The holiday at the capital city of Rajasthan - Jaipur is an absolute must
on the itinerary of any tourist to India. Along with the dashing Delhi and
the amazing Agra it forms the Golden Triangle of Indian Tourism. The day is
going to be an experience in itself. Jaipur, the Pink City, known for it's
colourful and fascinating Architecture. The tour showcases the Hawa Mahal or
the Palace of Winds, the Amber Fort and then riding on canopied elephants in
pomp and royal style of ancient maharajas. After indulging oneself in
shopping at Rajasthan, the state's handicrafts emporium for souvenirs and
crafts, an exotic and sumptuous lunch awaits you . The home of the erstwhile
rulers, The City Palace, now a museum, full of royal splendour and the
amazing Jantar Mantar - Astronomical Observatory, are to be explored at
leisure.
In the evening after a cultural program of enthralling dance and music,
dinner is a celebration under the canopy of the star-lit skies at exotic Jai
Mahal Palace.
Undoubtedly, Jaipur is a fascinating city. Look you may from whichever way,
houses, shops and havelis - they are all pink. The long walls protecting the
city and the huge gateways guarding the entrance to the city are all in
pink. Even the women who come to the city market from their neighbouring
villages are dressed in pink, gorgeous yellow, red and blue. Men dressed in
white dhoti and shirts carry huge magnificent turbans - mostly pink, red and
yellow. Jaipur, like the entire Rajasthan, loves colour and pink more often
than not.
Attractions of Jaipur
Hawa
Mahal - The Palace of Winds
The City Palace of Jaipur is the royal residence, the tallest structure in
the whole complex and received additions from various maharajas till all
further additions were ruled out. But even before this, within sixty years
of its construction, the City Palace had to accommodate a new extension of
the zenana quarters. It was originally conceived to enable ladies of the
royal household to watch everyday life on the streets and royal processions.
This was the Hawa Mahal. As against the popular belief, it is not really a
palace. Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) is a five-storey building in pink
splendour with carved trelliswork and lies on the main street of the old
city.
Approached from the City Palace side, you would find yourself in a spacious
courtyard guarded by a stately deorhi (door). Today it houses a small museum
to present a mini jharokhas of art and craft. But above these two storeys,
only the eastern wing has three storeys of small intimate chambers. These
apartments have only small windows for admitting light and air. This
arrangement looks curious from the roadside. "Come to the window, sweet
is the night air" as John Keats would have said to these charming
little windows.
Amber Fort
Amber Fort in Jaipur is a beautiful complex of palaces, halls, pavilions,
gardens and temples built over a period of two centuries. From the base one
can either walk up or ride a caparisoned elephant. Ready to be completely
overawed by the magnificence of the grand fort. Amber is the classic
romantic Rajasthan fort-palace. Built in 1592 by Man Singh its walls depict
painted scenes of huntg with precious stones and mirrors set into the
plaster.
In the foreground is the Maota Lake with breathtaking reflections of the
magnificent Amber Fort-Palace. The Kachhwajas built the Amber palace when
they rose in eminence and power under the Mughals. Diwan-I-Aam has a double
row of columns with elephant-head brackets, which had to be covered with
stucco to escape the jealous eye of Jehangir. Ganesh Pol, entrance portal to
inner palaces, is the most magnificent portal in Rajasthan. Amber is
undoubtedly the grandest achievement of Rajput architecture.
After the memorble visit to Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort, the two world
renowned attractions of Jaipur, we will proceed for shopping in Jaipur, the
place to shop until you drop !
Shopping in Jaipur
And yes, how can you
miss the shopping in your Jaipur tour. Jaipur is the place to shop until you
drop ! It has a plethora of handicrafts ranging from grimacing papier-mache
puppets to exquisitely carved furniture. You will have to bargain hard
though - this city is accustomed to tourists with lots of money and little
time to spend it. Shops around the tourist traps, such as the City Palace
and Hawa Mahal, tend to be more expensive. Jaipur is especially well known
for precious stones, which seem cheaper here than elsewhere in India, and is
even better known for semiprecious gems. There are many shops which offer
bargain prices, but you do need to know your gems. Marble statues, costume
jewellery and textile prints are other Jaipur specialties. Popular
attractions of shopping in Jaipur.
Lunch
After a jubliant and excellant shopping experience in
Jaipur, a land steeped with heritage, picturesque with exquisite
architecture. Then we will proceed to Palace Hotel, Jaipur for lunch. After
the lunch programme in palace hotel, we will furthur proceed to view the
other best known attractions of Jaipur that include Jantar Mantar and City
Palace.
Jantar Mantar
The
Timekeeper Of Celestial Bodies
The Jantar Mantar was conceived as a quest for discovering the mysteries of
the Cosmos. The Jantar Mantar is a corruption of the Sanskrit word yantra
mantra meaning instruments and formulae. It was built not only to verify
astronomical observations made at Jaipur, but also to stimulate interest in
astronomy, which had become enmeshed in theory, superstition and religious
jargon. Following the style of an observatory at Samarkand, huge masonry
instruments were built, keeping in mind the rules of astronomy, the position
of the equator, latitudes and longitudes.
Commissioned by Emperor Muhammad Shah, to correct the existing astronomical
tables and fix planetary positions anew, Sawai Jai Singh-II, accomplished
the task in seven years and for this task, built the first stone observatory
in Delhi in 1724 and in Jaipur in 1728. Apart from being a permanent
memorial to his genius, is secured for him a place along with such
distinguished observatory builders like Prince Ulugh Beg, Tycho Brahe and
John Flam steed.
City Palace
The City Palace is the core of the royal residences in Jaipur. Each new
Maharaja made his own additions to Sawai Jai Singh's original city palace.
Chandra Mahal, private palace of the ruler, is approached through a number
of courtyards. Mubarak Mahal, in the first courtyard, is a guesthouse now
used as a textile museum. A magnificent gateway with a grand door in brass
is to be crossed to reach the Diwan-I-Khas in a stately courtyard. It is an
open hall with a double row of columns with scalloped arches. On display
here are two gigantic silver urns used by Madho Singh II to carry water from
the holy Ganges on board the ocean liner when he traveled to London in 1902.
These are the largest silver vessels in the world - 242.7 kilograms of
silver was required to cast each urn, which could contain 8182 gallons of
water. These urns figure in the Guinness Book of World Records.
INDIAN
RAILWAYS
