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                 JAIPUR TRAVEL GUIDE

Jaipur  also popularly known as the Pink City, historically sometimes rendered as
Jeypore, is the capital of Rajasthan .

Built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, the city is remarkable among pre-
modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into
six quarters separated by broad streets 111 ft (34 m) wide. The urban quarters are
further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east,
south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to
the east. The Palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa
Mahal, or palace of winds), formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort
crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. Another noteworthy building is
Sawai Jai Singh's observatory, Jantar Mantar. With its rich and colourful past,
resplendent with tales of valour and bravery, Jaipur is now one of the most important
heritage cities in India, and is a must-see for tourists coming to India.

Jaipur is considered by many urbanists to be one of the best planned cities. Almost
all Northern Indian towns of that period presented a chaotic picture of narrow twisting
lanes, a confusion of run-down forts/temples/palaces and temporary shacks that
bore no resemblance at all to the principles set out in Hindu architectural manuals,
which calls for strict geometric planning. Thus, for Sawai Jai Singh II and the Bengali
Guru Vidyadhar (who was a 'Shaspati' - Hindu Priest Architect), the founding of Jaipur
was also a ritual and a golden opportunity to plan a whole town according to the
principles of Hindu architectural theory. The town of Jaipur is in fact, built in the form
of a nine-part Mandala known as the 'Pithapada'. Nine signifies the nine planets of
the ancient astrological zodiac. It is also known that Sawai Jai Singh II was a great
astronomer and a town planner and hence the 'Pithapada'. Also, the commercial
shops designed are multiples of nine (27) and then having one cross street for a
planet.

Jaipur State, which existed from the twelfth century until Indian Independence in
1947, took its name from the city. It had a total area of 15,579 square miles (40,349
kmē) in 1900. The maharajas of Jaipur belonged to the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs,
claiming descent from Rama, king of Ayodhya.

The state is said to have been founded in the eleventh century or 1097 by
Duhaladeva (popularly known by his folk name of Tejkaranj -'the Bridegroom prince'),
who hailed from Gwalior; he and his Kachwaha kinsmen are said to have absorbed
or driven out the local Meenas and Bargujar Rajput chiefs. The Meenas became a
key ally of the Kachwahas. Their original capital in the Dhundhar region was Dausa,
then Jamwa Ramgarh then Amber before the shift to Jaipur.

The ruling dynasty of Jaipur provided the Mughal Empire with some of their most
distinguished generals. Among them were Raja Man Singh I, who fought and
governed from Kabul to Orissa and Assam; Jai Singh I, commonly known by his
imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears in all the wars of Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb; and Jai Singh II, or Sawai Jai Singh, the famous mathematician and
astronomer, and the founder of Jaipur city. "Sawai" was a title bestowed upon him by
Aurangzeb which meant "one and a quarter times superior to his contemporaries".
Throughout the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, the armies of Jaipur were
constantly at war. Towards the end of the 18th century, the Jats of Bharatpur and the
chief of Alwar (also a Kachwaha) declared themselves independent from Jaipur and
each annexed the eastern portion of Jaipur's territory. This period of Jaipur's history
is characterized by internal power-struggles and constant military conflicts with the
Marathas, Jats, other Rajput states, as well as the British and the Pindaris (Jaipur's
former mercenary allies). Nevertheless, enough wealth remained in Jaipur for the
patronage of fine temples/palaces, continuity of its courtly traditions and the well-
being of its citizens and merchant communities.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Time zone         IST (UTC+5:30)
Area                   200.4 kmē (77 sq mi)
Elevation           431 m (1,414 ft)
District(s)          Jaipur District
Population        3,324,319 (2005)
Density              16,588/kmē (42,963/sq mi)


PLACE TO VISIT


Amber Fort - (11 km from central Jaipur). This massive fort-palace complex built
in hybrid Hindu-Muslim style dates back to Raja Man Singh and was the royal palace
of the Kachwahas from c. 1600 to 1727. The name has nothing to do with the rather
pretty pastel yellow colour; instead, the fort is named after the town of Amber, in turn
named after the goddess Amba. Top sights within the fort include the Shish Mahal,
adorned with thousands on thousands of mirror tiles on the walls and ceiling. The
fort/palace grounds are sprawling and have no signage whatsoever in any language,
so it's worth getting an audio guide or a real guide. It's a bit of a hike up from the
town, and the touristy thing is to hitch an elephant ride to the top. Rs. 10/50
Indians/foreigners, plus optional Rs.25/100 for still/video camera, Rs.100 for
audioguide.

Jaigarh Fort - Never conquered in battle, this was considered the strongest of
the three forts in the area. It's best known as the site of the world's largest cannon,
the Jaivana, which was test-fired only once — according to legend, despite using
only the half the design amount of gunpowder, the cannonball flew 35 km! A better
reason to visit the fort, though, are the scenic gardens at the other end and the
spectacular views over the Amber Fort and the hills around. The remains of the
foundry where the Jaivana (and many more) were cast are also in the fort grounds.
Rs.50 plus Rs.40 for camera.

Nahargarh Fort - The smallest of the three forts, notable primarily for excellent
views over Man Sagar lake and the vast sprawl of Jaipur. The fort also houses the
(relatively) compact Madhavendra Bhawan palace, although its former splendour is
fading fast under a new layer of graffiti and pigeon droppings. Portions of the movie
Rang De Basanti were shot at this fort. To go the area where the "Pathshala" song
was shot, take a left turn as soon as you enter the fort. Rs.10 entry, Rs.35 for
Madhavendra Bhawan.

City Palace - The City Palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajput and
Mughal architecture. It is a vast palace complex occupying nearly one-seventh of the
Pink City. It was originally built by Maharaja Jai Singh II. The complex is divided into a
series of courtyards, sprawling gardens and buildings. It is home to several palatial
structures like the Chandra Mahal (home to present Maharajah of Jaipur), Mubarak
Mahal (housing a textile museum), Diwan-e-Khas (or Hall of Private audience
housing the two largest silver vessels in the world, which are duly mentioned in the
Guinness book), the Diwan-e-Aam ( or Hall of Public Audience) and the gateway
Ridhi Sidhi Pol (with four small doorways decorated with motifs depicting the four
seasons). Another integral part of the palace complex is the Hawa Mahal, standing
away from the main complex.

Jal Mahal - Jal Mahal (or the Water Palace) is on the way to Sisodia Rani Garden.
A Rajput style architectured palace sits in the center of the Maan-sarovar lake. The
lake is often dry in the summer but winter monsoons frequently turn it into a beautiful
lake filled with water hyacinths.

Jantar Mantar  - Jantar Mantar is the biggest of five astronomical observatory
build by Maharaja Jai Singh during the period 1727-1734 in north India. It is located
very close to the City Palace. The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric
devices (or yantra in Hindi) for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars in
their orbits, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial
altitudes etc. Unfortunately no text is made available to tourists regarding the various
yantras nor are there any plaques/boards in front of them. In most of the cases local
guides are not of any help either.

Hawa Mahal - Hawa Mahal (or Palace of breeze) was built in 1799 by Maharaja
Sawai Singh as part of City Palace. It was an extension of the Zenana (women)
chamber. It's purpose was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street
below without being seen. It is a five storey high red sandstone structure complete
with over 950 windows. The breeze (or hawa in Hindi) circulates through these
windows giving the palace its name. Tourists are not allowed to go inside the palace.


HOW TO REACH

By plane - Jaipur Airport (JAI/VIJP) is situated in the satellite town of Sanganer
and offers sporadic service to London, Dublin, Singapore and Dubai. Jaipur also
has well connected domestic air links with many Indian cities such as Jodhpur,
Udaipur, Aurangabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa, Chennai, Ahmedabad,
Bangalore, Mumbai and Raipur, .

By train - Indian Raiways connects Jaipur from all over the country, and is one of
the cheapest. Overnight trains arrive from many major cities including Delhi, Agra,
Chennai and Mumbai. There are three major railway stations Jaipur Junction(main
station),Durgapura and Gandhinagar (Jaipur), which is not to be confused with
Gandhinagar in Gujarat state. All trains stop at Jaipur Junction and a few trains stop
at Durgapura and Gandhinagar stations also.

By bus - There is an excellent bus service between Jaipur to Delhi by Rajasthan
State Road Transport Corporation with buses approximately every half an hour both
sides. They consist of both Deluxe and AC Volvo buses. From Delhi you can board
the bus from Bikaner House, Pandara Road next to India Gate. From Jaipur you can
board the bus from Narayan Singh Circle or the main Sindhi Camp bus stand. You
can also book tickets up to 6 days in advance from both these places.These buses
typically take 6 hours (by Volvo) or 6-7 hours by other deluxe buses. There are also
some private bus operators active in the city but you should avoid them as most of
them do not have permits and drive rash