The road rolled out before us cutting through the arid vista and quivering in the heat as it led through the dust that danced along its course. We sat content in our car but distant from the surroundings, safe in our air-conditioned bubble as it met with Camels fairs, brightly coloured trucks and feral children along route – It was our second week in India and we were back on the road and heading for Jaipur.
The day before we had been discussing diamonds and carpets at a factory showroom in Agra. We were met at the gates by the owner, a very charming man who took us under his wing and personally led us around. He explained about the 4 C’s (Colour, Cut, Carat, Clarity) which denotes the value of a diamond and showed us some of the traditional techniques used for rug making and marble inlaying that have been developed over centuries and are a close guarded secret. It was amazing how attentive and complimentary he was. Later on he revealed that he thought I worked in the film industry (Hollywood). It was quite an assertion and I could only assume an association with travelling under the Pettitts umbrella. Though equally as possible would have been an attempt at a rouse, to part me from my money by appealing to my vanity. Which I’d like to add he managed to bring to a whole new level by suggesting to me - in full ear shot of my female travel companion!! That I should return in the future when I have a girlfriend that i don’t mind spending money on. She wasn’t very impressed I on the other hand couldn’t help but like him.
We had been on the road for six hours by the time we reached Jaipur and the city seemed mysterious, hidden amongst the arid hills like an ancient desert town in some Arabian fiction. We had reached Jaipur a bustling fortified metropolis with wide boulevards and regal architecture, built within astrological alignment and regarded as India’s first planned city.
Jaipur is the capital city and commercial centre for Rajasthan and is awash with colour, seeming a direct response to the bleakness of the surrounding landscape. Oddly enough the old city is painted pink; which we were told acts as a mosquito repellent but also historically was painted for the arrival of the Prince of Wales in 1853.
It was our first day in Jaipur and we were on the back of an elephant riding up the walkway to the Amber Palace. The elephants were highly painted and of good temperament, our mahout was not so inclined and dressed in a bold red turban with a handle bar Moustache, t. The elephant ride was great fun and in retrospect a necessity considering the walkway was a veritable gauntlet of faecal mounds and running gold streams
Once inside the Amber Palace we dismounted our elephant and met our guide an erudite local who looked like a slimmer more Indian version of Stephen Fry. He was effortlessly articulate and bought the palace to life with his fervent prose and messianic gestures. I couldn’t help but lose myself in the world he so perfectly painted, a world of infinite riches, hundreds of wives and total indulgence. The craftsmanship of the building itself was astounding with intricately carved arches and lattice windows, mirror inlays and revealing paintings. It was a real contrast from the outside of the fort which looked weathered and impenetrable.
From here we made our way to the City Palace across town and through the city. The city was indeed planned more like a modern city, the wider streets bringing space and calm to the frenetic bustle. We stopped on route at the Howrah Mahal – the Palace of The Winds - It was a beautiful spectacle like a pink stucco formed honeycomb crafted with the grace of amalgamated Rajpute and Mughal design. It was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 and constructed for his many wives to view precessions and the activity on the street whilst remaining hidden and cool. It was a great feat of engineering and had an illusionary feel like that of the Taj Mahal which had you questioning whether the heat of the Indian sun had finally become too much.
On route we stopped again this time to view the sundials and other observatory equipment at the Jantar Mantar. I have never seen a complex like this it looked like a child’s playground at a Mensa Institution and was filled with impressive looking concrete and marble constructions. I was amazed at the accuracy of the sundials which kept local time to an accuracy of two seconds. There were also twelve planetary post separated into the various signs of the Zodiac and instruments used to predict eclipses and other astrological events used by mystics and fortune tellers.
The final landmark on our tour was the impressive City Palace a grand souvenir from Jaipur’s decadent past and curiously, home to the largest pyjamas in India. The pyjamas were the property of Sawai Madho Singh who was over seven feet tall and over four feet wide. It was quite an unexpected find and the museum aspect of the palace was something I particularly enjoyed. The weapons stronghold was by far my favourite place and had a massive collection of exotic weapons; spring loaded daggers, knuckle dusters, blunderbusses and many more. The Rajputes must have been fearsome warriors and their arsenal was as interesting as it was frightening
I continued my walk and came through another beautifully crafted archway. I was instantly blinded by what I initially thought were two gleaming orbs. On closer inspection they were two massive silver sterling containers six foot high and made for Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II’s trip to Britain. He was apparently untrusting of British water so decided to
bring his own from the River Ganges, quite an audacious request but one that I think perfectly sums up the character of Jaipur’s Maharajas.
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