Jaipur is one of the hottest tourist destinations of the world - both literally and metaphorically! There is much written about the places to visits, food to eat, and places to shop at. But there are still a few things that aren’t very well known about this royal city.
So here goes the top 5 things we bet you didn’t know about Jaipur!
We have something in common with New York!
Jaipur is one of the earliest planned cities of the country. Founded in 1727 by King Jai Singh, after whom the city is named, Jaipur was created based on a Grid System where every street crosses the other at 90 degrees., just like New York’s various Avenues, The original architecture had a high, fortifies wall around the city, making it impregnable. The central axis road runs East to West, for over two miles and at each end are the Suraj Pol (the Sun Gate) facing the east, and the Chand Pol (the Moon Gate) facing the west. In the middle of this sits the regal City Palace, where the royal family still resides. The chaotic bazaars only seem to be so too. They were planned along the main streets with a specific number of shops on each side. A covered porch ran along the front of these shops, to protect shoppers from the scorching sun in summer and the chill of winter. Areas were allocated according to professions, and generations of jewellers, dyers, stone carvers, miniature painters, and hand block printers among others, have inhabited the same areas over the years.
#FunFact - The grid pattern of the city resembles the ancient game of ‘Chaupar’, a board game!
The biggest sundial in the world
Built in the 18th century by King Jai Singh, the Jantar Mantar Observatory is a UNESCO World Heritage site, housing more than 20 fixed instruments for observation of the sky that are still relevant in today’s modern world, most significant, most comprehensive, and the best preserved of India's historic observatories. Jai Singh, already aware of the telescopes being used in Europe for observations, still chose instruments which could study the movements of space with the naked eye. And one of those instruments remains the biggest in the world still - The Sun Dial - Called the Samrat Yantra or the Supreme Instrument.
#FunFact - The sundial, although created when precision instruments were unheard of in this part of the world, could still measure time to the accuracy of two seconds!
Is it really Pink?
Surprisingly, the answer is No! The city was preparing for the visit of Prince of Wales, Prince Albert in 1876, when the then king, Maharaja Ram Singh, ordered a makeover for the city for the visiting royalties. The result was the painting of the entire city in Terracotta Pink or Geru, as it is locally known, which is not really the bright pink the misnomer might lead you to believe! The pigment was brought in from Kanota, located about 10 miles away, and mines were also dug closer to Jaipur to extract the stone needed to make more pink paint. The colour kind of stuck and consequently, in 1877, a law was passed forbidding building facades to be of any other colour than the terracotta in the Old Walled City.
#FunFact - The law still remains in force!
A Donkey Fair
Yes, you read it. You may have heard of the famous Camel Fair in Pushkar, but another massive fair that no one knows of? The Donkey Fair! Held every year about 20 kms from Jaipur, this fair has been happening for around 500 years! Donkeys from across the country participate and are bought and sold by owners. But its not all business. For fun, there is a race also!
#FunFact - No one wants the dubious honour of being the Guest of Honour for the event!
The Biggest Free Literature Festival in the World
Jaipur is also the home to the biggest free literature festival of the world - The Jaipur Literature Festival. Started in 2006, the festival grew from hosting 18 authors and a hundred people in the audience to it’s present day stature, where the city comes to standstill for 5 days of the festival as a bevy of prominent authors, celebrities, activist and politicians, among others, descend upon the heritage hotel that hosts the festival, to a crowd that lined up for hours to find its way inside. The festival now has many music festivals and art shows happening on its sidelines and the last one saw participation from more than 380 people from across the world, who represented over 20 international and 15 Indian languages. But literature is not the only thing that draws people to the festival. Its now a showcase of the Rajasthani culture, cuisine and art with a sumptuous display of food and numerable options for shopping for local handicrafts and clothes!
So, now that you know all these amazing things about Jaipur, get in touch with us at info@thethingstodoinindia.com and create your own unique experience to make your Jaipur journey unforgettable!
