Day 213 of Indian places giving you smiles – Jaipur, the Capital of the state of Kings
This time we are taking you to a State that literally is considered to be the place of the kings – Raja-sthan!
These descendants of the original warrier caste of Kshatriyas were called King’s sons or Raja-putras or Rajputs!
The city that we are going to visit will give you a true glimpse of the Rajput culture. It is time to go to the amazing capital of Rajasthan- Jaipur.
This city is name after its founder Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. Do you know that this royal town is one of the first planned city of India? The buildings in the old part of the city are made with pink-painted sandstone which gives it the name of Pink City.
As you drive out from the railway station you will notice that there is a city wall encircling the old Jaipur city. At regular intervals you will see some of the seven decorated gates along the wall, of which the Ajmeri gate is a beauty by itself. Even the rows of shops along the way have stuck to the plan of the ancient pink coloured architecture.
The Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds is the pride of Jaipur. It is a 5 storied beautiful structure, in the shape of the crown of Krishna consisting of 953 windows called Jharokas which are decorated with intricate designs. This was constructed by the poet king Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, so that the Rajput ladies who do not show their faces in public could observe the busy street from behind the windows. The ventilation of the place, ensures that it remains cool even during the days of the intense summer heat!
Next to it is the ancient Goverdhan Nathji Temple with its historical decorated swing and chariot and beautiful hand-painted depiction of Krishna on the walls. If you have the time, do dress up here in colourful local costumes and jewelry to have your picture taken in Rajput finery!
If you do choose not to go to swanky emporiums, but rather get a taste of the local shopping, then do visit the Bapu bazaar which is between the New gate and the Sanganeri gate. From locally embroidered and hand printed textiles, to furnishings to costume jewelry to colourful footwear, this is the place to test your bargaining skills if you want to go home with some clever shopping deals!
Do you have any idea of the amazing skills of artisans and craftsmen that were settled here from the Mughal and the Rajput times? Throughout Jaipur you will get a chance to see and buy their work. Some must-have items that you can shop for when in Jaipur are the Bandhani and Block printing textiles, stone sculptures, Zari, Gota, Kinari and Zardozi embroidered work, Silver Jewellery, Gems, Kundan, Meenakari and Jewellery, Miniature paintings, Blue Pottery, Ivory carving, Shellac work, Leather ware, etc.
Our ancient kings were far-sighted with a vision to construct structures that are still admired after so many centuries. When Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh decided to shift the capital of the Kachwaha rajput clan from Amber to Jaipur, he started the construction of one of the finest palaces of India- the City Palace of Jaipur!
As visitors you will enter the complex through one of the richly decorated gates. At Jaleb chowk, we drove in through the Uday Pol gate and decided to first visit one of the best astronomical wonder of ancient India- the observatory of the Jantar mantar!
The ancient Indians, even in the Vedic times had an impressive knowledge about the Universe. Eg. They knew that the Jyesta star was the biggest star, which turned out to be the closest star to the earth after the sun. They knew the exact distance between the earth and moon as repeated in the Hanuman Chalisa hymn. They knew the earth was round as depicted on the nose of the Boar in the Varaha avatar story of Lord Vishnu! A live demonstration of their astronomical and geometrical knowledge is visible as we walk past the 14 ancient major devices located in the Jantar Mantar observatory!
The impressive structures are still capable of measuring time, predicting eclipses, and tracking the location of stars and planets as the earth keeps rotating around its own orbit! The differently shaped Yantras are quite accurate, such that the exact local time can be given just by reading the markings on which its particular shadow falls on! Imagine this was accurate astronomical knowledge was without the use of modern day instruments like the telescope!
Felt so proud to be part of a culture that was scientifically advanced much before the other civilizations of those times!
Then we entered the Virendra Pol gate, and stood in awe appreciating the beauty of the Mubarak Mahal. This was initially meant to be a kind of a Reception centre, and you will notice a blend of Islamic, Rajput as well as European style of architecture. It is now a museum giving us a glimpse of the royal costumes of those times with richly embroidered silk and pashmina sets. Some of the heavily decorated clothes weighed upto 50 kgs in weight as they were specially tailored to suit the voluminous body of the 250kg weighing Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh!
Your next visit will be to what was originally the abode of the Queens or the Maharani’s Palace. Here there is a display of well preserved ancient bejeweled weapons. Imagine how strong our ancestors were to wear such heavy armour and carry such heavy weapons. The paintings on the ceilings are still well preserved, the dyes were made using the powdered remnants from the scrapping of real gemstones!
The Diwan-E-Aam and the Diwan-E-Khas are the halls used by the royals to give public and private audience as required. They are richly decorated with colourful paintings and give us an idea of the opulence of the royals of those times. Also visible are the giant silver urns that were used to transport Ganga water for use of Maharaja Madho Singh II when he went on his European trip in 1901.
We then found ourselves in the inner courtyard surrounded by beautifully decorated 4 small gates representing the four seasons…I had returned to click a picture at the same spot under the beautiful peacock gate after a span of 28 years! We noticed the kings flag fluttering proudly atop the seven storied commanding structure of the Chandra Mahal…this was a sign that the king was in the city…we could not enter this place as most of it is still the private residence of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur!
A lot of the old palaces have now been converted into five star properties. We tried to get a sense of what it must have been to live in the ancient times when we stayed at the ITC Rajputana palace with its traditional royal décor. The Sheesh Mahal Bar with its mirrors and overlooking the courtyard is a beautiful place to have a drink. We also took off for some moments of relaxation at the jharokha poolside lounge.
The Taj group also lives up to its reputation of treating guests like royalty when we had lunch next day at another palace that is now a hotel- the Taj Rambagh palace. You will just stop in admiration to take in the sight of what used to be another home for the ancient maharajas.
But given a choice I would rather choose to enjoy the traditional experience at the Chokhi dhani village resort that gives a sense of their traditional Rajasthani experience…you can dance with natives to foot tapping old tunes, hear them sing out their local language songs with gusto, see fire eating and other acrobatic performances, take pictures in traditional costumes, get your future read by a local astrologer, watch local magicians perform their shows, take a camel ride and best of all, sit on the floor to enjoy finger-licking traditional authentic Rajasthani food! The last time we were in Jaipur we had a similar experience at another traditional village resort called Kanchan Kesari!
There are many more museums and gardens and temples to visit in Jaipur if you have the extra time which we didn’t! We drove past the Jal Mahal or the water palace, a beautiful piece of architecture that seemed to emerge out of the waters of the Man Sagar lake. This place looks beautiful with the Aravalli hills in the background and is only accessible by boat.
Jaipur has developed way beyond its old city walls. As we drove around, ouside the walls of the old city I almost felt sad to see the influence of modernism in this charming quaint city. There were malls, entertainment centres, office complexes just like any other modern Indian city. In fact the glass façade of the impressive modern World Trade Centre just did not match up to the stunning ancient architecture visible in the old city… But this is what Jaipur has become to day a blend of the old with the new…
I was happy to visit the City palace of Jaipur and was amazed to get a sense of the royal life of the Rajputs, their brave fights in the wars, their importance for respect of the women, their contribution to uphold our ancient India tradition and culture…that is still visible in the food, clothing, architecture and even in the current lifestyle of the locals of Rajasthan!
So all you travellers, do visit Jaipur, get to experience a part of our glorious Royal heritage and say loudly- ‘I am proud to be Indian!
So which Indian place gives you smiles?
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