Friday, May 15, 2009

Jaipur, the Pink City

From Udaipur we proceeded towards Jaipur and by distance this is the longest distance we traveled in a single day on this trip. This city is the capital of Rajasthan. The visually charming city is built in 1727 A.D. by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh Ji. The city is also built of pink stucco, an imitation of sandstone. The houses, shops and havelis through out the city are all pink. The only planned city of its time, Jaipur is encircled by a formidable wall. Even this wall and the huge gateways guarding the entrance to the city are all in pink. Hence the name 'the Pink City'.

The city displays a remarkable architectural treat. It is known for its beautiful palaces, rugged fortresses built on barren hills. Once the palaces of Maharaja's are now the heritage hotels and are excellent place to stay and experience royal splendor. Apart from these there are plenty of beautiful gardens and attractive monuments throughout the city.

There are several monuments in the city and let us visit few of them and the remaining in subsequent post.



Hawa Mahal

The world famous landmark of Jaipur, Hawa Mahal is located to the north of the city's main road intersection, the Badi Chaupad. Built in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh is the best known specimen of fanciful architecture. it is an integral part of the City Palace though standing away from the main complex. At first glance it looks rather whimsical in design. When looked from the roadside, it appears as mere facade. But there is much more than meets the eye.

It is a five storied architecture and is constructed of red and pink sandstone, highlighted with white quakeee quick lime. The side facing the street outside the palace complex has 953 small windows, and the breeze (hawa) which circulates through these windows gives the palace its name, and keeps it cool even in hot months.

The entrance opens onto a courtyard with a double-storied building on three sides, and one on the eastern wing with three more stories, which is just one room wide. There are no stairs to reach the upper floors, only ramps.

City Palace

Strategically located in the heart of the Pink City of Jaipur, the architecture is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthan and Mughal art. Sprawling over the one-seventh of the walled city, it is divided into a series of courtyards, gardens and buildings. It is home to several palatial structures like the Chandra Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple, Mubarak Mahal, and the City Palace Museum.

Mubarak Mahal, built by Maharaja Madho Singh, is one of the more important palaces inside the City Palace Complex. It has a beautifully carved marble gate with heavy brass doors on either side of this gate. Beyond this gate, lies the 'Diwan-E-Khas'- a meeting place where the Maharajahs used to entertain a select few. Shri Govind Dev Ji temple is highly revered by the erstwhile royal family. Sawai Man Singh Museum was founded in 1959 by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. The exhibits comprise of the ancestral collections built up by the successive rulers of Ajmer and Jaipur.

Jal Mahal Palace

An 18th century pleasure palace, hovering over Mansagar Lake, is noted for its convoluted design and magnificent structural design. Situated across the cenotaphs, there is a land bridge that leads one to the Jal Mahal Palace.

In the next post we shall visit other remarkable monuments of the city.

P.S: December is the month when lot of tourists land in Rajasthan. So if you really want all the arrangements to be done properly this has to be done before October end.

52 comments:

Anya said...

Waaaaaaaaaw Rajesh,
its a very BIG building,
and I like the colors,
its fantastic architecture :)
You shot is realy good, my compliments !!

That Jal Mahal Palace,
its a funny design.
I have often told but it's just a fairytale,
it looks like a dream castle
in the middle of the water....

Anonymous said...

i've been hearing that jaipur (rajasthan in general) is a must see place. thnx for sharing the details.

Anonymous said...

Good post. Well, this winter may be less crowded given all the economic troubles and the swine flu. May actually turn out to a good time for discounts during the peak season. :)

Patti said...

Your picture of Hawa Mahal is stunning! I can't even imagine what it would look like in real life! Gorgeous~

joo said...

Hawa Mahal is gergous, I love this pink sandstone. Jal Mahal Palace is another beauty - is it on water?
It seems that visiting the place is a must!

Baron's Life said...

This is the next must see place on my list..Thanks so much for sharing such excellent culture and history my friend....! Cheers

SandyCarlson said...

Such beauty. Such imagination. What a spirited place. Thanks for sharing these.

Bengbeng said...

i hope to be able to visit all these places myself one day

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such lovely words.

Anya: Thanks, it is beautiful place with lot on offer. Hawa Mahal, the front side looks like a simple wall.

Sandeep: Thanks, in this city one can spend eaisly spend 2 to 3 days.

Shantanu: Thanks, there is plenty of places to see here for everybody. Hence people are distributed across the city.

Patti: Thanks for the appreciation.

Joo: Thanks for the appreciation. It is a nice place to visit and there is plenty to see.

Baron: Thanks for the appreciation. It is a nice place to visit and there is plenty to see.

Sandy: Thanks for the appreciation.

adelynne said...

I love that the name of the city is PINK City ;)

Thanks for stopping by my site!

Phivos Nicolaides said...

I have been in this lovely and unique place and it reminds me to prepare my own article!

George said...

Thanks for an interesting and informative post on another beautiful site. The architecture is beautiful. I look forward to more pictures from the Pink City.

Elisabeth's bright side said...

Unbelieveable, what fantastic palaces. Especially the Hawa Mahal.

Vancouver, Canada said...

Hiya Rajesh!

Simply Breathtaking Blog! Love it!! Great Pictures..You Are Truly Gifted

Sandy :)

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Nice and informative post with good pictures.

Ailurophile said...

Beautiful buildings and pictures as always. The pink city looks great!

Ice said...

The Hawa Mahal is overwhelmingly beautiful! With 953 windows! That's a lot of windows to be cleaned *hahaha... But I guess it makes sense as a cooling mechanism.

Thanks for your recent comments on my blog, Rajesh.

Nikon said...

Beautiful shots! I'd love to visit there!
Thanks for your visit.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Rajesh: Those structures are magnificent and so well constructed to last all these years. That pleasure palace and reflectio is a neat photo.

Sharmistha Guha said...

Long long time back I'd passed through Jaipur (by bus) at 2am at night and another time had gone halfway towards Jaipur to Neemrana Fort Palace...
Your post is tempting me to finally go and visit the beautiful Pink City

Reader Wil said...

Hi Rajesh! Again you treat us to a set of photos of very beautiful buildings. That pink palace is breath taking! Thanks for your visit of my daughter's snake!

Cat said...

The Hawa Mahal looks amazing! Stunning architecture and I love the reflection of the Jal Mahal!

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such lovely words.

Bengbeng: You are welcome to this city.

Addy: Thanks for the appreciation.

Phivos: It is nice to hear that you have already seen this place. Looking forward to your post on the same.

George: Thanks for the appreciation. More to follow on the city.

Elisabeth: Thanks for the appreciation.

Vancouver: Thanks for the appreciation.

Zuzana said...

Hello - what an interesting place!;) Beautiful photographs from exotic places; this is the magic of blogging, one can meet the while world through the written word.
Thank you so much for stopping by my place and leaving a lovely comment.;)

final_transit said...

Hi Rajesh,
Thanks for presenting a detailed narrative about Jaipur. I have been to Rajasthan only once as a kid and don't know when will be the next time to visit...
Priyank

Naturegirl said...

How wonderful to travel your world through blogging!
I could never visit there otherwise!
Thank you for stopping by
Nature Trail..safe travels..NG

Anonymous said...

nice post!

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such lovely words.

Raji: Thanks for the appreciation.

Ailurophile: Thanks for the appreciation.

Ai Shiang: Thanks, the windows were used by royal ladies on those days to observe the activity on the streets.

Nikon: Thanks, you are most welcome to this place.

Fishing Guy: Thanks, they have last all these years as they are maintained.

SGD: This is a must visit place. Even I wish to visit this place again to cover whatever I missed earlier.

Wil: Thanks for the appreciation.

Cathy: Thanks for the appreciation.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Rajesh:)

Very informative post with lovely photos.

When I worked in Madhya Pradesh, I have been up to the border of Rajastan. It is an amazing sight to see huge camel pulling small carts with people in it.

The Hawa Mahal with 953 windows to let in air into the palace and keep it cool in summer months is an architectural feat.

Your narration is excellent and I felt I was walking beside you and seeing all the things you saw.

Many thanks.

Have a nice day Rajesh:)
Joseph

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks again for such a detailed informative post. I've never been to Jaipur, but I've always been fascinated by the Hawa mahal - such a huge number of jaali-work windows!

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such lovely words.

Protege: Thanks and welcome to see this part of world through my blog.

Priyank: Thanks, this is a must visit place and there is plenty to see.

Naturegirl: Thanks and welcome to see this part of world through my blog.

Joshi: Thank you.

Joseph: Thanks for the appreciation. Yes, it is a nice sight to watch the camels moving around and they are fully decorated.

Suchitra: Thanks and you must find time to visit the place.

Unknown said...

I love India and do hope to go there one day. Tks for visiting and here's wishing a good week ahead.

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

The architecture is stunning and sublime. So much thought, craftmanship and cleverness has gone into these palaces. No need for airconditioning.

Paulina said...

Thank you for your comments! Your blog is just great! It's like roadtripping in India myself! Great work!

Connie T. said...

These are nice looking pictures. Neat buildings.
Thanks for stopping by.

MedaM said...

This is beautiful and informative post. Hawa Mahal and Jal Mahal Palace took my breath away. I am simply impressed with such beautiful architectural style. Your previous post is also outstanding. Thanks for sharing and thanks for visiting my blog.
P.S. My later grandmother used to say “hawa” instead of “air” (in my language it is said “zrak”). Isn’t it interesting? :-)

Dsole said...

Wow! amazing buildings! I've never heard of that palaces!
Thanks, I found your post really interesting.
Cheers :)

Tricia Ryder said...

What a wonderfully informative post Rajesh. The Jal Mahal Palace looks a very interesting building and it definitely looks as though it's floating in the water.

Thank you for visiting my blog too :D

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such lovely words.

Kate: Thanks and welcome to see this part of world.

Titania: Thanks for the appreciation. Yes, they had put much thought on how to use the natural things itself for the convince.

Silence: Thanks for the appreciation.

Connie: Thanks for the appreciation.

MedaM: Thanks for the appreciation. Yes, JalMahal looks like as if it is floating in water.

Dsole: Thanks for the appreciation.

Viji said...

Wow! Wow! Hawa Mahal looks breathtakingly b'ful:-).

Jaipur is in my wishlist....Dont know when, though...

Lovely pics....

Great place to shp too, i suppose!

Cheers...Viji

Carver said...

What beautiful palaces. I enjoyed your photographs and narrative very much.

Laurie said...

Such beautiful places to see there. Excellent series.

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all for such beautiful words.

MedaM: Thanks for the appreciation. It is good to learn words from different language. I will not forget “zrak”

Tricia: Thanks for the appreciation. Yes, JalMahal looks like as if it is floating in water.

Viji: Thanks, you must visit the city. Yes it is a good place to shop also.

Carver: Thanks for the appreciation.

Laurie: Thanks for the appreciation.

Unseen India Tours said...

Amazing Blog !! Rajesh Your Blog Is Wondeful !!

Kcalpesh said...

Wow, nice place and great photo with the reflection being captured so nicely!

Rajesh said...

Unseen Rajasthan: Thanks for the appreciation.

Kcalpesh: hanks for the appreciation.

Kirigalpoththa said...

I'll surely visit Jaipur! thanks for these posts!!

Rajesh said...

Kirigalpoththa: I am you will like the visit to this city. Enjoy.

Barbara Martin said...

Beautiful photos and wonderful narrative. Thank you for sharing this, Rajesh.

And thank you for your comments on my blog.

Z said...

When I was little my family made a trip to the Pink City. All I really remember is that there was pink colored milk, perhaps flavored with rose essense, that I loved! :-) It is nice to see some of the pictures you put up here, and try to remember what I saw when I was there.

Thank you for your visit to my Villigen blog.

Rajesh said...

Barbara: Thanks for the appreciation.

Z: Thank you. Good to know I could refresh your memory. It is a nice place to visit.

Rajesh said...

Raghu: Thanks for the appreciation.