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The perfect fusion of history and modernity, visionary town
planning, colorful lifestyle, excellent hospitality, unique
arts and crafts, splendid architecture and a shopper's heaven
is what defines Jaipur, the city of intact forts and delicate
palaces. Surrounded by rugged hills on three sides with impregnable
forts on each, amidst the Aravalli ranges, Jaipur is today
a modern metropolis and is renowned as a tourist-friendly
city. Jaipur is the capital of the state of Rajasthan in Northwestern
India.
History of Jaipur
Most of the credit of this wonderful city goes to Jai Singh,
or rather Sawai Jai Singh II, a great Kachhawaha ruler of
supreme genius. His military prowess as well as his penchant
for art and astronomy played an important role in his reign,
the remains of which can still be witnessed in the exhilarating
city of Jaipur today. With a view to find a new capital in
place of the existing one at the cramped hilly area of Amber,
Jai Singh drew up plans for the new city of Jaipur, in accordance
with the ancient Hindu treatise on architecture Vastu Sashtra
or Shilpa Shastra in 1727 AD. He was aided by the famous Bengali
architect Vidyadhar Chakravati in his endeavor.
Popularly known as the Pink City, Jaipur, the capital of
Rajasthan is a place of vivid contrasts, bombarding the senses
at every turn. It is a place where cycle rickshaws move alongside
posh automobiles, where palatial hotels share ground with
slums, and life continuously moves on. The pink color was
used at the time of constructing the place to create an impression
of red sandstone buildings of Mughal cities. The whole town
was however repainted in 1876, during the visit of the Prince
of Wales, later Edward VII.
Town Plan of Jaipur
Jaipur was planned in a grid system with wide straight avenues,
roads, streets and lanes and uniform rows of shops on either
side of the main roads, all arranged in nine rectangular city
sectors (chokdis), representing the ancient Hindu map of the
universe. The city was surrounded by a crenellated masonry
wall, measuring 20 feet in height and 9 feet in thickness
with seven imposing gateways - Dhruvapol (Zorawar Singh Gate)
on the north, Gangapol and Surajpol on the east, Rampol (Ghat
Gate), Shivpol (Sanganeri Gate) and Kishanpol (Ajmeri Gate)
on the south, and Chandpol on the west. The walls were built
for protection from invading armies and wild animals that
lurked just outside in the jungles that surrounded the city.
But Jai Singh's planned city has withstood all the pressures
and the changes.
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