Jaipur- The Pink City
The walled city or The Pink City is the original Jaipur which has expanded in recent times with seat of power of the government housed in the sprawling complex which used to be barracks and offices of the body guards of Jaipur Maharaja. The garage of the Maharaja which is situated in the centre of the Central Park ( which is a huge public facility with a outer walk way 4 km long with a Jaipur Polo Club and Jaipur Golf Club within its sprawling precints ) has been transformed into a luxury heritage hotel- Lakshmi Vilas.
Walking around Pink city is an experience in itself. Though I can not claim to know all the gates, I have travelled through the major ones- Ajmer Gate, New Gate, Sanganer gate, Chandpole, Ratan Pole...The two major road junctions are Badi Choupad and Chotti Choupad. The need to maintain tradition and uniformity has ensured that all the names of the shops in the Pink City are displayed in a standard fashion- block letters in Hindi of the same fond and size on a white back ground- this holds good even for Bata shoe and Titan watch showrooms which otherwise would have sported their stylised brand names.
The markets are segmented product categorywise. So we have Javeri Bazar specialising in jewellery and shops around Kishan Pole selling art materials. The ground floor of all the buildings are shops and there are dwellings on the upper floors which do not exceed three floors.
People are pious and this has ensured that there are temples bang in the middle of the roads creating traffic snarls. Some of the dieties are located under banyan trees- even they can not stand the scorching sun ! Though all main roads are of the same width , one of them is called Choda Rasta ( Broad Road ). An interestingly named market is Tripolia Bazaar which is ranged right outside the gates of the Royal Palace.
There is a strong belief that only the members of the Royal family could enter the city palace through the main gate which bears the insignia of the royal family. The legend has it that those few VIP visitors who entered thorugh this gate met with gruesome ends, one of them being our former prime minister was assassinated in mid 1980s. The VIP visitors are escorted into the city palace through another "safe" gate.
Walks through labarynthe of criss crossing winding narrow gullies interconnecting the main roads is an experience in intself. Generations have grown up in these narrow gullies. There are all types of shops and those that attracted my attention were those selling snacks, musings and sweets.
For first timers to the city, a visit to Hawa Mahal, the museum in the city palace and spending time at Jantar Mantar ( which have several ancient time measuring devices ) is a must. The popular Rajasthan quilts are sold in shops facing the Hawa Mahal.
The open spaces in parts of jaipur outside Pink City have home to peacocks. In the Pink City, the peacocks have been replaced by cows which throng the roads !
SOme of the roads are so narrow that visitors would do well to travel on cycle rickshaws rather than cars.
Walking around Pink city is an experience in itself. Though I can not claim to know all the gates, I have travelled through the major ones- Ajmer Gate, New Gate, Sanganer gate, Chandpole, Ratan Pole...The two major road junctions are Badi Choupad and Chotti Choupad. The need to maintain tradition and uniformity has ensured that all the names of the shops in the Pink City are displayed in a standard fashion- block letters in Hindi of the same fond and size on a white back ground- this holds good even for Bata shoe and Titan watch showrooms which otherwise would have sported their stylised brand names.
The markets are segmented product categorywise. So we have Javeri Bazar specialising in jewellery and shops around Kishan Pole selling art materials. The ground floor of all the buildings are shops and there are dwellings on the upper floors which do not exceed three floors.
People are pious and this has ensured that there are temples bang in the middle of the roads creating traffic snarls. Some of the dieties are located under banyan trees- even they can not stand the scorching sun ! Though all main roads are of the same width , one of them is called Choda Rasta ( Broad Road ). An interestingly named market is Tripolia Bazaar which is ranged right outside the gates of the Royal Palace.
There is a strong belief that only the members of the Royal family could enter the city palace through the main gate which bears the insignia of the royal family. The legend has it that those few VIP visitors who entered thorugh this gate met with gruesome ends, one of them being our former prime minister was assassinated in mid 1980s. The VIP visitors are escorted into the city palace through another "safe" gate.
Walks through labarynthe of criss crossing winding narrow gullies interconnecting the main roads is an experience in intself. Generations have grown up in these narrow gullies. There are all types of shops and those that attracted my attention were those selling snacks, musings and sweets.
For first timers to the city, a visit to Hawa Mahal, the museum in the city palace and spending time at Jantar Mantar ( which have several ancient time measuring devices ) is a must. The popular Rajasthan quilts are sold in shops facing the Hawa Mahal.
The open spaces in parts of jaipur outside Pink City have home to peacocks. In the Pink City, the peacocks have been replaced by cows which throng the roads !
SOme of the roads are so narrow that visitors would do well to travel on cycle rickshaws rather than cars.
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