January 29, 2012
Jaipur
It’s just starting to get dark as
we arrive in Jaipur. Sanjay expertly negotiates the traffic and the crowded
streets. We are big-time Sanjay fans. He opens the car doors for us, supplies
us with fresh bottled water and generally looks for ways to make us comfortable;
always with a broad kind smile.
We have just enough daylight to get our first
glimpse of the pink city of Rajasthan. We see 4 different wedding celebrations on our
way to the hotel. One is complete with a uniformed brass band, (I count 6 tubas),
and a horse-drawn carriage decorated with flowers. They all are elaborately lit
with sparkling lights, and in every case, music and excitement pulse out into
the street.
Our hotel, a Carlson Suites, is
not as grand as either Le Meridien or the Wyndham, but it is trying. While
check-in is in progress they serve us a glass of pineapple juice, (canned). In the room
there is a photo of the complimentary fruit basket they will bring us when we’re
settled. Unfortunately, the picture and the actual fruit are not a match. A
bruised apple, a tired looking banana and something that we aren’t familiar
with (an unfuzzy kiwi with a mauve colored flesh?) just don’t make the grade for
this old food snob.
The breakfast buffet is good with
omelet and dosa stations and lots of fresh fruit. It gets us off to a good
start.
Jaipur is the capital of
Rajasthan, the Indian state bordering Pakistan. It’s known as the pink city. Pink is the color
of royalty. When Prince Albert came to visit in 1876 the whole city was painted
pink in his honor. The old, central part of Jaipur retains its rosy walls.
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| Facade in the Pink City |
Right after breakfast we head to
the Amber Fort just 6 miles outside the city to join the queue forming for the
elephants. A long elephant ramp climbs the hillside and winds through archways
and fortifications to the central courtyard of the fort. A long line of painted
and decorated elephants carries visitors up the hillside. When it’s our turn
Claire and her mom and Nana climb aboard and settle onto a flat box enclosure to join the pachyderm parade
for a swaying slanted side-saddle ride. Daddy follows on his own caparisoned elephant. It’s like sitting in a gigantic rocking
chair. Remember Edith Ann?
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| Amber Fort |
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| Elephants Through the Grate |
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| Main Courtyard of the Amber Fort |
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| Pachyderm Parade |
Hawkers appear here and there
along the narrow route wanting us to have our picture taken or buy their goods.
One tosses an elephant quilt into my lap. I don’t want to encourage his
business practices, so I toss it back. Not a bad throw from the back of an
elephant. We rock and roll through the
Sun Gate into the fort and disembark onto a high platform where our guide, Barat, is
waiting.
Amber Fort was constructed by the Jaipur
royal family above Maota Lake, beginning in the 16
th century. It took 155 years to build through 5
generations. It was not only a fort, but a residence. It contains palaces,
courtyards, gardens, fountains and even a swimming pool for the maharaja. The
carvings and inlays and gilded columns are truly fit for royals. The walls that
run for miles along the adjoining hillsides are just astounding, on a par with
the Great Wall of China but not nearly as long. One hundred members of the royal
family lived here, guarded by 20,000 soldiers. The soldiers were stationed in
an adjoining fort connected to Amber by a well-guarded tunnel.
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| Inlaid Masterpiece |
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| Standing in an Arch of the Palace |
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| Wall of Defense |
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| Fortification Along the Ridges |
From the ramparts we look down on
a garden designed in the pattern of a Persian rug.
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| Persian Rug Garden |
One courtyard has many rooms opening
into it where the queens resided. The king could visit the woman of his choice
without the others knowing where he was because he could enter a room through a
separate corridor without being seen.
Eunuchs (volunteers?) guarded the
harem which numbered 300. Busy guy.
The Mirror Palace, within the
fort, has ceilings and walls inlaid with small mirrors in intricate designs. The
mercury in the mirrors warmed and cooled the palace according to the season and
the mirrors illuminated the rooms when only a single candle burned.
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| Hall of Victory |
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| Mirror Palace |
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| If There's a Mirror.... |
As we walk down the cobbled
passageway to meet Sanjay we find a snake charmer performing in a sheltered
corner. Mystical, fascinating India.
The Jal Mahal, or Water Palace “floats”
in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. Built in 1799 as a pleasure palace it has been
abandoned but is undergoing restoration for its new purpose as a hotel. What a
great place to stay! We take time to stretch our legs and walk along the
viewpoint to relish the view always careful not to interact with the
enterprising vendors who’ve set up shop here unless we’re ready to negotiate.
Across the way camels wait with their handlers for photo-ops (there’s a fee).
They look positively nonchalant, gazing into the distance and ruminating on
what?
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| Jal Mahal |
And then do we wish to see how the
famous Jaipur gemstones are cut and polished?
Oh, sure. After the demo comes
the showroom. I want to look at a semi-precious stone, the ruby star of India
in a ring. The trays come out in profusion. I say “simple” and repeat over and
over. And I do find a small stone in a sterling setting that I bargain for.
Lesley finds a gorgeous amethyst for a great price and we make our deals while
Jake looks on in amusement. They will size my ring and bring it to our hotel
later in the evening.
Back on track we visit the Jantar
Mantar. This is an ancient observatory
consisting of fourteen architectural astronomy instruments dating from the 1700’s.
They are built from stone and marble and were used to make astronomical
predictions of the sun and moon and planets. They also measured time via the
world’s largest sundial (27 meters tall) and predicted eclipses. The instruments
are huge; the largest is 90 feet tall. It’s like strolling through solid
geometric shapes. We can watch the time ticking on the sundial. It is accurate
to the second.
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| Huge Astronomical Instruments |
The City Palace is still inhabited
by the royal family of Jaipur. They have opened portions of the palace and a
museum to the public and supplement their income with the entrance fees. The
royal flag flies above their private quarters in stripes of color each denoting
an enemy territory conquered.
The colossal silver jars once used
to transport sacred water from the Ganges are the supposed highlight, but our
favorite exhibit is the wide trousers of the 500 pound maharaja which take up a
room width glass case.
In one part of the palace is a
market of Jaipur goods, (Does the palace get a commission on sales? Wouldn’t be
surprised), and there we find the shoe stall with stacks of exotic flats.
Lesley and I each purchase a pair of Aladdin shoes; although for practicality
the toes don’t have the extended curl and one more pair each. When I complain
that one shoe is a tad tight, the salesman puts his own bare foot into it and
wiggles it around, and that just does the trick!
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| Jaipur Flats |
We get a call that my ring is sized and ready. We swing by the shop and pick it up. I put it on my pinky finger and watch the star of India twinkle in the sunlight.
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| Bejeweled Baby Toes |
Our guide mentions that his cousin
owns a textile shop and when we ask to do a little street shopping, the street where he chooses to take us is the one where his cousin’s store is located.
Coincidence! His cousin’s store does sell authentic Jaipur textiles. I find a
quilt which is an exact replica of one I purchased in Alaska. I love that quilt
and I’d better, the price in Alaska was about 4 times the asking price here.
The quilts are such a good deal, in fact, that I buy two. They are willing to
unfold and display every quilt in the store until you find the one(s) you like.
I feel some guilt over all the refolding and stacking they will have to do, but
they assure me this is what they love to do. (?) Lesley and Jake find printed
table covers. After the transactions are
complete they proudly show us photos of Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford
shopping in their store. Perhaps the cousin was their guide too.
We walk the street to another
textile shop where we find what we call balloon pants, (so comfy) and other fun
things. The Claire effect goes into overdrive when the shopkeeper calls her a
“movie baby” and awards her with an elephant t-shirt.
After a diaper change Sanjay
offers to dispose of the used diaper. We all watch in horror and dismay as he
walks down the street and hurls it into the distance. When we object he smiles
and says “this is India”. Yes, but…
While standing in line today
waiting for the elephants I met a woman from the UK traveling alone. She has
hired a driver to guide her but custom does not allow him to eat with her or
stand in a queue with her. She was on her way to a convent orphanage in south
India which is run by her friend. She is a midwife and goes once a year, puts
on a sari, and assists in the convent hospital. Angels among us.
