Jaipur is what I always thought India would be. . .
Location: 26.93 degrees north latitude, 75.82 degrees east longitude
Elevation: 1400 feet
Weather: low 90's (mid 30's Celsius), low humidity, hazy blue skies
Jaipur (The Pink City) is the capital of the northwestern state of Rajasthan (named for the Rajputs, warrior clans who claimed origin from the sun, moon, and fire). Jaipur is named for warrior-astronomer and founder Maharaja Jai Singh II who moved his seat of power from the hillside city of Amber. He designed Jaipur according to an ancient Hindu architectural treatise: the city was divided into nine blocks, out of which two consist the state buildings and palaces, whereas the remaining seven blocks were allotted to the public. In order to ensure the security, huge fortification walls were made along with seven strong gates.
In 1876 Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire city painted pink, a color associated with hospitality, to welcome the then Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII). As you will see, this tradition has been maintained throughout the intervening years.
The Gates of the Old City
Gate located on the western side of the city. I walk in the smaller, rather narrow, Jaipur has grown outward over the years but the original Old City remains tucked behind it's crenellated walls, which are interrupted by the still functioning gates along it's perimeter. I manage to find my way out (and then back in) most of them; the first one being the Chandpol gate carved into the western city wall, specifically the narrow pedestrian gate shown below just to the left of the white van. I walk past an elderly man sitting on the ground. He can't be more than two feet away from me. There's a small basket in front of him. It takes my brain a second or two to register what my eyes have just seen: there's a cobra in that basket. An actual cobra. I think it's probably asleep, but still. . .that's a real cobra. . .right there! My heart rate spikes as adrenaline shoots through my body. Luckily "flight" wins out over "fight" and I do not linger. Slowly my heart rate returns to normal, but my head is now on a permanent swivel. It's another of those "I'm really in India" moments.
I was certainly hoping for little excitement on my visit to Jaipur, but I don't remember signing up for that much. Wow. . .
A handful of the other Old City gates. My passage through each of them is without any further (and potentially life threatening) incident. . .
and a closeup of the above gate showing the incredibly intricate, hand-painted designs. . .
Out & AboutSome of the other sights on my couple-of-hours walking tour of Jaipur.
The Iswari Minar Swarga Sal minaret is a handy visual reference point, as it can be seen from most parts of the Old City.
A few random buildings. Most every building really is painted the same shade of pink. . .
The buildings that are not painted pink, such as the one below, really stand out. . .
There seems to be two schools of thought as to how to display one's wares. The "neat and orderly" school. . .
and the "not so neat and orderly" school, in which everything just seems to spill out from inside the shop all the way down to the street. . .
"Share the Road" takes on a whole new meaning in this part of India. . .
and every once in awhile a real explosion of color catches one's eye. . .
The Jal Mahal. I don't get a chance to explore or even find out more about this (sinking?) palace in the lake. . .
The Central Museum BuildingThe Central Museum is housed in Albert Hall, which built in the late 19th century by the British, and is a great example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. This style is a combination of native Indian architecture and Gothic revival architecture favored in Victorian England. It's many pillars, courtyards, and archways give a very traditional yet fanciful look.
The City PalaceThe City Palace was, and still is, the residence of Jai Singh II, his family, and his descendants. The palace, which sits in the middle of the walled Old City, is entered through one of two gates. . .
The Govind Devji Temple, on the north side of the palace grounds. . .
One of many courtyards of the palace grounds. . .even parts of the palace are painted pink. . .
and one courtyard leads to another. . .
leads to another. . .except you can't go through the gate pictured below, as that leads to the private residence portion of the palace. . .
A couple of the courtyard gates of Pitam Niwas Chowk, all with a peacock-themed design. . .
The Chandra Mahal (the private residence) building looms above the previous courtyard. . .
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience. I wait for my private audience with the maharaja, but apparently his schedule is full today. Hopefully he'll have time to see me tomorrow. . .
A couple more courtyards, internal palace gates, and ornate buildings. The maharaja and family are doing all right for themselves. . .
One of the palace corner-boundary markers, I think. . .
Elaborate puppet shows seem to be a well-established tradition in Jaipur. . .
Jantar MantarJantar Mantar is a celestial observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1728. Each of the large sculptures is an actual working astronomical instrument. Some track the movement of the sun through the skies, others track heavenly bodies including the constellations of the 12 zodiac signs, still others were used for calculating eclipses. Jai Singh II built five of these around the country but only four remain, and this one in Jaipur is the largest. This park could well be mistaken for any modern sculpture exhibit. It's quite a bit of fun just to wonder among them.
Hawal Mahal
The Hawal Mahal is probably Jaipur's most distinctive landmark building. It is five-stories of delicately carved sandstone. Each successive story gets narrower and narrower; the top level is no more than 10 feet wide. The Hawal Mahal was constructed in 1799 by Maharaja Sawaj Pratap Singh to enable ladies of the royal household to watch "life on the streets of Jaipur" without themselves being seen. The Hawal Mahal as seen from the street. . .
The inner courtyard, private side. . .
Everything you see is carved sandstone, including the honeycomb patterns that surround the upper windows.
Getting closer to the very narrow top. . .
The views from the top. . .
That's the Jantar Mantar obsevatory down there in the middle of the frame. . .
and the city palace just at the left edge of frame. . .
and the sea of traffic below. . .
Nahagarh Fort
Nahargarh Fort was built in 1734 and overlooks the city of Jaipur from it's perch atop a narrow northern ridge.
How does one get up to the Nahargarh Fort? Two options: car or rickshaw via a nice gently ascending road, or a steep, windy, switch-backed cobblestone path. The cobblestone path is definitely the road-less-travelled option and the one I choose. You can just barely make it out in the above photo: it's in the right third of the photo and looks like a dark zigzag pattern carved into the hillside. I have to be redirected by the locals a couple of times before I find where it begins it's climb out of the village. Note to Jaipur tourism officials: a couple of "this way to Nahargarh" signs would be quite beneficial to the visitors to your fine city.
It's my exercise for the afternoon. . .
Views of the fort and it's battelements atop the surrounding countryside. . .
The main building of Narhargarh Fort. It sits perched on the very edge of the cliff. . .
The main entrance gateway. . .
The main inner courtyard. . .
and a few photos of some of the interior spaces. . .
The rooftop of the fort building. . .
The Local FaunaThere's an abundance of animal life in and around the city. Most seem to be domesticated, others probably not so much. I see and smell (
it's over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, remember?) the following creatures on my travels: camel, elephant, dog, pig, boar (
maybe wild pig? is there a difference?), goat, sheep, lizard, cobra(
!), chicken, monkey, cat, rat (
dead, so maybe that doesn't count), horse, burro, ox, and of course the ubiquitous cow.
It's like a complete collection of the Chinese Zodiac cycle ("Year of the. . ."s) all in one place. I think the only missing critter is dragon, and maybe I just didn't look hard enough. Or maybe that rather large lizard that scurried into the bushes was not really a lizard at all. . .
And Finally. . .Came across these familiar items in the Jaipur airport. Haven't seen them anywhere else in India, so an unexpected surprise. Rs 80 ($1.60) each. And before anyone asks me to share. . . sorry. . .they are already gone. I like to snack while I blog. . .
Amber is located amongst the hills about 7 miles north of Jaipur and was originally the capital of Jaipur state. Amber Palace was constructed in 1592. Jaigadh Fort, built in 1726, sits above the palace and served as the first point of lookout and the last line of defense for Amber. Amber Palace is all about form, Jaigadh Fort is all about function. , the fort is solid and sturdy. The fort was never captured or even breached. The original city of Amber is surrounded by great fortress walls that crisscross the surrounding hills.
