Jaipur - The Pink City

I fly out tonight at midnight, so I won't be posting again until I wrap this up when I'm back in Tennessee. Hope you have enjoyed.
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Oh, my goodness. After a terribly long drive back from Agra last night, I woke at 3:30am this morning to prepare for my flight to Jaipur. I think I snored on the plane. :-)

Although Jaipur is known as the “Pink City” – it is a beautiful city with lots of “green”… I started off at a strking Hindu temple while we waited for the guide to arrive. From there, we spent the next three hours covering large amounts of land (and steps) for three prominent forts that sit atop a hill just outside the city limits. Once again – I can’t imagine living during that time… These places – they’re huge! They have mosques attached that can hold thousands in prayer at the same time. (And here I thought a dining room table for 8 was “livin’ large”!)

Jaipur is unlike Bangalore, Mysore, Delhi, or Agra. Jaipur has HILLS! In fact, driving through the hills to get to the forts reminded me of driving through the Western Carolinas – down near the North Carolina and South Carolina border. There are three primary forts in Jaipur – Amber Fort, Jaigarth Fort, and Nahargarh Fort – and all are very different. And they’re all NEIGHBORS built by the same family of maharajas (over centuries). I asked my guide why in the world would any family build three of these compounds side-by-side-by-side. The answer: they’re like a guest house or a bonus room. Guests stayed in some of the forts. The maharaja used some of the forts as his “men only” gathering place for debauchery. Oh my goodness! A 35,000sf guest house. Like I said – can’t imagine living during this time period.

The Amber Fort was by far the most opulent – made of white marble and red sandstone. Most folks enter that tour by riding elephants up the ramp to the Sun Gate (the front gate to the fort). I was a wimp and passed on the elephant ride – took the Moon Entrance (rear) by car.

The fort was beautiful, including a lovely temple fully-decorated for Dasara. Apparently the maharaja takes prayer there each morning during festival season and then the temple is opened for the rest of the devout. You’ll recall that the Dasara festival kicked off last weekend when I was in Mysore – and it ends tonight… so all the locals are keyed-up about the parties that end this festival that signals the beginning of their holiday season. Even the elephants got into the spirit of the evening!

It’s good to see that India values equity in pay. The forts are under the control of the government and the people who maintain and tend to the needs of the fort are paid equally, whether male or female. Both earn 100 rupees per day for their work – men work 8 hrs and women work 7 hrs. 100 rupees = $2.50 USD.

Jaipur is known as the Pink City because all the buildings in “Old Jaipur” are a terra-cotta shade of pink. It was the whim of one of the maharaja – and in those days, what the king said was law. From the walls surrounding the old city to the storefronts to the temples and other public structures – everything is bathed in a terra-cotta shade of pink. In addition to the forts, we saw major monuments of Hawa Mahal, the Lake Palace (another men-only venue where the maharaja and prince entertained guests), and City Palace. (And yes, there was shopping... but we won't discuss that here. )

My last observation: I have never seen a city where camels, elephants, autos, rickshaws, bicycles, and scooters co-existed so effectively on major streets and thoroughfares. At any given time, I could spot all six modes of transport from the front of my car. What a city!