Walk In Jaipur

History of Rajasthan :: About Jaipur :: Walks in Jaipur

ABOUT JAIPUR

THE INTRICACIES OF TOWN PLANNING

The more you discover the city, the more you come to appreciate and marvel at Vidyadhar Bhattacharya's town planning talents. He divided the area available to him in rectangular blocks or chowkris. The palace complex occupied two of these nine blocks, which was approximately one seventh of the total city areas. The other seven blocks were given equal. If not more, attention and had beautiful buildings lining the wide streets. Each area had a clearly defined line of construction, the permissible height as well as elevation of the building.

Chowkris Sarhad was the palace block with temples, gardens and other royal buildings. Other chowkris were Purani Basti that was earmarked for residences of leading courtiers; Topkhana Desh was for the Thikanedars around Jaipur, chiefs of the state's divisions; a block combining Chowkris Modikhana and Vishveshwarji was designed for use by rich Jain and Hindu businessmen and other officials. Most of the city's old families still maintain their ancestral havelis here.

Merchants occupied one part of Ghat Darwaza while artist and workers occupied the other parts. Chokri Ramchandraji contained important temples and havelis build by maharajas, maharanis and leading nobles. Located on the north east of this chowkris were small residences of royal staff and craftsmen. These chowkris were further divided into smaller wards and sub-wards.

The least developed were Topkhana hazuri and Chowkris Gangapol because there was later addition. While the former was uneven and sandy, used for the artillery of the ruler and by poor artisans, the latter was used mainly by laborers. When you walk through these chowkris you will notice that these are still not as well developed or designed as the rest of the city.

The new city was enclosed by a fortified wall 20 feet in height and 9 feet in width and pierced by seven (considered an auspicious Indian number) major gates, similar in design with a large central opening flanked by two smaller ones on either side. The gates are Suraj Pol, Chand Pol, Ram Pol, Shiv Pol, Kishan Pol, Ganga Pol and Dhruv Pol, Man Pol, better known as New Gate, was a later addition.

You will go through most of them, so do look out for the huge wooden gates with metal strips (for added strength) and guardrooms built into the central opening. These were not just decorative gates but had a very important function. They were closed at night for protection against intruders and wild animals that roamed outside the walls. This happened till early twentieth century and there are people still living that remembers those days.

Interestingly, the walled city has needed very few changes from the time it was planned by Sawai Jai Singh. Even today there is ample room for pedestrian as well as mounted traffic. In the eighteenth century, Jai Singh had decided that the main streets in the city would be approximately 110 feet wide. That is the width of the straight road between the Suraj Pol (Sun gate in the east) and Chand Pol (Moon Gate in the west). Three major streets of equal width cut across neatly at right angles and divide the area into neat blocks. The three choupars (squares), or intersections thus formed are - Badi Chaupad, Choti Chaupad and Ramganj Chaupad that make highly interesting community and traffic centers. The area is further divided by secondary streets half that width and minor ones that care one fourth of the main artery.

Another noteworthy feature that makes Jaipur unique is the fact that because the rulers were great patrons or art and craft, they encouraged craftsmen to come and settle in Jaipur. Specific areas were allocated to potters, stone carvers, dyers, jewelers, painters, kite makers, weavers and so on - a tradition that has survived to this day. Jaipur is still known the world over as a major craft destination and has a mind - boggling range of crafts to offer. It is a favorites note only with the casual shopper but the international design fraternity as well. A lot of major fashion houses head towards Jaipur when they need good quality work done in garments or in furniture, jewelers etc.

From the first ruler of Jaipur (not amber) Sawai Jai Singh II in 1699 to the tenth Maharaja Man Singh II who died in 1970, each ruler contributed to the city's development, both culturally as well as architecturally. By the time the present Maharaja Brigadier Bhawani Singh came to power in 1970, the curtain had fallen on the golden era of Maharajas and their palaces and power shifted to the democratic government that took over the reigns of the country.


THE MAHARAJAS OF JAIPUR

A brief look at the city's 276-year-old history will give you a fair idea of the city's development. Each period of history made it's own contribution t this thriving city.

Sawai Jai Singh II died in 1743, sixteen years after he had founded the city, and was succeeded by his son Ishwari Singh (r. 1743 - 1750) who is his brief reign of seven years patronized many literary works: had a beautiful chhatris erected in his father's memory, built the Moti Burj in Chaugan and the impressive seven - storied Ishwar Lat or Swarga Suli in Tripolia.

Madho Singh I (r. 1750 - 1767) was the brother of Ishwari Singh and came to the throne after a bitter and decisive battle with the latter. He was a large man at 6½ feet and weighed over 250 kg. In the seventeen years of his rule, he tried to wipe out the infamy connected to his accession. He made a remarkable contribution in several fields from art and architecture to religion and literature. He founded the city.

of Sawai Madhopur; built the Madho Niwas and Diwan - I - Am in the city palace; Madho Vilas near Zorawar Singh Gate (where Maharani Gayatri Devi started her MGD Girls Public School, now an Ayurvedic college); the Jal Mahal Palace on Amber Road and the Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh on Agra Road.

Prithvi Singh (r. 1767 - 78) came to the throne at the tender age of five and died at the age of sixteen when he fell off a horse. He never did get to do much as his stepmother Chandrawatji and her trusted ministers held the power. The eleven years of his reign were full of conspiracies and political strife.

Pratap Singh (r. 1778 - 1803) was Chandrawatji's own son and took over and Maharaja at the age of fourteen. He wrote poetry under the name of Brijnidhi and was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He constructed eight temples devoted to Him - the important ones being Brijnidhi, Anandkrishna Behari, Anand Behariji and Madan Mohanji. He constructed the fountains behind the Govinddevji temple. But he is remembered more for building the most famous monument of Jaipur - the Hawa Mahal.

Jagat Singh(r. 1803 - 1818) ruled for fifteen years but his reign is marked more for his love life than reforms of any kind. His twenty- one wives and twenty- four concubines gave him little time to devote to the affairs of the state. He became obsessed with a courtesan by the name of Ras Kapoor and wanted to make her the maharani of half his kingdom causing a lot of discontent amongst his courtiers.

Jai Singh II (r. 1818 - 1835) was a minor who ruled under the minority council that was guided by the East India Company. He died under mysterious circumstances without making any significant contribution.

He was followed by one of the most remarkable rulers of Jaipur - Ram Singh II (r. 1835 - 1880) who was also a minor when he came to the throne. This enlightened ruler was a great patron of art and learning, a photographer and an able administrator whose rule is known as the golden age of Jaipur. Listing his various administrative reforms and contribution to the state would require a separate book in itself. In fact, the Maharaja was known to wander around in the streets at night to apprise him of the condition of the poor and the destitute. In the forty-five years of his rule, he made innumerable public buildings and set up office to give better education, roads lights and water supply. He is remembered today for major works of public utility, most of which have survived over the years.

Some of his important buildings are the Town Hall, Mayo Hospital, Ram Niwas Garden and Albert Hall Museum, Ram Prakash Theatre and Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts.

Ram Singh II adopted Madho Singh II (r. 1880 - 1922) from a nearby village called Isarda. He was an orthodox Hindu and undertook steps to improve the irrigation, railways and education system of Jaipur, However, he is best remembered for the wrong reasons - the size of his harem - he had five wives, eighteen official mistresses and at the time of his death there were five thousand concubines and eunuchs in the zenana. The well known courtesans of that time were Durga, Shirin, Lallan, Khairan and Gohar Jan. he was invited to England in 1901 for the coronation of King Edward VII and he traveled by a liner called S.S. Olympia that was redesigned to include a Krishna temple. He also took two huge silver urns containing holy water from the Ganges River. The holy water transported all the way to England in the 349 Kg silver urns was enough to last him until his visit overseas.

Man Singh II (r. 1922 - 1949) was the second son of Thakur Sawai Singh of Isarda and was adopted by Madho Singh II at the age of ten. He was a world - class polo player and widely recognized as the father of new Jaipur. He went on to become the Rajpramukh of Rajasthan and later the ambassador to Spain. Among his many notable contributions to Jaipur were the construction of the Zenana Hospital, the Maharaja's and Maharani's Colleges, SMS Hospital, Medical College, Rajasthan University, Moti Doongri, Lily Pool, modifications to the Rambagh Palace and the present Secretariat. He married Maharani Gayatri Devi who was famed for her beauty and is mentioned in the Guinnes Book of World Records for winning an election by the highest majority ever. He died in 1970 while playing polo in Cirencester, England.

Maharaja (Brigadier) Bhawani Singh continues to reside in the city palace with his family and has had to come to terms with the changing times. He is a much-decorated soldier of the India Army and was awarded a Mahavir Chakra, the second highest gallantry award, for his role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He takes a keen interest in the running of the City Palace Museum.

ROMANCE OF PINK

When the city was planned and built, it was a plain cream colour and remained so for over a century. There are various stories as to the origin of the pink color but one that is largely agreed upon by historians is the one to-do with the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1876. Maharaja Ram Singh II wanted the city to look clean and new to welcome his guest and experimented with different shades for different streets. Several colors were tried to reject and the terracotta pink was the final choice for the main shopping area. The color stayed and gate Jaipur it s name - Pink City.

Today there are municipal regulations that have made it mandatory for the house owners within the walled city to paint their buildings in the approved shade of pink. The visitor, however, may get a little confused with the various pinks ranging from an ice cream pink to bright terracotta red, but it is a city that is still trying to get its original shade right!

History of Rajasthan :: About Jaipur :: Walks in Jaipur

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