When we awoke the next morning, we were in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan, state of kings. Breakfast was served a la carte in our little saloon before we were whisked off in our own air-conditioned buses for a day of royal sight seeing. Upon arrival at each rail head, no matter now nondescript, Palace on Wheels passengers are treated to boisterous welcomes that include elephants, horses, camels and the like and those ubiquitous marigold garlands that, once the novelty had worn, began to feel like millstones around our necks.

Our first stop, past the well-planned streets of the Pink City of Jaipur whose walls blushed in the soft light of dawn, was the Hawa Mahal, an elaborately conceived lattice structure that allowed the ladies of the court to participate in the pomp and pageantry of festivals on the streets below while remaining concealed themselves, in accordance with the customs of purdah—a practice they borrowed from their Islamic counterparts in neighboring Delhi.

Ascending on Elephants to Amber:

When we had taken pictures of the Hawa Mahal’s intriguing façade, we drove on towards the legendary fort of Amber that sits majestically atop a yellow mountain, its ramparts stretching expansively like a giant’s arms to embrace its length. The biggest attraction of this fort, one of many in a good state of preservation in Rajasthan, is the need to ascend to its central courtyards on elephant back. Gaily caparisoned in clothing of red and navy blue, the elephants line the path neatly towards the boarding stand where in howdahs–wooden seats that cushion riders–tourists sway precariously as the mahout–or driver–directs the pachyderm towards its lofty destination. I tried hard to ignore the frequent goading with a sharp spike that the poor creature had to endure frequently as he ambled ever higher. Acrobatic photographers find unbelievably crafty angles from which to click pictures of each passenger, assuring us of masterful celluloid results by the time we returned to our waiting vehicles.

Confluence of Islamic and Rajput Design:

Amber Fort is reached through a massive courtyard (above right) where the elephant ‘taxis’ are herded. From here, one climbs a series of steep stairs and enters the main courtyard where the ornate Ganesh Pol (or Ganesh Gate, above left), minutely decorated with frescoes, stands at the entrance of an intricate complex of buildings.

Inside, architectural interest centers around the Sheesh Mahal or Hall or Mirrors, a white stucco building whose walls and ceilings are covered by shards of mirrors and decorated with paintings of wine decanters. As in the case of the Moghul Diwan-E-Am (Hall of Public Audience) and Diwan-E-Khas (Hall for Special Visitors), here too, the elaboration of the buildings is solely dependant on their defined functions. The Rajput rulers derived a great deal of their customs of statesmanship from their far more powerful neighbors, the Moghul emperors, and traditions deriving from the Islamic courts are clearly evident in their own forms of protocol. As we found our way through the gardens, designed in Oriental style in imitation of Persian rugs, and inspected the ingenious techniques of sluicing water through channels cut expertly in the marble flooring to enable natural air-conditioning, we saw many similarities with the most famous monuments of Delhi and Agra.

Lunching in the Precincts of a Palace:
The ardent walker and shopper will find much to entice on the streets of Jaipur where colorful traditional clothing and jewelry designed from the semi-precious stones for which the area is so famous, abound, especially at Johari Bazaar.

 

We were directed, however, to the Raj Palace Hotel, one of the many grand mansions that dot the resplendent Jaipur landscape. In manicured lawns overlooked by the white-washed walls of an unostentatious building, we settled down to sip drinks and nibble lunch. I made sure that my visit to this almost unknown palace did not exclude a ramble around its more significant rooms—and I was not disappointed. The spectacular Banquet Hall (right) was hung with humongous crystal chandeliers that were far more breathtaking than the ones in the City Palace that I saw later that same afternoon. Now converted into a deluxe hotel and serving a scrumptious lunch to Palace On Wheels passengers, Raj Palace’s glamor cannot, of course, eclipse that of its more famous cousins—the Rambagh Palace and the Jai Mahal Palace (now both hotels in the Taj chain), but it makes a neat substitute for those who lack the time to explore the more fanciful versions of royal Rajput lifestyle.

Palace on Wheels passengers are not informed about this but my trusty guide book revealed to me that this lovely gem of an 18th century palace occupies a special place in the history of Jaipur. It was built in 1739 for Sawai Jai Singh’s favorite queen Chandra Kumari Ranawatji and was used as a summer resort by the ladies of her court. In 1821, it became the official residence of the British Resident of Jaipur, the official posted in the court of every royal prince to keep a watchful eye over his activities and to ensure that the Prince toed the line in accordance with his status as a lesser minion. My guide book also informed me that it entered the most glamorous phase of its existence when Man Singh II and his gorgeous wife, the legendary Gayatri Devi, moved in from Rambagh Palace in 1956 and began entertaining the Who’s Who of the contemporary celebrity world including Prince Philip and Jackie Kennedy.

Time permitting, you can do what I did on a previous visit to Jaipur, and make reservations for lunch or dinner at the Rambagh or the Jai Mahal Palace, then sit down to savor not just the food but the ambience of the monarchical corridors in which some of India’s richest and most famous once tiptoed.

Astronomical Genius of a Visionary and his Revered Abode:

Later, that afternoon, we arrived at Jantar Mantar, Maharaja Jai Sing II’s hobby horse. A dedicated astronomer, he spent a large portion of his life in scientific pursuit, attempting to make sense of the secrets whispered to humankind by the confluence of the stars and the planets. His ingeniously designed contraptions, many embedded deep in the earth or towering upwards towards the skies, are not just architectural curiosities but fully functional. Well-informed guides can explain the objective of each one of the structures, but too little time is ever really spent on this site for visitors to understand the full impact of the genius of this far-sighted intellectual.

Jaipur’s wealth is more fully evident across the street in Jai Singh’s abode at the City Palace (above left) where the erstwhile royal family is still in residence. Visitors are welcomed into parts of the complex whose beautifully maintained grounds and buildings give only the merest glimpse into the fabled wealth of India’s royal families before the arrival of the British under the eagle eye of their pleasure-seeking Residents. In the museum upstairs are royal clothing, footwear, headgear and jewelry, arms and armor, gigantic crystal chandeliers that drip from the ceiling shedding pools of soft light on ancient Persian carpets underfoot, huge portraiture of forbidding rajas and lesser mortals and, my own favorite, loads of exquisite Rajasthani miniature paintings, some done with paintbrushes so fine that all they comprised were a single human hair!

Of special interest in the grounds are the two enormous sterling silver water urns (left) that were specially designed by the erstwhile Maharaja Madho Singh II for the transportation of his personal supply of Ganges water while he voyaged to England and back. Since photographing them is such an obsession for most tourists, they are kept gleaming and well guarded by sentries whose post allows them to pocket a few rupees each time their visages are captured on celluloid.

There is much more to see and do in Jaipur and much will depend on the amount of time and the depths of your pocket. Suffice it to say that in this Mecca of tourist exploration, there is little to leave the ardent globetrotter disappointed. Whether it is history or culture you crave, trinkets or antiques you wish to acquire, tales of chivalry and grandeur to make you shiver or forts, temples and palaces to stir your imagination, you will find it here in Jaipur.

(To read more about our Palace on Wheels tour, please click on the Jaisalmer link).

Bon V0yage!