In 1876, when Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome them and Lord Albert called the city ‘Pink City’, the name it is known by till today.
Our first stop inside the walls was the very distinctive building called Hawa Mahal in Hindi and the Palace of the Wind in English. It is a very interesting 5 storey building, constructed in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It is built with a beehive effect and has 953 windws (jarokhas) with intricate latticework from where all the women of the Royal families would gaze out to see all the festivals and occasions, as well as the day to day life in the city. The women had to look out to the street in this way because they had to obey the strict rules of "purdah", which forbade them from appearing in public without face coverings.
The top two storeys of the building are only a few metres wide and were really only there as observation posts. It is called the palace of the winds because the interior of the palace was hollow like an atrium and when the windows were open, a cool breeze flowed thru its interior.
Nearby, people were selling crafts such as hand carved wooden blocks with a chamsah and there was even a local snake charmer.
From there we drove a short distance to the morning milk market, which I mentioned in a previous post. Farmers from all over the area come into town early in the morning with fresh milk. When the buyers assemble, the farmers allow them to taste the milk by pouring a small amount into a cup or into the palm of their hands. Once they are satisfied with the taste and the price, they haul their milk cans into the back of their car, bike or rickshaw and head home. We had really not seen milk cans like these for decades and they are still in use in India.
These were short stops, as we really wanted to get up to the Amer Fort, 11 kms north of the city, before the morning rush. The fort is high on a hill and in order to get into the fort, you either walk up the steep hill or do what all the tourists do, which is climb the mountain on the back of an elephant. The elephants only work during the morning hours, and therefore the lineups to make use of this form of transportation can be very long. When we got to the line, we were told that our wait would be at least thirty minutes, but the weather was sunny and cool; we struck up conversations with fellow travelers from various parts of the world to pass the time and the wait passed quickly.
While waiting, various hawkers of souvenirs and local artifacts, moved up and down the line trying to peddle their wares. If you said that you were not interested, they kept coming back with lower prices. It was interesting to watch the price deflate with no negotiation from our end.
Once we got on the elephant, there were many photographers who were shooting your pictures and by the time you reached the top of the hill and entered the fort, they had already developed your photos and they were already mounted in an album for purchase. They were asking for about 500 rupees ($10 Can.) for one picture, and at least 5 different photographers approached us with their album of photos of us. We kept saying no, we are not interested and after we had finished touring the fort, the same photographers somehow picked us out of the crowd and hounded us all the way out of the parking lot, until I finally offered one fellow 100 rupees ($2) for the entire album. We made the deal for 150 rupees or $3.00 Canadian.
The scenery from the top was quite striking. Further up the hill above us was another huge fortress, the Jaigarh Fort. The two are connected by a subterranean passage, which served as an escape route in times of war to enable the royal family members and others in the Amer Fort to shift to the more protected Jaigarh Fort. Surrounding both forts and stretching for miles atop all the surrounding hills was a wall which reminded us of the Great Wall of China. Apparently it is about 15 kms long and is hundreds of years old.
Everyone wanted to take pictures with us. One of our guides explained that Indian people are very into positive energy and when they see people who are smiling, they wish to be a part of that scene!
The fort is really a palace. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the attractive, opulent palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. The palace was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families. Here is a picture in the Hall of mirrors.
The Amer Fort and the Jaigarh Fort high above it are connected by an underground tunnel.
A view of the fort from the road and now what it looks like on google when the lake in front of it is full.
Our guide was excellent, spoke English well, and knew his historical and architectural facts with the expertise that we have come to expect from all the guides provided to us by India Kosher Travel and by Carmel Tours.
When we left the fort, we headed to the floating palace, which was the summer palace of the local kings.
From here, our guide took us to a factory/showroom of precious stones and jewellery. Like most guides in India, there is usually one stop in the day where they steer you to a local facility, under the guise of showing you the ancient art of this or that. In reality, it is a mutually beneficial retail outlet promoted by the guides, where both the guide and the store profit. The quality that we saw on this trip was very good and also very expensive.
In this case, they had a small craft area where experienced craftsmen were grinding and polishing precious stones like rubies, onyx, tanzanite and emeralds. It was fascinating to watch them glue the stone to the end of what looked like a pencil and then to grind these to the desired shape.
After this short visit, we were taken to a local restaurant, where it had been prearranged for us to have our own table where we could enjoy our kosher meals and order tea, coffee or sodas.
On entering, we met the man reputed to have the widest moustache in India and then were entertained by a traditionally attired local musician.
We continued on to one of our favourite attractions, Jantar Mantar, literally meaning “Calculation Instrument”. Before entering this amazing historic scientific exhibit of early astronomy, we passed by a mobile ATM, something we had never seen before. It was in the back of the truck which had a wifi antenna sticking out the top to communicate with remote computer networks.
Between 1724 and 1730 Maharajah Sawaii Jai Singh II of Jaipur constructed five astronomical observatories in north India and today we were visiting the largest of the 5, in Jaipur. The observatories, or "Jantar Mantars" as they are commonly known, incorporate multiple buildings of unique form, each with a specialized function for astronomical measurement. These structures with their striking combinations of geometric forms at large scale have captivated the attention of architects, artists, and art historians world wide, yet remain largely unknown to the general public.
Inside Jantar Mantar, you will find several geometric devices for measuring time, ascertaining the movement of planets, tracking stars in their orbits, predicting eclipses and determining the celestial altitudes. All of these tools are fixed and static. These can not be moved. The largest of them is the Samrat Jantar sun dial which is 90 feet high and which can read time with great accuracy. Other instruments can broadcast the arrival of the monsoons and the time of eclipses. The instruments are built of local stone and marble.
It was most fascinating that someone could have built this close to 300 years ago, especially because some of the stone work has been ground out to specific and accurate angles and curves. No visitor to Jaipur should skip this most amazing attraction.
Next door to Jantar Mantar is the City Palace and Museum of Jaipur and we were once again overwhelmed by the beauty and attention to detail by the builders of these structures hundreds of years ago.
This had been a long day but our guide insisted on taking us thru the markets in the centre of this planned city and we were very glad that he did. First he took us along a street where they sold housewares and building materials.
Here is Fran contemplating which pot to buy to make her Pesach chicken soup;
Then he took us thru the authentic Indian Sari market and we watched the proceedings as shopkeepers paraded out the finest fabrics and the wide assortment of vivid colours and sparkling trimming to parents of various brides and grooms. It was busy, bustling, crowded and most colourful. Millions of rupees were exchanging hands as materials and styles were chosen for the wedding party.
It had been a long day and our favourite to this point in our journey and we headed back to the Hilton where we enjoyed our meal and well deserved rest.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, the drive from Jaipur to Agra and the Taj Mahal.
All the best
Fran and David
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