same name. Clothed in pink stucco (in imitation of sandstone), wide-avenued Jaipur is one of the most important heritage cities in India, and home to India's second most visited site, the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds. It was here that we rode an elephant to the Amber Fort Palace, one of the most spectacular in India.
Founded in 1728, Jaipur, or "The Pink City" as it is often called, is unlike any other pre-modern Indian city, in that the entire town was planned according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. The city is built in the form of a nine-part mandala known as the Pithapada, which combined with wide streets makes for an unusually airy, orderly (Indian!) atmosphere.
We walked around the Old City and markets and we went to the royal observatory which houses the worlds biggest sun dial which is accurate to within 2 seconds of real time.
Early the next day we stopped to visit Hawa Mahal and then continued on to Amber Fort. Built in 1799, the Hawa Mahal or "Palace of Winds" was part of the City Palace, an extension of the Zenana or chambers of the harem. Its original intention was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. Constructed of red and pink sandstone highlighted with white lime, the five-storied facade is peppered with 953 small windows. The breeze (hawa) that comes through the windows keeps it cool even in hot months, and gives the palace its name.
Just 15 km from central Jaipur is the ruined city of Amber, former capital of Jaipur state. Founded by the Meenas, Amber was a flourishing settlement as far back as 967 AD. Overlooking the artificial lake south of Amber town stands the Amber Fort/Palace complex, famous for its mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture. At the bottom of a hill sits Amber Fort, initially a Palace Complex within the Fort of Amber on top of the hill (today known as Jaigarh fort). The two forts are connected through well-guarded passages. This is where we started our elephant ride from the town up to the palace courtyard.
In Jaipur we also got to watch a Bollywood movie at the famous Art Deco filmhouse - The Raj Mandir. 4 hours, 1 intermission and 6 powercuts later we still had no idea what the movie was about. But it was cool to see a real cinema with ushers and stalls. In England it would have been used as a theatre house.
- comments