Jaipur : culture trip, Padharo sa mhare desh
The pink city
The finest jewelry ever created on earth, where king was the jeweler and bricks his gems. Yes, I am talking about Jaipur . The pink city never fails to charm the explorers, again and again. There’s much more to Rajasthan’s capital than it’s pink-red-tinged buildings and historic splendor. This majestic home to erstwhile royals is complete with old -world charm surrounded by colourful market and chaotic streets.
Jaipur is packed with spellbinding festivals, richly decorated elephants casually going about their work, enchanting cultural insights, and a labyrinth of colourful dream palaces at every turn. A romantic pink hue pervades everything in Jaipur hence the nickname “pink city”.
This is must visit city in India. Let’s start to explore it. Starting with Hawa mahal, the romantic pink sandstone fortress cascading over the streets of Jaipur, was originally built in 1799 a vantage point for ladies of the Royal household. So that, they could observe the city below without being observed themselves. It has 152 windows nestled into rounded lattices balconies, exemplifying the strong yet delicate Rajput architecture in all its splendor. When the sun drops down towards the horizon, a small beam of light can sometimes be seen shining through a top story window
Just behind the Hawa mahal, the city palace is located. It is the centre piece of the city and heart founder of Jai singh II’s reign . It includes Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal. Built with highly trained architectural care, city palace combines Rajput, Mughal and European style and is another stunning example of jaipur’s Royal influences.
Jaipur is full of these type of historical places. One more place, Jantar Mantar . It is located in the Heart of Jaipur. The large -scale geometric formations are the stars of this historical structure, jutting out independently with staircases that lead to nowhere and in what would appear to be random manner. The observatory is a wonder to architects and artists .
Travelling outside the city limits by only a few kilometers will offer a clear view of just how much influence the Rajput rulers had over the area. One such Rajput palace is located only about 11 kilometers from Jaipur. The sand coloured walls of Amber Fort fade into the surrounding hill aide in nearly perfect disguise. Constructed using breathtaking red sandstone and marble, this structure was built roughly 200 years before Jaipur established. This gives a historic view to us. The fort is among the Top forts of Jaipur, rugged and similar to the Amer Fort in structural design, is also known as Victory Fort. It is 3 km long along the north-south direction, and 1 km wide. The fort features a cannon named “Jaivana” which was made in the precincts of the fort and was then the largest cannon on wheels in the world. Jaigarh Fort and Amer Fort are connected to each other through passages and considered one complex.
Jaipur in Rajasthan is a city famed for several things, be its famous Hawa Mahal, the warm and friendly locals or the forgotten havelis within the streets and also for its grand royal cuisine that is the eclectic mix of north Indian specialties, with an amazing blend of vegetarian and non-vegetarian for the bygone era of uniting kings and peasants with food! “It is as the saying goes, the heart and soul of a place lies in its taste of food” You must try dal-baati- churma and pyaaz kachori.
