Jaipur - The Pink City is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. The pinkness comes from the stone exclusively used for the construction of all the structures. The pink color has its own history. In 1876, the Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth II visited India on a tour. Since pink denotes the color of hospitality, Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur painted the whole city pink in color to welcome the guests. The tradition has been sincerely followed by the residents who are now, by law, compelled to maintain the pink color.
One of the main sites to Jaipur is the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of Winds. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, and designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god. Its unique five-storey exterior is also akin to the honeycomb of the beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas that are decorated with intricate latticework.1 If you stand in front of this structure you are sure to have many Jaipurians come up to you and ask you to guess how many windows there are. I was wrong with the first guess. Of course after the first guy, you look like a genius to the other queries.
The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to observe strict "purdah," face cover. Now adays, the building is just a facade, but for a fee you can venture in and go to the top of the buidling a look out at all the people below going about their busy day.2
Elephants abound in Jaipur and outside of the city, as they use elephants to transport tourists up to the Amer Fort. This is an impressive fort. There is nothing inside the rooms of Amer, but the maze of hallways and rooms is quite fascinating. I must have shot 200 images here, but of course I edit this down.
Amer Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I, and is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront. When we arrived it was quite foggy which made for a different look to the overall ambiance. The structure is built with red sandstone and marble. On hot days, which this day was not, cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over the water cascade within the palace fort.
If I returned here, I would definitely like to see it at night time when it is all lit up.
If you get a chance you should go to the Raj Mandir movie theatre, a historical building in itself. Opened in 1976, it has become a popular symbol of Jaipur, and is often referred as the Pride of Asia. This magnificient theatre is beautiful with gorgeous main foyer, that directs you to the grand theatre. Huge vaulted ceilings greet you all lit up in intense emerald colour. A truly awesome site, and the movie was pretty good too.
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1, 2 Excerpts from Wikipedia
