Rachel goes to India: Jaipur

Today I tour the city of Jaipur. Jaipur is directly south of Amber, which I saw yesterday.
When the area around Amber became overpopulated the capitol was moved to what is now the walled city of Old Jaipur. Jaipur was built in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II. It is considered India's first planned city as it is divided into geometrical blocks and streets.

Our first stop for the day is the Palace of the Winds, Hawa Mahal.

The "palace" was built in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh. It is dedicated to Lord Krishna and is designed to look like the crown frequently worn by the god. The building is not really a palace but rather a facade built into the wall surrounding the City Palace. The purpose of the facade was to allow the ladies of the palace to observe the streets below without being seen. The jalis are angled to give ladies the best view down to the street without allowing people in the building directly across the street to see in.

Next stop, City Palace Museum. The palace was built between 1729-1732 and was expanded up through the 20th century. A portion of the palace is reserved for the royal family who still resides here. The remaining portion has been converted to galleries that feature Rajasthani art, textiles, and weapons.

The yellow portion, known as Chandra Mahal, is the residence of the royal family. The red sandstone walls delineate the public section of galleries and shops.

Pritam Chowk serves as a buffer zone between the two areas. Known as the "Court of the Beloved" the courtyard features 4 beautifully painted door ways representing the seasons.

This elaborately carved gate separates 2 public areas. The elephants were a gift to the current head of the royal family. They were presented to him for his 1st birthday.

One of the highlights of the City Palace is the silver urns.

The urns (there are 2) are 5"2" tall and weigh an impressive 750lbs. The Guinness Book of World Records lists them as the world's largest sterling silver vessels. There are made out of 14000 silver coins and hold 4000 litres. The urns were made for Maharaja Madho Singh II to carry sacred water from the Ganges on his 1901 voyage to England.

After the City Palace I take a rickshaw ride through Old Jaipur.

After the rickshaw, we head over to Jantar Mantar, a celestial observatory. The observatory was built by Sawai Jai Singh II between 1728-1734. It is the home of 16 instruments used to tell time, forecast the weather and determine the placement of planets in the sky.

This is Laghu Samrat Yantra, the small sundial. It is accurate to within 20 seconds.

This is part of Jai Prakash Yantra. Rumored to be invented by Jai Singh himself, this instrument consisting of 2 sunken hemispheres can be used to verify the time of the spring equinox.

The Rashivalaya Yantra is composed of 12 pieces. Each piece represents a sign of the zodiac and faces a different constellation. This piece represents Cancer.

Finally we take a drive through the new part of Jaipur, the part outside the city walls.

I see,

Albert Hall, the State museum for Rajasthan.