India:

India Trip

November 2008

Jaipur

Jaipur, a city of approximately three million and capital of the state of Rajashtan, is known as the Pink City. In 1883, in honor of Prince Albert’s visit, buildings in the old city were painted pink, the color of welcome…and this has been maintained. The city is very crowded with cars, rickshaws, bicycles, motor bikes, food carts, cows, camels, et al. It is a city of forts, palaces, gardens, parks, monuments and has a rugged fortress overlooking the city. Life here has the ambiance of years-gone-by. The neat and broadly laid-out avenues provide a magical charm to the city. Jaipur is rich in cultural and architectural beauty and is considered to be one of the best planned cities in Asia.

The city is expanding quickly and has become a hot spot for development in Rajasthan. titlehough flights to some international destinations are available from Jaipur's airport, it is currently not equipped to handle heavy traffic.

Since 2000 Jaipur has become a centre for education. The city is very peaceful and many Northern Indian families prefer to send their offspring to Jaipur for higher and technical education.

SIGHTS TO SEE:

AMBER FORT

This well-preserved 16th century fort looks stunning, built in white marble and red sandstone. It combines the Mughal and Hindu style of architecture. It is a classic Rajasthan fort-palace. titlehough the outer appearance of the fort is rough and craggy, the interior of the fort has a rather warm ambience. Exquisite paintings of hunting scenes on the walls show the temperament of the Rajputs, who were adventurous and revolutionary. To add to its charm, there is a lake in the foreground which mirrors the fort, titlehough at certain times of the year the lake is dry.

There are intricate carvings on the walls and ceilings. There is a small room where the ceiling is covered with tiny mirrors, appearing like bright stars. The minute mirror work adds to the grand appearance and roytitley of the halls. In past years, the strong walls guaranteed the protection of the fort against the invasion of the enemies. The fort has numerous other halls and pavilions with their own specific attraction.

A favorite part of this tourist attraction is the elephants. The flawless beauty of the fort can be enjoyed royally with an elephant ride through areas of the fort.

CITY PALACE

This remains the residence of Jaipur’s royal family and is a sprawling complex covering over one-seventh of the area in this walled city. The Sawa Singh Museum has displays of textiles, arms, carpets, paintings and manuscripts.

PALACE OF THE WINDS (HAWA MAHAL)

The most well-known place here is The Palace of the Winds. It is actually not a palace but a pyramid-shaped facade with five stories and 953 windows decorated with tiny lattice work. The windows were used by the palace women to see the outside world. These pink sandstone windows appear like a giant honey-comb. They represent Mughal design and keep the palace always cool. It is an important landmark of Jaipur.

JANTAR MANTAR

This is the largest astronomical/astrological observatory (8th century) in the world. Jantar Mantar has a remarkable collection of architectural instruments. The giant sun dials here are still accurate to two-tenth of a second. Above all, this observatory still provides accurate information which can be compared with today's modern instruments. The compound instruments, whose settings and shapes are scientifically designed, depict the forte of medieval Indian astronomy.

Jantar Mantar is wholly constructed with stone and marble. It was carefully renovated in 1901 and was declared a national monument in 1948. Today, Jantar Mantar has become a major tourist attraction in Jaipur.

SAMODE PALACE

Samode Palace is about four hundred years old. The present form of the palace is the outcome of much restoration work. This old palace has been converted into a Heritage Hotel with a restaurant where we stopped for lunch. The interiors of the Palace are harmonized with warm colored walls, delicate marble work, colorful patterns and traditional art objects.

Jaipur Photo Gallery

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