Statue Circle, Jaipur

Jaipur city or the Pink City as it is called is home to quite a few tourist spots, Forts, Palaces and festivals. Oh and not to forget the amazing array of food and colours that hit you around every corner.   During my 2nd visit to Jaipur, we stayed at a hotel near the Statue Circle.. Now when we landed there, we did not know how popular this circle was. But soon, within a day we came to know of the popularity of this landmark monument. 

This Statue Circle is situated in the centre of the city and it has quite a bit of history tucked within it.  Right in the centre of this space is a white marble statue of Sawai Jai Singh facing the City. Apparently, the statue depicts the Kings love for astrology with different astrological symbols carved on it.  The Statue Circle got its name from the majestic statue of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II that it holds...There are quite a few hotels, eat outs and official buildings in this part of the city. Our hotel was 5mins from here and along the way we spotted quite a few Government buildings as well. 

What was also lovely was that our hotel room opened to the deer park right next door and we also got to see quite a few peacocks along the road, at any point of time!

Teej Festival in Jaipur

It is nearly monsoon up north and that is what brought on this post. 

It was Aug 2013 and I was doing some reading about the places to visit in Jaipur when I stumbled upon a bit of information. It actually had me all excited and within minutes I shared the same with the friend who was travelling with me. The day we were landing in Jaipur was when Teej festival began. This is a festival that was celebrated across two days and was known to be grand and vibrant. The internet told me there would be music, procession, dancing, and the Goddess Parvathi would be brought in a palanquin. 

The Teej festival happens as the monsoon begins in Rajasthan.  Dedicated to Goddess Parvati, this festival is all about reuniting her with her husband Lord Shiva. An elaborate process began near the palace grounds inside one of the lanes along the Hawa Mahal area. We were told it begins at 5 and to find a place to sit/stand to view the procession. Friend and I spent about an hour inside the campus where all were getting ready. There was one elephant standing there all decked up, with lions and deer painted around its eyes and legs. It looked very cute. And out of nowhere another herd of elephants marched in, much to my dismay. The mahoots got busy throwing a sheet and then few other adornments over these gentle giants. Alongside came a few camels and horses as well. In another corner I noticed there were a group of women dressed in finery in black colour, and a few men with music instruments in their hands. 

 After spending some time watching, clicking and talking to the people around here, we finally made our way to the main road in search of a vantage point to view the procession in. We saw a few sitting on top, and asked the cop how to get there. He deliberated for a few minutes and then guided us up the steps. There were a row of chairs filled with Foreign tourists an their guides. We grabbed two seats and got comfortable waiting for the festivities to begin. Every now and then there would be a sudden bout of drizzles. 

Within an hour, we spotted the Elephants coming out from the gates. They looked grand and beautiful. Following them came the dancers, there were few other performers, groups of men carrying a tall pole with a decorative piece atop balanced on one hand. Then finally came the palanquin holding the Goddess Parvathy. It had a beautiful red canopy and was pulled by a few men dressed in finery. Some looked up at us and posed for photographs, while others went along... 

During this festival, married women all around pray to Lord Shiva and Parvathi blessing them for a long life together.  It is said that the Goddess Parvathi has been away from her husband for a long time and is finally going back. Any wish/prayer made on this day is known to come true! 

The sweet stories along the lanes were filled with their traditional sweet Ghevar [made with oil & flour where the batter is poured through a hole in bottle cap and then sugar syrup is poured over it]. Clothe stores were showing off the beautiful lahariya sarees [ multi coloured with wave prints] and women all around were dressed in bright colours with bangles and mehndi on their hands.  

The evening ended only after the palanquin turned around the corner down the road. 

Skywatch Friday ... At the Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur

Looks like am going in reverse order! We were there in Jaipur for just another day and that Monday morning we decided to visit The Albert Hall Museum 1st before heading over to the shopping arena.

Hailed an auto near the hotel we stayed at and made our way past the Statue circle. Also known as Central Museum, this monument is located in the Ram Niwas Garden. The auto went all the way around the building and dropped us off near the entrance. There are so many pigeons outside here, and quite a few people feeding them as well. Infact, the garden around seems to be quite popular. We saw throngs of people day or night, some as couples and others with children in tow. We wondered if the people here had nothing to do...

Anyways, I digress, sorry! The Ram Niwas Garden is located outside the city wall, and there is a huge gate that takes you to Hawa Mahal and all other places in this town. It was interesting to learn that the Albert Hall is the oldest museum in Jaipur. It was erected by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II  in 1868 when King Edward the Prince of Wales came to India. Maharaja Ram Singh actually wanted this building to be a "town hall" but his successor  had other plans and converted it into the museum it is today, a building showcasing the art of Jaipur.

Albert hall consist of Indo saracenic type of architecture and is designed same as the Victoria and Albert museum which is located in London. The building and the assortment beholds the beauty of the sight along with the pillars. The courtyards and the arches of the museum are worth seeing. This Albert museum was created in the 19th century

This museum is today home to about 19,000 historic objects, including interesting pieces made from metal, ivory, lacquer, pieces of jewelry,  pottery carved wooden objects, textiles, arms, weapons, clay models , sculptures, tribal costumes,  oil and miniature paintings, ceramics, musical instruments, clocks and so much more...  

Just as we entered the hall, it started to drizzle [that is the most amazing unpredictable thing about Jaipur- the weather].. We must have spent about an hour here, wandering through the floors, feasting on all the lovely pieces. There was an Egyptian mummy case as well in a glass box, and some life size sculptures too. We also noticed the place was filled with pigeons, that had practically made the minarets their home. Near the entrance gates on the road you will find a gazillion of these birds, and people come just to feed them. They are literally all over.  

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday... Astronomy and science- Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

And what a glorious morning it was. We woke up to see the gentle drizze through the window, the spotted deer grazing in the park nearby and pigeons all over the place, probably looking for shelter from the rain. We decided to go explore a few places near the Hawa mahal- maybe the City Palace and Janta Mantar. 

We hailed an auto and reached the entrance within 10mis and noticed a small queue already there. We waited near the entrance for the gates to open and then were told that we had to go around the corner to pick up tickets! D'oh! Hoping the gentle drizzle did not transform into a crazy shower, we went ahead bought the tickets and entered the complex. I have read about Jantar Mantar and knew it was all about science, but was not prepared for the massive interesting structures scattered through the space. 

The 1st plaque gave us a sneak peek into the story behind the name. The name is derived from jantar  which meant "instrument" and mantar  was referring to the "calculations". And so, Jantar Mantar literally translates to  'calculation instrument'. 

As we wandered through the vast open space, with the gentle drizzle constantly falling on our heads, we were feeling high and chirpy. The weather was beautiful, the place was majestic and overlooking the city palace. 

A guide was taking a group of spaniards giving them information in Spanish. I stood fascinated, trying to catch the words and see if I could remember what I had learnt. 

The previous day I had picked up a book about the places to see in Jaipur which had a bit of information about Jantar Mantar as well. It said Maharaja Jai Singh II, the king who founded the 'pink city' was a great scholar and an avid astrologer. He had studied philosophy, architecture,astrology and religion in various schools and was very familiar with universal mathematical concepts -Euclid's Clements, Ptolemy's Syntaxes and the Master works of Aryabhatta. 

In 1718 he decided to build an observatory which drove him to study astronomy. He then went on to build five different conservatories across North India. But, the 'Jantar Mantar' at Jaipur is the biggest one of them all and it houses several instruments that offer precise measurements of time, the azimuth, declination of the sun and the positions of constellations, along with several other astronomical phenomena.  

The observatory consists of 14 geometric devices that are used to measure time, track the constellations and, observe the orbits around the sun. Popular structures within the Jantar Mantar are the 'Samrat Yantra' (the world's largest sundial), the 'Jaiprakash Yantra' and the 'Hindu Chhatri'..  We were not too big on science and dint really understand much of what we saw, but we did enjoy the leisurely walk around the place... 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday 

Skywatch Friday..Jal Mahal Palace, Jaipur

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, the sun was shining bright but we were always on the lookout for the sudden downpour. Our past few days in Jaipur had proved that the weather was quite unpredictable, not that we are complaining. We quite loved the showers as they cooled the weather down.. This particular day we were on the road since 9am. We had just visited the Gaitore and were heading towards Nanhargarh fort and had plans of exploring few other places around. On the way, we spotted the Jal Mahal Palace on our right. It was beautiful. 

A palace of sorts in the middle of the large water body surrounded by nothing but water, mountains and emptiness. Wow. Our cab driver told us this was once the summer palace of the Raja as the main palace would get very hot. 

Jal Mahal (literally translates to "Water Palace") sits majestically in the middle of the Mansagar Lake. The palace and the lake around it went through a renovation sometime in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber. He also made the palace bigger, by adding more rooms and halls. Traditional boat-makers from Vrindavan were brought in to craft the Rajput style wooden boats. 

As I look oh yonder, all I see are the vast Aravalli hills dotted with temples and forts and on the other side is the bustling city of Jaipur. When the renovation took place, the lake went through the biggest transformation. The drains were all diverted, about 1-2 million tonnes of toxic sludge was removed, new eco system was created and local vegetation & fish were introduced back into the waters.  The wetlands around also welcome migratory birds every year. 

Since it was a Sunday, the whole world and sundry were there. There were children running around, street performers who were being chased away by cops, hawkers selling camel leather products and little trinkets and then ofcourse the men standing with a small table selling jhal muri.. The entire place was alive and buzzing... It was nice, but I did wish for some peace and quiet... 

Suddenly we heard a commotion and noticed that all the street hawkers were being asked to leave by the cops! They were all rushing to pack their stuff, and leave the area before the Cops got to them.But there was no sign of the crowd moving away from there. In fact, we saw quite a few go near the edge of the water and throw chips and biscuits and sev at the fish... We left there wondering what a lavish life the Royal must have led back in the days!! 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday- High up in the sky

There is something about being 30,000 feet up in the air. For some it is scary, but am not one of those. I enjoy travelling and so the mode doesn't really matter as long as it gets me to the destination without too much fuss.  While flying, I love sitting in the window seat and clicking pictures of the sky and clouds. 

This time, my friend was kind enough to let me have the window seat during both legs of our journey towards Jaipur and I was happy there. Looking out through the little window, looking at the buildings and the ground slowly disappear can be unnerving for many. Am not the Meg Ryan from French Kiss who is petrified of flying and is chanting all kinds of prayers. I, on the hand freak out with excitement. And when we are finally up in the air, the clouds engulf me, making me feel all warm and fuzzy. I drift into my own world where there is nothing but me and emptiness around.

Here are a few images of the changing scene around us as we flew from Chennai to Delhi and then from Delhi to Jaipur. It was magical to say the least. 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday

Amidst the Pink walls of Jaipur

It was hot, and no, it was not summer. It was October, and it was hot.. Yes i know i said it before, but i want you to understand how hot it really was. We had just arrived at Jaipur and all we could think off was "where can i get some cold water, or maybe an ice cream.. Damn, its hot". We were 4 of us, actually 5, if you count the nincompoop we had for a driver, a young brat who was supposed to be driving us around, but who ended up putting his legs up [no, i kid you not] on the dashboard and going off to sleep, with the car parked in the middle of nowhere. When one of us woke up from our slumber, we would notice this, ask him to move and then the stranger who became a friend would take over the steering wheel.

Us: Kya hua bhaiiya? [what happened brother]

Him: Kuch nahin madam, bas tired hoon, neend aa rahi hain [Nothing happened ma'am, just tired and feeling sleepy] aap so jao [ you go back to sleep]

Us: Arre, aise kaise? Aap ko humein bhatana chahiye na.. accident ho jaati tho [ OMG, how can you say that? you should have told us right, what if we had met with an accident or something?]

Him: Nahin madam, kuch nahin hoga, mein ek ghanta rest letha hoon, phir vapas hum nikhlenge [ nothing of that sort will happen ma'am. i'll sleep for an hour and then we will be back on the road]

Us: Nahin nahin, says R .. aap ithar aao, sojao, mein ghadi chalatha hoon [ Nothing doing says R, you move over and sleep in my seat, i shall drive] 

And from Delhi, it seemed like a long drive, maybe cos we were all exhausted already- I had landed in Delhi that evening, the others, well 2 of them - 1 had landed that noon from Bombay and the other around same time from Bangalore. We had attended a party, where we drank, sang, made a fool of ourselves, got Mehndi done, danced some more, laughed away to glory [having no clues why we were laughing] and then piled into a car and hit the road with the stranger/friend.. Ah, those good 'ol days...

Let me not digress anymore... We asked the driver to head straight to the Hawa Mahal, parked the car and made our way to the nearest store for some water or something cold. We discovered a Kulfi store, and each of us devoured 2 each. The guy at the store was making nearly 100 in each batch, that sold within minutes. Some had nuts, some had elaichi, while others were plain kulfi. Quite a sight to see... 

"Built in 1979 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh,, the "Palace of winds" was designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Lord Krishna. The unique 5 storey exterior resembles a honeycomb  and is made up of  953 small windows called jharokhas decorated with intricate lattice work.

Entirely built of bright Pink and Red sandstone, the palace is a landmark in Jaipur, renowned for the rich architecture and style. 
 

 

We walked around the place, listening to the tales narrated by a guide to a group of foreigners, and made our way to the top, from where the entire city seemed to be visible. Time stood still until we suddenly realised the harsh evening sun was beating down on us and made our way out. 

 

The city was bustling with visitors and locals, there were construction workers busy with the repair work on one section of the Hawa Mahal.