Uncovering the Pink city of India – Jaipur!

The state of Rajasthan, known for its cultural richness, visiting it was on cards for a long long time. This was going to be a family vacation. We booked our flight tickets two months in advance and planned to cover 5 cities over a span of 8 days- Jaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur.

Our first stop was the pink city of India- Jaipur! The city sightseeing being the planned activity for the next two days.

The historical reason as to why central Jaipur is uniformly pink is, on account of the Maharaja and his extreme strategy to impress Prince Albert during his 1876 tour to India. It is said that with the visit of Prince Albert to Jaipur, the Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur set about beautifying his city and this included repainting the entire city. The colour chosen for this was, a terracotta pink as this colour historically symbolises hospitality.

Jaipur holds the distinction of being the first planned city of India. Renowned globally for its coloured gems, the capital city of Rajasthan combines the allure of its ancient history with all the advantages of a metropolis. The bustling modern city is one of the three corners of the golden triangle that includes Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

The day we made it to Jaipur, however, we chose to visit Chowki Dhani for dinner to experience a perfectly ethnic Rajasthani village setting.

Chowki Dhani:

This place reflected the vibrant spirit of Rajasthan giving us a glimpse and the real essence of how a village in Rajasthan, in reality looks like. Offered out here were the various Rides – camel and elephant,  snacks,  Rajasthani folk dance and music performances, the fire,puppet  and magic shows. An exclusive shopping area in a corner was seen for the visitors to be able to purchase the authentic Rajasthani articles. One could also see women applying Henna for free, for whoever was interested to get it done. A part of the grounds also had a stall which provided the traditional Rajasthani attire and let people snap pictures wearing them.
We headed to the restaurant to feast on their Thali  which served authentic Rajasthani food consisting of 25 dishes. We were made to sit on divans placed on the floor with tables placed in front of us.

The weather being a little too warm and dry, we equipped ourselves with bottles of water, sunscreen, shades and comfortable cotton clothes, the next day before heading out for our sightseeing.

Jaipur as a city is divided into two parts i.e. Old Jaipur- where the buildings are completely painted in pink and New Jaipur – having more of white and yellow buildings. Our first destination for the day was Jantar Mantar in Old Jaipur.

Jantar Mantar:

UNESCO World Heritage Site, Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is considered to be the largest of the five astronomical observatories built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. It contains sixteen geometric devices, designed to measure time, track celestial bodies and observe the orbits of the planets around the sun. We hopped from one apparatus to another, checking if they were correctly working i.e. on the basis of the instructions provided as to how to test the time of the day etc. and we were awestruck at the precision of it all!

We made a quick stop at the city palace next, where we snapped a few pictures from the exteriors as it happened to be closed for the day on account of an event.

Albert Hall museum:

Every building in Jaipur that we had seen up until now, seemed to be so architecturally on point, that we kept feeling that the time that we were giving to each location wasn’t enough to pause, adore and appreciate the art.

The museum displayed a wide range of metal objects, wood crafts, carpets, stone and metal sculptures, arms and weapons, natural stones and ivory goods. It also housed a very large collection of miniatures from Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Udaipur and Jaipur schools of art. At the basement of this museum, was placed a mummy and all the associated Egyptian articles set strategically in glass cases, along all the four corners of the hall, with the required details for a lay man to understand.

Egypt and its mummies and all the stories behind all of it have always amazed me, ever since my early childhood, hence this was a really interesting stop for me.

We then sprung into the streets of the ever so bustling jaipur for a quick shopping, very much aware of the weather and the cruel scorching heat directly shining above our heads. Having picked up a few souvenirs and articles, we headed back to our hotel for lunch.

Amer palace:

This majestic palace, located in craggy range of the Aravalli hills, was a beautiful blend of the Hindu and Mughal styles.

The contrast between the harsh exterior and the beautiful interiors was very surprising. Made entirely of red sandstone and white marble, the magnificence of the palace that utilises carvings, precious stones and mirrors, leaves one spellbound! The splendour of the palace is enhanced by the breathtaking sight of the Maota Lake in front.

Our vehicles were made to stop at the base of this palace, and jeeps were provided to us, which would drive us to the top. The palace was beautifully adorned with colourful and dainty wall art with the semi precious stones studded artistically along, adding to their incredible beauty. Personally, I found the Sheesh Mahal the best amongst whatever we saw. It was lined by a zillion pieces of glass and the exquisite detailing and design made it a spectacular sight.

On our way back to the hotel, we however stopped at a leather store, which sold goods made of the genuine camel leather. Right from bags, wallets to shoes and slippers, they had it all. The Rajasthan specific colourful mirror thread-work designs on the leather, made the bags and the slippers an even more exciting buy.

The dinner at the hotel was accompanied by a traditional folk performance- both dance and music. A woman clad in a beautiful Rajasthani attire, danced along side the live music that was being played. The enthusiasm from the performers was contagious and we felt the urge to jump up and be a part of the performance as well. We all merrily joined in after a while and danced to our hearts content, trying to match the steps of the folk dance, including our modern moves as well.

The next day, enroute to Bikaner from Jaipur,  we caught a glimpse of the splendid Hawa mahal and, the Jal Mahal which happened to be beside the hotel that we were staying at.

Hawa Mahal:

Hawa Mahal, was built in 1799 by the king Sawai Pratap Singh as a summer retreat for his family and himself. It is said to have served as a place where the women of the royal household could observe everyday life without being seen themselves, from the outside. The windows also served as an air-conditioner of sorts, blowing cool air throughout the palace, thus making it a perfect getwaway during summers. Hawa Mahal is Jaipur’s iconic landmark and tourists can see this impressive structure, from across the road.

Jal Mahal:

Another most wonderful sight of Jaipur is the beautiful Jal Mahal. The deep blue hues of the lake water  and the light sand coloured stone walls makes it a wonderful contrast, and hence a breathtaking view. This  palace seems to float at the centre of the Mansagar Lake, where its splendid exteriors was a sight to behold!

Read the experience of our visit to Jodhpur and Udaipur here: City of lakes – Udaipur

Bikaner:

Lunch was served at a hotel on the Highway named the Midway Kurja, where a scrumptious buffet was laid out for us. The  Camel Research Institute in Bikaner was what we were visiting next.

Camel Research institute

We were shown camels of different breeds and  behavior, stationed at enclosures within the campus. Information regarding the developmental and research aspects of the camel in the desert ecosystem, was made available to the tourists in a very well maintained Camel Museum. The Camel milk parlour seemed to draw a lot of tourists’ attention as several camel milk products like ice-cream, hot and cold beverages were being sold there. Tourists were allowed to take the camel riding, safari and video as well as photography options were available as well.

We checked into a very alluring hotel with its walls and ceilings embellished with beautiful patterns and mirrors. After quick freshening, since there was a lot of time till dinner would be served, we took the opportunity to visit the bazaars of Bikaner.  Excitedly we booked an ola to the market, but were in for disappointment. There were however, lots of cloth stores selling the traditional Rajasthani Bandhej and the Leheriya print, dress materials and sarees. The famous Bikaneri Bhujia was a mandatory pick before getting back to the hotel for dinner.

After our hotel check out at Bikaner, we touched the Junagarh fort on our way to Jaisalmer.

Junagarh Fort

Another amazing instance of impeccably done architecture and beautiful detailed interiors! We had a guide to take us around and to give us a brief explanation of the history that existed and gave way to what was.

The palaces, temples and the structures built within the Junagarh fort are said to have been made of the red sandstone and marble. The picturesque palaces had a wide array of courtyards, balconies and windows.

The museum that existed within the fort provided an insight into the magnificent life style of the past Maharanas of Rajasthan. It exhibited a variety of miniature paintings, jewels, royal costumes, enamelware, palanquins etc.

The sandy deserts of Jaisalmer was the next destination that we explored, at Rajasthan and it was nothing short of amazing!

“Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times”

Our Visit to Jaisalmer was one incredible experience. Read it here : Amidst the Golden sand dunes of Jaisalmer