Jaipur

Jaipur - : In 1876, the Prince of Wales arrived in Jaipur to royal treatment. Not only did his royal host, Maharaja Man Singh II lay out the red carpet but he painted the entire city in pink, the ceremonial colour of welcome. Jaipur, named after its founder Maharaja Jai Singh II, remains pretty in pink to this day. (Every home in the city is obliged by law to maintain this facade.) This is a city whose past co-exists with the present. Here camels and cars stand side by side on the streets and showrooms are busy with artisans making gold glitter with kundan and meena (typical Rajasthani jewellery) work .

Maharaja Jai Singh II (1693 - 1743), who came to power at the age of 12 founded and ruled Jaipur form 1727. Even though 28 kings ruled for 6 centuries at Amber, today Jaipur (only 10 Maharajas have sat on the throne in the past 250) is much better known. The city, laid out in a grid pattern, was designed by a young Bengali artist, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya.

Places To See

Hawa Mahal :
Is a beautiful building on the main street of Jaipur. It has five storeys and is built of pink sandstone. It means a Palace of Winds and was built in 1799, to enable ladies of the royal household to watch the everyday life and processions of the city. The top of the Hawa Mahal offers an excellent over view of the city. It has many windows in semi-octagonal shape and there is always a cool breeze blowing through this. This was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh.

Chandra Mahal :
The centre of the palace is the senven story Chandra Mahal. The ground and first floor form the Maharaha Sawai Man Singh II Museum. The museum has an extensive collection of art, carpets, enamelware and old weapons. The paintings include miniatures of the Rajasthani, Moghul and Persian schools. Displayed here are also dresses and costumes of the former Maharajas and Maharanis of Jaipur. The Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audiences) has intricate decorations and maniscripts in Persian and Sanskrit. The Diwan-I-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences) has a marble-paved gallery. The clock tower and Mubarak Mahal are the other attractions here. Outside the buildings is a silver vessel which the Maharaja used to store drinking water during his visit to England.

Ambar Fort :
Which is on a hillock. Raja Man Singh started constructing this Fort-cum-Palace in 1592. He was a commander in Akbar's armed forces. Inside the palace, near the lake, is the Jal Mahal. Here is the Maha Kali temple. The idol is made of black marble and is very attractive. The carvings here of Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna and Meera Bai. There are a few Jain temples here of which the Mahaveer temple is one of the oldest. The Ram Niwas Gardens here is also worth a visit. It has a zoo with birds, animals and a crocodile park.

Jantar Mantar -
located next to the entrance to the City Palace is this Observatory, built by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1728. Jai Singh's passion for astronomy was even more notable than his power as a warrior. This is the largest and best preserved of the five observatories that he built. The others are at Delhi, Varanasi and Ujjain. The fifth, the Muthura observatory is destroyed. The complex is a collection of curious instruments, each having a specific purpose such as measuring the positions of stars, altitudes and azimuths and calculating eclipses. The most striking instrument is the sundial with its 27m high gnomon .

Jal Mahal :
A picturesque palace amidst the Man Sagar Lake. It was built for royal duck shooting parties. A great place to visit during the monsoons.


Nahargarh :
Most of the fort is now in the ruins but it is a pleasant attraction in terms of stunning views you get from here of the countryside. There are few visitors here and solitude inside the ramparts of the fort makes the fort worthy of a good visit. The fort is lit beautifully in the night and dominates the skyline by the day.

Jaigarh Fort :
Sawai Jai Singh built the invincible fort of Jaigarh in 1726. Jaigarh was never captured and is therefore in a pretty good shape. A giant mounted cannon-the Jai Ban, one of the largest in the country are preserved here. The extensive parkotas (wallls), watch tower and gateways of Jaigarh dominate the western skyline.

Govind Devji Temple:
The most popular temple of Jaipur dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is located in the central pavilion of the Jai Niwas Garden to the north of Chandra Mahal. The image of the patron deity-Govind Devji,originally installed in a temple of Vrindavan, was reinstalled here by Sawai Jai Singh II as his family deity.

BM Birla Planetarium (Time 12.00 hrs to 19.00 hrs.):
The Planetarium offers unique audio-visual education and entertainment with its modern computerized projection system. For school groups concessions are available. Closed on last Wednesday of every month.

Museums & Galleries -
there are a couple of interesting museums and galleries in Jaipur. The Central Museum, housed in the architecturally impressive Albert Hall in the Ram Niwas Public Gardens has sections on natural history, tribal wares, dioramas depicting Rajasthani dances, decorative arts, costumes, and musical instruments. The Museum of Indology is an extraordinary private collection of folk art objects and other bits and pieces of interest. There is everything from a map of India painted in a rice grain to manuscripts (one written by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb), tribal ornaments, fossils, old currency notes, clocks and much more. Near the Ram Niwas Public Gardens, in an old theater is Jaipur's Modern Art Gallery. The Juneja Art Gallery has an excellent collection of contemporary paintings.

Sisodia Palace and Garden and Vidyadhar Garden
On the way to Galta, these gardens are laid out in tiers. These house several galleries, pavilions and beautiful murals depicting scenes from the life of Lord Krishna which are a visual delight. An ideal location for watching peacocks.

City Palace :
In the heart of the old city is former royal residence built in a blend of the Rajasthani and Mughal styles. A part of this palace is now a museum. The rest of the palace serves as the living quarters of the royal family of Jaipur. The palace also has an art gallery with an excellent collection of miniature paintings, carpets, royal paraphernalia and rare astronomical works.

Ram Niwas Bagh:
A lush spacious garden with a zoo, an aviary, a greenhouse, a herbarlum , a museum and popular sport ground. It was built by Sawai Ram Singh II in the 1868 A.D. as a famine relief project. The Albert Hall-fine example of Indo Sarcenic style of architecture designed by Sir Swinton Jacob, was opened later with an exquisite collection of sculptures, paintings, decorative wares, natural history specimen, and Egyptian mummy and the celebrated Persian carpet.

Jain Temple: The exquisite jain temple on the Agra road has some of the most beautiful 19th century paintings in Jaipur style on its walls.

Excursions from Jaipur

Samod : The old palace, renovated and rebuilt in the 19th century provides one of the most gorgeously decorated and painted examples of Rajput haveli architecture. Located 40 km northwest of Jaipur, amidst the quiet of protective hills,this palace is a visual treat. The sleepy little town of Samod has its own cloth printers, bangle makers and other artisans. The palace has recently been converted as a heritage hotel

Ramgarh Lake (32 km on the North east) :
A huge artificial lake created by constructing a high bund amidst tree-covered hills. While the temple of Jamwa Mata and the ruins of the old fort are some of its antiquities, its beautiful landscape, especially during monsoons, makes it an idyllic picnic spot.

Gaitor :
Situated just 8 km away from Jaipur, Gaitor has the marble and sandstone chhattris of the rulers of Jaipur. These chhattris were built by Jai Singh II and set in landscaped gardens

Bairath (86 km on the Shahpura-Alwar Road) :
An important historical site with the excavated remains of a circular Buddhist temple, unique in Rajasthan. It is the earliest known temple in India. Bairath also has relics of the Mauryan, Mughal and Rajput periods. A mint constructed by Akbar, a beautiful Mughal garden and a remarkable monument with painted chhatris and walls built by Jahangir, along with other attractions.

Sanganer :
Sanganer is located 11 km southeast of Jaipur and serves as the airport for the city. The small town of Sanganer located near the airport is famed for its block-printings and papermaking craft traditions.

Shopping :
Jaipur is shoppers paradise, if you are good at bargain things, you can really get some good stuff. The local Bazaars are very colorful and world famous like Johari Bazaar, Mirza Ismail Road (MI Road), Bapu Bazaar etc. You can shop from handicrafts, jewelry, carpets, textile, home furnishing and lot more. But, you have to be very careful in shopping and bargain hard.


How To Getting There :
By Air :Jaipur is well connected to all the major cities which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Jodhpur, Udaipur. Recently, flights to Dubai has also started from Jaipur by Indian Airlines

By Bus : Rajasthan Roadways run very comfortable deluxe & air conditioned buses from Delhi (Bikaner House, Nr. India Gate) to Jaipur. The roads are very good, and it takes around 5-6 hrs from Delhi. You can also come by taxi.

By Train : Jaipur is on the Broad Gauge and hence connected to all the metro cities of India. There are daily trains from Delhi in morning (Shatabdhi Exp) and evening (Intercity Exp).