Jaipur, The Pink City.

Top Pictures: Maharaja Sawai Man Singh (left) and present Maharaja Bhawani Singh- Jaipur. 1st row:left:Hawa Mahal outside City Palace; right-Audience Hall, City Palace; 2nd row:left, Prince Albert Museum; right-City Palace with Jaigarh Fort in background and the observatory in foreground;3rd row, left -Rambagh Palace (Hotel); right-Amber Fort and Palace ; 4th row, left left-Elephant ride, Amber Fort; right-outer courtyard, City Palace. 5th row: left - Jantar Mantar Observatory; right-Chandra Mahal in City Palace.

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, also known as the Pink City, most structures in the old city are painted pink (in imitation of pink sandstone); one time capital of the princely state of Jaipur, ruled by the Kachhawaha rulers, Jaipur is located some 270 km south west of New Delhi and 170 km east of Bharatpur. The city, founded by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1727, was the first planned city on the old Indian mandala plan see link , with roads running from north to south or east to west.

The region around Jaipur was also known as Dhundar, and the Kachhawahas, who came here from Gwalior, became its kings from the 11th century.see link The capital of this Rajput kingdom has been shifted from Dausa to Amber (this a few miles west of Jaipur), then finally to Jaipur city.

The rulers/builders of Jaipur and its grand monuments, the Kachhawahas, claim one of the world's most ancient lineage; descended from the Suryavanshis, their origin traced back to the sun !! In fact, the prehistoric founder of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas (priests and warriors), Manu, son of Vivasvan, of the Suryavanshis see link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_%28Hinduism%29) is from such archaic antiquity , that they are also referred in the epics of Indo-Aryan Iranians(!!!) as Manus_chirh son of Vivangat!!! Manu's son Isvaku founds the ruling Suryavanshi dynasty, who ruled for so long over ancient north India that the great Rama, of the Ramayana, is 66th in descent(!!!), and the Buddha was contemporary to the 118th monarch Presenjit(!!!) see link(ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suryavanshi )

The Kachhawaha dynasty, in turn, is founded by Kusha, younger of the twin sons of Rama (see above), with their capital at Ayodhya. (hence Kushawaha - then Kachhawaha.)

After the rise of the Nanda Empire in the 4th century B.C. the Kushawahas-Kachhawahas, lost Ayodhya, and only come into prominence again in the 8th century A.D. with Suraj Sen building the fort at Gwalior, now their new capital (see Gwalior fort picture in the Gwalior post.) His descendants, particularly Duhladeva (1036 A.D.) got the Dausa region near Jaipur as dowry and the last Jaipur kingdom trace their descent to him; see the history of the Kachhawahas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachwaha

Jaipur is studded with palaces, the City Palace and the astronomical/sun dial next to the palace a must see; then visit the Amber Fort and Palace- an elephant ride to the gates of Amber Fort is an experience- then the Nahalgarh Fort situated above Jaipur in the south-east and Amber to the west. The Nahalgarh Fort has the largest wheel top cannon (fired only once!!!) in the world, another must see. The Hawa Mahal (palace of winds) is a multi-storied windowed structure outside the City Palace, used by the royal women to view the streets and crowds outside.

The present Maharaja of Jaipur still lives in a portion of City Palace (and- please verify this with the current city guide/enquire, he is host at tea time, to the palace-hotel guests.)

Jaipur is also famous for its gemstones jewellery and a good guide (or a good guided tour) will show the best shops for these. Some hotels arrange for tourists to tour the pink city in cycle-rickshaws, an experience worth the effort; this two seater cycle rickshaw will take you through the narrow streets lined with shops selling glass ladies hand- bangles, sarees and rajasthani clothes.

For more info and some good pics. Link :(http://www.shubhyatra.com/rajasthan/jaipur.html)
and for links to palaces etc :(http://www.indialine.com/travel/rajasthan/jaipur/)
for hotels: (http://www.indiahotelreview.com/destination_jaipur.htm)

link to new Fortune Hotels

here is link to Jaipur Princely State history; the present "Maharaja" Bhawani Singh Bahadur(top photo) is an outstanding achiever :
educated in Kashmir, Dehradun and then at Harrow School (UK) 1946/1950, commissioned into Indian Army in the 3rd Cavalry regiments as a Second Lieutenant in 1951, selected for the Presidents bodyguard in 1954, posted to HQ 50 (Indep.) Para Brigade in 1963, selected and posted as Adjutant, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 1964/1967, volunteered for the new Para Commando Unit and was posted to 10 Para Commando as 2nd-in-command in June 1967, became the commanding officer he in the following year, awarded the second highest gallantry award "Mahavir Chakra" in 1971, for his part in the Indo-Pak war, took voluntary retirement in 1974, was granted rank of Brigadier for life, served as the first Resident High Commissioner to the State of Brunei from July 1993 to January 1997

Jaipur, getting there

Last week (13th May, 2008), a series of bomb blasts ripped through this beautiful city; deplorable, for the very unfortunate loss of life, and obviously done with an eye on disrupting the flow of tourists to this city of palaces. Although my blog is focussed on the heritage, culture, and history of these places, I had to add this appendix to convey my heartfelt sympathy and support to all those who are affected by this tragedy. But these acts are acts of cowardice and brutality...BUT THE WORLD WILL GO ON! and this itself is a beating for all forms of terrorism.