|
The capital of
Rajasthan, Jaipur is not only the gateway to the state, it is also
the most natural place to begin a discovery of Rajasthan’s
multifaceted attractions. For visitors unfamiliar with its
history, a little explanation may be necessary, since it will aid
their understanding of one of the most fascinating cities of
India.
As a city,
Jaipur is fairly young, less than three centuries old. It was laid
out by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of the Kachchawaha dynasty from
Amber which, less than 10 km away, was the former capital of the
state. Markets and residential areas have bridged this gap so
that, for all practical purposes, Jaipur includes Amber within its
sway.
Like most
Rajput kings, the Kachchawahas claim descent from the noble line
of Shri Rama, the prince-hero whose exploits are the subject of
the great Hindu epic, the Rama-yana. If one were to zip through
history to arrive in the 10th century, it would bring us face to
face with Dhola Rai whose throne at Narwar (close to Gwalior, in
Madhya Pradesh) was usurped by his uncle. However, the royal
prince was welcomed as a bridegroom into the feudal principality
of Dausa, close to Amber, and he soon made himself at home, even
claiming the right to rule. His son, who accepted the hospitality
of the Mina tribesmen of Amber, betrayed it similarly and
established the foundations of a dynasty that was to become
renowned for its power and wealth. In more recent times, the Jaipuris, as they were called, came to represent the glamorous
face of princely India, and were the cynosure of the media in
Western society.
Having won
themselves their kingdom, the Kachchawahas strengthened their
stronghold through strategic matrimonial alliances with the
Mughals who ruled over much of India from their forts at Delhi and
Agra. Though their faiths were different, it established a sense
of kinship between the more powerful Mughals and the valiant
Kachchawahas, and laid the foundation for a similar relationship
with other Rajput states.
The Mughals
still occupied Delhi when Jai Singh, hardly a man yet when he was
anointed maharaja of Amber, was taken to meet Emperor Aurangzeb
who, as a conservative Muslim, had spent little time befriending
his Hindu neighbours. Grasping Jai Singh’s hands in his own,
Aurangzeb asked him: “How do you expect to be powerful with your
hands tied thus?” Jai Singh was quick-witted, and replied: “Just
as a bridegroom takes his bride’s hands following their betrothal,
in a sacred vow to protect her, so you, Sire, have held my hands.
What do I fear now that the Mughal himself has taken my hands in
his?” Aurangzeb was pleased and immediately granted the young
prince the hereditary title of ‘Sawai’ placing the Kachchawaha
family a ‘quarter’ above the other Rajput families.
But the Mughal
was ageing. He had no strong successors. Towards the east, the
British were eroding the existing power structure from their
capital in Calcutta. The north, however, after several centuries
of invasions and rife, was quiet. Jai Singh seized the opportunity
to pamper himself with a new capital. Moving out of the hilltop
Amber, he descended to the plains below, and planned a modern
capital with a Bengali architect, Vidyadhar, whose instinct for
planning he trusted implicitly.
Jaipur has been
laid according to the conventional nine-grid pattern that
astrologers believe to be lucky, and which has been recommended in
the ancient Indian treatise on architecture. Each grid consists of
a square, and these have been planned so that, at the heart of the
city is the City Palace. Spread around it, in rows, are public
buildings, the residences of noblemen, the living and trading
quarters of merchants and artisans. Straight, wide roads run
through the city, while a high, crenellated wall that forms its
defense is pierced with seven gateways that serve as entry points.
Today, these walls may be more difficult to spot since the city
has grown far beyond its original plan, but they are still there,
proof that though Jaipur saw no great siege, it was more than
adequately prepared for it.
Vidyadhar was a
strict planner and even the drawings for private residences and
trading establishments had to be submitted to his stringent gaze,
and meet with his approval. This is the reason for the striking
similarity in the facades of the buildings in even the bazaars of
the old city, though it is a myth that he was also responsible for
the uniform colour, labelled Indian pink. This has given Jaipur
its euphemistic name, Pinkcity. However, the reason for the
autumnal colours on the facades of all old city buildings was a
forthcoming trip by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in
1876 for whom the capital was being decorated. It was decided to
paint the entire city white for the occasion, but eventually the
pink was chosen because it came closest to the colour of sandstone
which many of the buildings were made. To date, the tradition of
painting the buildings pink has continued, though with the
highlights picked out in white.
Having outgrown
the original nine grids, Jaipur has spread in all directions, but
its market areas are still characterised by streets and areas
where work of a certain kind is found. For example, there is a
separate street for marble-workers, and another textiles, or for
jewellery.
Jaipur’s
architectural planning may have been ancient, but its execution
was definitely modern. Best represented by the City Palace
complex, it brought together all that was excellent in Rajput and
Mughal architecture, creating a new tradition that found wide
currency over much of north India. As in the Mughal tradition, the
durbar or court areas became much more open, characterised by a
series of arched pavilions held on delicately crafted pillars.
Ornamentation had always been a part of the state’s architectural
heritage, now it became much more opulent. The private wings of
the family also extended their entertainment areas. Since defence
was no longer a primary concern, larger, more ornamental windows
were built to over look the streets or courtyards outside these
wings. Gardens were no longer planned within the internal
courtyards only, but were added to the external vistas, and water,
a basic feature of Mughal palaces and gardens, was utilised in a
similar fashion, in canals and fountains.
Some of these
experiments had begun at Amber itself, in the palaces that were
its more recent additions. A major distinguishing feature of the
Mughal palaces was the use of marble and pietra dura inlay. Amber
and Jaipur used marble more judiciously, but were able to achieve
the same effect on polished wall surfaces using a mixture of lime
and eggshell, in a style that was referred to as araish. Rather
than stone inlay, it preferred the delicate art of painting,
especially religious and historical sequences, the depiction of
which is forbidden in Islamic art. The concept of the Sheesh Mahal
or ‘Palace of Mirrors’, however, was equally favoured in both
architectural traditions: it consists of small, even sized mirrors
used to embellish all surfaces so that, when a match is lit in the
darkened room, its flame bounces off then giving millions of
reflections.
Such
ostentation, however, was usually limited, and good taste was
evident in the manner in which the walls were painted, or the
pierced windows placed. Amber represents the early phases of
Kachchawaha architecture. The foundations of the fort were laid in
1592 by Maharaja Man Singh. Seen from the outside, the
fortifications are impressive. Coming upon it when entering or
exiting Jaipur, it makes one gasp, but it must have sent a chill
up the spine of its foes. A steep ramp leads to Jai Pol, the Gate
of Victory, named after Jai Singh I. Today, elephants carry
tourists up the ramp, but it is not difficult to imagine pennant
carrying armies setting off on horseback along this majestic path.
The
architecture within spans several centuries and, even after the
establishment of Jaipur, the royal family would come here for
ceremonial occasions and to pray at the Kali shrine. The image
enshrined within the temple is that of Shila Mata, the Goddess of
War, carried here by Maharaja Man Singh all the way from Jessore
in Bengal. Visitors today can also see the Diwan-i Am or Hall of
Public Audience, a sight denied even to Emperor Akbar at the
height of his glory. Legend has it that reports came to Akbar of
Man Singh’s splendid durbar hall as a Mughal feudatory, Amber did
not have the permission to hold public audiences, but Akbar, it
appears, was more entranced by Amber’s reported “tier upon tier of
beautiful buildings”. Two emissaries were dispatched to find out
if the durbar hall was as beautiful as its description but Man
Singh, fearful that the Mughal would covet it, had the hall
covered with stucco plaster, concealing its decorations for
centuries together.
Amber had
reason to be concerned since its history had seen skirmishes with
other Rajput kingdoms, and had at various times faced the armies
of the sultans of Gujarat, the Marathas, and the Mughals. No
wonder its architecture, like that of other Rajput palaces,
consists of narrow passages and staircases that can be defended by
a single swordsman, ridged ramps to allow the cavalry to move
within the fortifications, high walls that cannot be easily
scaled, and windows at only the highest levels. While the exterior
is forbidding, the interiors are lavished with decoration since
the royals, and especially the women, spent almost all their time
within the fortified palaces.
In Jaipur, the
facades seem to have become as ornate as the interiors and
sometimes, as in the case of the Hawa Mahal, even more so. The
Hawa Mahal, part of the City Palace complex, is a familiar
landmark, and is ties of pierced windows over looking the street
below. In fact, the facade pretty much characterises what for, on
the inside, the building is no more than a series of corridors
with windows overlooking the street. Its purpose was simply to
allow the royal women a view of ceremonial processions while
seated behind the small windows, allowing them to look out without
themselves being seen.
Jaipur has much
to offer visitors — everything from pageants and festivals to
extraordinarily clad people, a wealth of handicrafts, a royal
legacy of palaces, and sightseeing — that will occupy their time.
However, should the visitors simply choose to walk around the
streets of the old city instead, they will not regret it. All of
Jaipur is an architectural gem, and no scheduled sight seeing can
even hope to do justice to this rare city.
|