Travel Diary #6.1 : Jaipur – The Pink City

I was disappointed, heart-broken. I had been preparing for this since past 2 months. Hitting gym, doing necessary work-outs, maintaining regular diet with lots of water. I had bought gears and accessories worth more than ten thousand and borrowed a substantial portion from a friend of mine. Most of my close friends and colleagues knew about the crazy adventure I was about to embark upon. And then just a night before I was supposed to head for the basecamp, I got a call, “ROOPKUND TREK of BATCH OF 27^th JUNE HAS BEEN CALLED OFF”. It was the bad weather conditions that played the spoilsport and forced IndiaHikes to call off my Roopkund trek because of safety concerns. All for nothing !!!

Then I decided that why not to use my vacation to have a trip to Rajasthan. Anyway I was in Delhi for that trek purpose. Jaipur is 5-hour journey from Delhi; the opportunity couldn’t have been better. I created an entire plan on the night of 26^th June, convinced my parents and booked tickets. I had been booking tickets for Rajasthan trip since past 3 years and the trip got cancelled every time for some or the other reason and then this is how it got materialized. Unbelievable. J

I headed for Jaipur on 28^th June morning by Ajmer Shatabdi (12015) train and reached Jaipur by 10.30 in the morning. When I talked to Tourism center on Railway station, they told that the govt. run Jaipur sightseeing bus had already left and I was suggested to come next day. So, I thought of relaxing that day and visit a few places which were not a part of that sightseeing tour.

Chapter 2: Why “Pink City”?

Anyways, before I go any further, why the hell is Jaipur called “pink city” and do really all buildings in Jaipur are pink. The answer is No.

Jaipur was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a Kachwaha Rajput and ruler of Amer kingdom, in 1727. Jai Singh was given a title of “Sawai”, meaning one and a quarter, by Aurangzeb owing to his extra ordinary skills. This lineage was kept by all his descendants. This entire city was painted with pink color in 1876 as a gesture of hospitality to host Albert Edward, Prince of Wales during the rule of Sawai Ram Singh. This portion of Jaipur is now called old city; there is a new city where all the civic builds like secretariats, hospitals, schools and other govt. offices are built. To continue the tradition, the residents of old city are now mandated to color the exterior with pink color only. However there is no such restriction on the buildings in new city.

Chapter 3: Albert Museum and Raj Mandir

After relaxing in hotel for a while, I went to Albert Hall museum whose foundation was laid by Edward, Prince of Wales, when he was in India in 1876. This museum houses a lot of stuffs like clothes, accessories, weaponry and other household stuffs of rulers. It has a Indo-Saracenic architectural style.

Albert Hall museum

I was more or less done with Albert Hall by around 4 PM and then headed to Raj Mandir. It’s a very old theatre that’s quite famous for its grandeur. To me, it looked beautiful only when the lights were turned on. It was only when it was illuminated by multitude of glasses and lights installed at every inch of its interior, that the real splendor of Raj Mandir was exposed. For me however, the best part was curtain raising and dropping. It happens in a very prim and proper way with each fold of the curtain stacking on top another in a rhythm as if it were a set of dominoes. I was not impressed by the seats. There are too many seats and they are not comfortable. They are fitted very close to one another with very little room left for your hand. I can understand that it’s a very old theatre, but come on, its Raj Mandir, the pride of Rajasthan. A little bit of renovation inside, and it will do true justice to the air of regal ambience one breathes there.

Chapter 4: Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar & City Palace

My sightseeing tour started at 9 AM in the morning of 29^th June. I reached railway station tourism center which was the pick-up point. The guide came at around 9.15 AM and I boarded the bus. The cost of full day sightseeing was only 350/-, but the bus was non-AC (no AC buses are available).

So, we started with Birla Mandir and Moti Dungri, which was the residential palace of Rajmata Gayatri Devi. After that, we entered the pink city portion of Jaipur through New Gate (there are 9 such gates around pink city). Right from childhood days when I used to learn the sobriquets as a part of GK curriculum, I have been hearing about “The Pink City”. It was so exciting and satisfying to finally see it. All the shops with pink exterior lined both the sides of the road with a unique number assigned to each shop as if students in school uniform stand in queue during assembly prayer.

A view of Pink City

As we continued on the Chaura Rasta, we saw Hawa Mahal to our left. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Singh as a part of City Palace. Its purpose was to let royal ladies see the activities without being seen. There are almost 950 latticed windows in this five-storey red sandstone monument. Our bus was not supposed to stop there, so we continued to Jantar Mantar ahead.

Fascinating latticed windows of Hawa Mahal

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, is the largest of the first astronomical observatories which Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built across the north India. My guide explained a lot of stuffs about different instruments like Yantra raj (used to measure ascendants, altitude, time and position of Sun), North star viewer, Chakra yantra, Rasivalaya (has 12 instruments one for each of the 12 zodiacs and used for measuring celestial latitudes and longitudes of celestial bodies), but to be honest, I didn’t understand most of the things. But the fact which really amazed me was the skill and prowess our forefathers possessed at a time when there was no advent of any technological instruments.

Rasivalay in Jantar Manatr houses twelve instruments for different zodiacs

Once we were done with Jantar Mantar, my caravan proceeded towards City palace. City Palace was also built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Actually it was within the sprawling complex of City Palace that Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar is located. The Diwan-e-khaas of City Palace houses two of largest silver vessels in the world.

Diwaan-i-aam, City Palace

By this time, it was already 12 PM. We proceeded towards Nahargarh fort via Zorawar Singh gate. On our way, we stopped at Rajasthan Kala Mandir where we were given option to buy some Jaipur specialties like bandhani suits/sarees, block painted suits/sarees, sau gram rajai (100gm duvets), lacquer bangles etc. There a gentleman also showed us how block paintings are done with vegetable colors.

Block painting in action

Chapter 5: Jaigarh, Nahargarh & Amer Forts

Nahargarh fort, meaning abode of tigers, was built was Sawai Jai Singh II in 1734. This fort along with Jaigarh and Amer forts formed a strong defense for the country. Nahargarh was named after Nahar Singh Bhoomia whose spirit obstructed the construction of this place. So, to pacify his spirit a temple was built in his memory and this fort was named after him. During the reign of Sawai Ram Singh and Sawai Madho Singh II, marvelous residential palaces were constructed inside this fort. The main palace of the king, “Madhvendra Palace” is divided into 9 similar apartments.

Jaipur from top of Nahargarh fort

It is said that during the mutiny of 1857, the British residents of that region were moved to this fort by Sawai Ram Singh for their protection. This fort provides a breathtaking view of Jaipur city and is noted for its walls connecting it to Jaigarh fort. The “Pathshaala” song of movie “Rang de basanti” was shot here.

The serpentine ramparts of Nahargarh. The wide staircase seen in middle is where "Pathshaala" was shot

Jaigarh fort was another fort built at around 400m above Amer fort to provide fortification through its thick red sandstone walls. Constructed by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1726, this fort houses a cannon named “Jaivana”. It was manufactured in fort precincts and was then world’s largest cannon on wheels. Jaivana was never used in a war. It was just test fired once with a charge of 100kg of gunpowder and when fired covered a distance of 35km. Some rumor mongers spread a rumor that Jaigarh fort’s water tanks had treasures of Amer’s rulers stacked in it. A search operation was sanctioned by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her emergency rule. However, it was declared officially that no treasure was found here. Nobody knows the truth though!!

Mighty Jaivana

Amber (or Amer) was the capital of Kachwaha Rajputs until Sawai Jai Singh II moved it to Jaipur. It was earlier ruled by Meena kings, and then by Kachwahas. Amer fort was built on top of its earlier remnants by Raja Man Singh (one of Nav-ratna of Akbar and contemporary of Maharana Pratap). The structure was expanded by his descendant Raja Jai Sing I and underwent further improvements over next 150 years until the capital was moved to Jaipur. This palace and Jaigarh lie on the same Aravali hill and are considered one single complex as there are routes connecting these two.

Amer fort with Moata lake in close vicinity

This opulent palace is laid out on 4 levels each with a courtyard. The first courtyard is Jaleb Chowk which can be entered through Suraj Pol (Pol means gate), the main entry to the palace. Jaleb chowk is an Arabic word which means a place for soldiers to assemble. The soldiers used to perform victory parades here with their war bounty which was witnessed by royal ladies through latticed windows.

Jaleb Chowk

Kesariya garden in the middle of Moata lake

The second courtyard is Diwan-i-aam or Hall of Public. This beautiful structure in Amer palace is an amazing confluence of Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture. Built with a double row of columns, Diwan-i-aam has 27 colonnades built with marble and red sandstone. Each pillar is exactly same with an elephant shaped capital mounted on top of it.

Diwan-i-aam of Amer fort

The third courtyard was the private residence of Maharaja and his family. It can be entered through Ganesh Pol. Ganesh Pol is one of the most beautiful structure in Amer palace. It is 3-storeyed building embellished with frescos and mosaics. The beige colored facade of this building has the painting of Lord Ganesh, and hence the name.

Ganesh Pol

Ganesh Pol leads to Diwan-i-khaas which was the private residence of rulers. This section has two main buildings, Sukh Mahal (Hall of Pleasure) and Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) separated by a garden laid in a fashion similar to Mughal gardens. Sheesh Mahal (or Jai Mandir) is exquisitely decorated with glass inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceilings. The mirrors used here are convex mirrors brought all the way from Belgium. These mirrors are designed with colored foils which used to glitter in candle lights. Opposite to Sheesh Mahal is Sukh Mahal which had an air conditioning system and was used as summer residence by the king. The water was drawn from nearby Maota lake and ran through pipes across the Sukh Mahal which cooled the entire edifice. Palace of Raja Man Singh I can be approached from this courtyard. It is the oldest part of this palace fort. The fourth courtyard is the Zenana Deorhi where royal ladies and concubines of kings used to live.

Sheesh Mahal

Intricate glass work in Sheesh Mahal

Belgian convex mirrors

After a dip into royal splendor, our group headed to Kanak Vrindavan garden. I wanted to see Amer palace under lights during dark, so I said goodbye to my group and came back to Amer fort from Kanak Vrindavan garden. One can easily find buses going to Amer fort from there. The entry feehere are plenty of buses going to Amer fort ng dark, so said goodbye to my group and came back to Amer fort from Kanak Brindava during evening, post 6.30PM in Amer is 100/- compared to 25/- before that. This time I took the route that was taken by elephants to reach Amer fort. All of a sudden it had started drizzling, and looking at illuminated Sheesh Mahal through the drizzles was an experience in itself. The glittering mirrors with embossed ceilings made it look like a jewel box in flickering lights. I sat for a while in the sprawling courtyard of Jaleb Chowk enjoying the light rain. The concomitant cool breeze worked its way towards even better indulgence and forgetfulness of this world.

A word of caution for those who are visiting only during evening hours: many sections of the palace get closed at this time and you will not be able to cover them. Also, except for Sheesh Mahal, Ganesh Pol and Diwan-i-aam, most of the sections of palace are not that well-lit as touted. So, I would recommend visiting Amer during daytime and come back here once again post 6.30 PM, if interested.

Sheesh Mahal under lights

I spent two days in Jaipur (28^th-29^th June). 28^th was a bit boring, but 29^th was full of experiences and learnings. I learnt and read a lot about our Rajputana, their styles, their legacy and above all their wealth. From sturdy ramparts to delicate glass work, from monochrome pink to colorful bandhanis and laharis, from classical Raj Mandir to astronomical masterpiece Jantar Mantar; Jaipur had a variegated pictures to offer.

Next stop – Jodhpur

Train – Howrah-Jodhpur Express (12307)