SIGHTSEEING IN JAIPUR

Amber Fort / palce

The Kachchawahas ruled drom Amber, 11-km from Jaipur, for seven centuries. With a history so old, it is not unexpected that there is a lot of the past that can be traced in its archaeological history. While many of the very early structures have either disappeared or been ruined, those dating from the 16th century on are in a remarkable state of preservation.

Construction & Architecture Of Amber Fort
Amber as it exists now is the handiwork of three of the kingdom's rulers that include Man Singh, army commander of Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1592, and Jai Singh I and II. IT is a classic fusion of Mughal and Hindu architecture, built in red sandstone and white marble.

Amber had reason to be concerned since its history had seen skirmishes with other Rajput kingdoms, and had at various times faced the armies of the sultans of Gujarat, the Marathas, and the Mughals. No wonder its architecture, like that of other Rajput palaces, consists of narrow passages and staircases that can be defended by a single swordsman, ridged ramps to allow the cavalry to move within the fortifications, high walls that cannot be easily scaled, and windows at only the highest levels. While the exterior is forbidding, the interiors are lavished with decoration since the Royals, and especially the women, spent almost all their time within the fortified palaces.

City Palace

As may be expected, the City Palace complex lies at the heart of the Jaipur city. Getting in this palace is simpler noe then it once was. Though the erstwhile Maharaja and his family friends use the the triple-arched Tripola Gate to enter their section of the palace, most visitors are ushered through Atish Pol, which is located close to the royal stables. Cross from here to Chandni Chowk or Moonlit Square, and then on to Gainda Ki Deorhi or Rhinocerous Gate.

Jai Singh built the outer wall but other additions were made much later, some right up to the start of this century. The former Maharaja still lives in part of the palace. The City Palace sprawls over one-seventh of the area of the walled city. The City Palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthani and Mughal art and architecture. The palace complex houses several palatial structures such as the Chandra Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum. The complex is divided into a series of courtyards, sprawling gardens and buildings.

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Hawa Mahal

Located at one side, but very much a part of the City Palace Complex, Hawa Mahal is best viewed from the street outside. If it were not for the bustling bazaar all round, it would have been easy to mistake it for a film set, so exquisitely is it propotioned, and co incongruous is its delicacy.

ARCHITECTURE OF HAWA MAHAL

Built in 1799, by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh the Hawa Mahal, "Palace of the Wind", is one of the major landmarks of Jaipur. It is an integral part of the City Palace, an extension of the 'Zenana' or Women's Chambers, standing away from the main complex. This five storey building of unusual architecture designed by Lal Chand Usta, is a stunning example of Rajput artistry made of red and pink sand stone, beautifully outlined with white borders and motif's painted with quick lime.

The monument with a spectacular view of Jaipur city with road avenues, intersections and colourful crowds in the market, was originally conceived with the aim of enabling ladies of the royal household to watch the everyday life and royal processions in the city without being seen by others.

Its facade from the road side makes Hawa Mahal look more like a delicate screen than a palace. This five-story, pyramid-shaped structure has tier after tier of 953 small casements, each with tiny lattice worked (Jali) pink windows, small balconies and arched roofs with hanging cornices, exquisitely modeled and carved. These small windows circulate cool air even in hot months. The pyramidal outline is even throughout by cramming and multiplying casements; and uses repetition of motifs to enhance its beauty.

THE ENTRANCE & COURTYARD

The entrance to Hawa Mahal is from the City Palace side, through a stately door which opens into a spacious courtyard. The courtyard has a double storeyed building on three sides. There is a small archeological museum here. Only the eastern wing has three more storeys above, which are just a single room thick. The building, standing on a high podium, is a fifty-foot high thin shield, less than a foot in thickness, with small intimate chambers , which give this palace its unique facade. There are no regular stairs to reach the upper floors, but only ramps.

Hawa Mahal which is currently under the supervision of the State Archeological Department provides the visitor with excellent views of the city. The best time to view Hawa Mahal is sunrise when sunlight through the latticed windows gives it a wonderful glow.

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A stone observatory, part of the City Palace complex, Jantar Mantar is one of the several other astronomical observatories created by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Other observatories are situated in Delhi, Banaras an Ujjain. These concrete masonary instruments were used to measure everything from altitude to time, an map the movement of the planets and the stars. Jai Singh II had a passion for astronomy and used astronomical inventions from different cultures in the creation of these observatories, the largest of which is situated in Jaipur.

The Jantar Mantar was built in 1716 AD and contains 15 astronomical instrument complexes, one remains unfinished, of which 6 function with Solar lith and 11 by Lunar and Stellar reflection. These monumental instruments give a precise measure of time, of the declination of the Sun, the Azimuth, of the placement of constallations in daylight of eclipses and of another astronomical phenomena. The observatory, open to the sky is a scientific marvel and guarantees to elicit a sense of awe, even from the profane.

SAWAI JAI SINGH - NEWTON OF THE EAST

Sawai Jai Singh, the statesman astronomer of India, was born to a royal family on November 3, 1688 in the town of Amber in the state of Rajasthan. One of Jai Singh's ancestors, Bharamala or Biharimala, recognised the ascendency of Mughal power and accepted the suzerainty of the emperor Akbar in 1562. This made the house of Amber the most influential of all the Rajput houses serving the Mughals. Bharamala's descendents, Man Singh and Mirza Raja Jai Singh, great grand father of Sawai Jai Singh, were highly regarded nobles at the Mughal court and were entrusted with important missions.

Jai Singh displayed interest in mathematics at an early age. He had two manuscripts on astronomy copied for him when he was only thirteen. However, his formal education was cut short at the age of eleven when his father died, and he had to take charge of the administration. He ascended the throne of Amber on January 25, 1700. However, he continued his studies along with the discharge of his princely duties and soon acquired mastery over the subjects of astronomy and mathematics.

During the next ten of fifteen years of troubled and uncertain times in the history of India and Delhi, Jai Singh by clever politics became the largest single land owner amongst the kings of Rajasthan. It is said that at the peak of his time, he owned all the land between Delhi and the shores of Gujarat at Surat.

With great wealth and resources available to him as a powerful ruler, Jai Singh embarked upon an ambitious program of reviving astronomy in India. To this effect, he designed instruments, built observatories, compiled an excellent library, assembled competent astronomers of different scientific backgrounds, and sent a fact-finding scientific mission to Europe

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