Jaipur Observations

Jaipur Observations

After the insane drive from Delhi to Agra – the journey to Jaipur was a delight – a four lane, well-paved NEW road – NH11.

For a moment we thought we were in Hawaii – greeted with a flower lei (marigolds not orchids) and Rajasthani dancers who moved like they were doing the hula!

Jaipur, the pink city – all the city center buildings are painted pink (originally done in 1876 for a British royal visit) and kept up since then–-- now there are some strict zoning requirements. I bet they have a great City Attorney.

Our introduction to Jaipur.. the Hawa Mahal – or Wind Palace, an ornate 5 story façade built in 1799 that’s at most 1 room deep and for much of it, balconies behind the façade. Why? Muslim women could not be seen by men other than those in their families. This vision of Rajput architecture provided a way for women to look down on the street to view market activity through ornately carved window screens. They could see out but others couldn’t see in. Women, can you imagine, no real interaction with the outside world – only observation, directing (well influencing) men to get what you wanted at market.

Amber Fort – newer than those we saw in Delhi, Agra and Fatepur Sikri, built in

We were debating about riding the elephants up from moat level to palace level – about 200 meters (we’re converting – it makes so much more sense to be metric like the rest of the world). Our Jaipur guide had been a wildlife guide and agreed with the lonely planet assessment – the elephants don’t belong in this part of India and are not well treated. Besides, we could use the walk after enjoying Indian food. Then we saw the elephants – they looked sad and unhealthy. That was it…we voted against their use by not spending our $$$ on a ride. We’re joining fellow travelers in a protest to the Indian Government seeking to stop the practice. OK off our soap box!

Amber fort is surrounded by a great wall (like China!) up and down mountain sides to protect the fort. It’s magnificent to stand in the Central Courtyard of the Palace and see a wall several miles away – all around the fort.

Our favorite part of the Fort -- The Glass Palace inside – an entire set of rooms and courtyard were covered in mosaic mirrors. Purported by guide: because of the reflections, one candle was enough to light up the entire room. We were doubting Thomas’ until dinner at our Hotel in the elegant Indian restaurant – Cinnamon which had walls covered with mirror mosaic – the light bounces off of each mirror creating a dramatic glow – not quite reading worthy but… relatively bright. By now we’d had enough of forts and we know there are more to come.

Bollywood! – We went to see Blue, a current Bollywood new release in the outrageous Raj Mandir Theater – a monument in it’s own rite. It’s a huge Art Deco Theater – probably seating 1500 people (we were 2 of 20 white people) with a lobby to beat the band… Crystal Chandeliers, Hindu God Statues, girls in saris and cool dude guys in their best attempts at bollywood fashion. The snack bar – popcorn and samosas of course. Imagine following a hindi movie with no subtitles. Fortunately, about 10% of the script was in English and the plot line obvious so we got the gist - - kind of like the opera. And after the movie – what else, thin crust pizza and ice cream at Little Italy!