(7) Jaipur: The Pink City
(Diary: Sojourn to India – March 30 – April 30, 2006)
The city of Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. It gained its moniker of “Pink City” because of the pink-colored sandstone structures that can be found dotting around the city landscape. It is India’s first planned city --- the structures currently found in the city were built sometime around the 18th century.
Haven’t seen any palaces yet in my list coz I stayed in my room until 2.30pm, sleeping! Had a really costly lunch at Copper Chimney (it was listed in the guide book and very near the place I am staying at) and afterwards went to Sentosa Film Lab to have my photos checked and saved in a CD.
And now for the crucial moment, I had my hair fizzed out! As they say, girls who have straight hair like mine always dreams of having a perm. Actually, it’s one of the major “to do” things for this trip…hehehe….My God! They really fizzed it out – as in I now have a full head of curls!!! And it took about 4 hours for them to fully complete! Hahaha.. okay, so now, to straighten it out….
The second day, I promised myself I’m going to do the sightseeing tour around the whole city. First stop is the City Palace, the royal seat of the current Maharaja of Jaipur and is one of the famous landmarks in the Pink City. The palace complex is a sprawling compound of courtyards, gardens, and buildings and is even said to encompass about one-seventh of the entire city of Jaipur. It is a mixture of Mughal and Rajput architecture which is very striking, especially the peacock designs on the walls. From the arrays of items on display, it must have been a very opulent palace a hundred years ago but really, now it looks very impoverished compared to Mysore. I felt like the royal family here must lack the interest for cultural preservation unlike the ones in Mysore. Within the palace grounds, there are hawkers and some souvenir stands --- they are after commercialization so much that they have foregone the ‘prestige’ factor. Even the famous snake charmers were present and charming the tourists with the acrobatic skills of their snakes! Diyosko, di talaga ako tumingin..i just knew that taking even peek will cause nightmarish and sleepless nights for me!
A visit to the Hawa Mahal, otherwise known as the Palace of the Wind (the name derived from the Hindi word for “breeze or winds” which flows through the numerous windows), is really a must for all tourists passing by Jaipur. Although it stands separately from the palace, it is still considered a part of the palace complex. It was supposed to be an extension of the women’s chambers and allows the royal ladies to observe daily events in the street below without being seen by the common people (royal ladies have to observe the strict “purdah” cover tradition). It has 935 small windows with very intricate lattice décor. But when I went in a small alleyway to climb into a small door opening for the Hawa Mahal, the grounds are very dirty. It’s so unkempt! It’s full of graffiti and smells rotten (there are some illegal dwellers just outside the main complex that it resembles a slum area).
Even with the nearby conservatory, the Jantar Mantar, the weeds/grasses are everywhere although the objects there are awesome (like the biggest sundial in the world, where you can even climb up the stairs and look down). It consists of 14 major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars, etc. I went to pose next to the sign that says, Aquarius, although I’ve no idea what it was for!
I always felt bad whenever I visit historical places like these and they are left neglected. We should take more care and respect with the culture and history bestowed on us by our forebears. These structures are not ours, it is for the next generation to appreciate and learn. We are such an ungrateful generation!
I am so tired going around in a tuktuk the whole day. I just wanted to read and finish this book, so far it seems great --- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. Just the title alone is so eye-catching.
I need to retire early tonight coz I have to be at the Central Station tomorrow by 6am as my train departs at 6.30am! The trip to Agra is about six hours, the shortest train ride I’ve been in during my trip here.
No need for an alarm clock though, the heat is really so uncomfortably hot and I cannot sleep properly anymore!!
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