My Love Story With India (Part 5)

The following day, after a great meal, I got an eyeful of this beautiful state called Rajasthan! Its capital Jaipur is full of wonders bordering on the incredible! As a matter of fact, Jaipur left with waxing lyrical poetic nonsense(rofl). Let me introduce you to RAJASTHAN!

RAJASTHAN:

The No. 1 eaters of hot chilies in all India!

Successors of the Indo-Scythians Saka era.

The Place of Kings, Carpet Gardens, Fabulous Forts and Palaces!

 Land of the Gurjars, The Protectors.

Land of the Rajputs, Warriors of Rajasthan; Best Soldiers in India!

Rajasthan!  The Land of Merchants of Medieval India.

 Home of Hindus, Muslims and Jains.

 Land of The Sun God, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishu, and Bhavani.

Rajasthan: The City of Elephants. The Largest state in India!

The Land of Ornaments and Jewelries.

The Bastion of Princes!

So goes the poetic rhetoric.It is also the motherland to the city of Jaipur: home of the Temple of Monkeys and the 18th century Jantur Mantar Observatory. As we drive in, I couldn’t help but notice the large amount of white marble sculpture, designs, slabs, and pottery making. And when the British came here, they simply corrupted the name Rajasthan to Rajputana.

First we stop at  popular stop-over restaurant not too far from the boundary where we were greatly entertainmed with drums, shekere, flutes and singing. Thereafter we ordered some local dishes to have a taste of Jaipur's tongue-bursting delicacies. Ulalalacious. And jut before we leave, a special scale of three-piece mini silver bowls containing a mouth-cleansing minty Aniseeds, local sugar and other flavoured seeds help diminish any after taste in you mouth after chewing them.

Now we see a huge boundary wall at Arubru Palace. There are three main palaces in Jaipur and the Temple of Monkeys is a revered site. Old antics of the Maharajas are sold there. I read what informed the decision to sell their relics from the book: A Princess Remembers by one of Jaipur’s foremost Princesses, Gayatri Devi (originally from Cooch Behar).

Jaipur is the centre to gem stones, arts, polishing of stones and home of textiles. It is also the city of elephants. Horses can be seen nibbling on grasses along the road – even joining road users in the use of pedestrian passes and highways. And you’ve got to respect their right to use the road as you do! Camels are also a common sight on the streets and roads of Jaipur, where Elephants, pigs, the sacred cows and donkeys all have a right of way. 

And then we arrive at the slum areas of Jaipur which greets us with gleeful pleasure! The gypsies are very common here. They only stay in a particular axis every two months or so and then relocate – always on the move like the gypsies you find in the UK or nomads of Northern Nigeria. I guess it’s a kind of life certain persons truly enjoy. Perhaps the bucolic life free from the rat race life of the urbane frenetic tension is good enough reason? Our guide said when the government gave lands to them to keep the gypsies in one place, they still moved from one place to another like travelers; many selling off the land given to them to continue the life of a purposeful wanderer.

Back in the days though, the armories and weapons I was told were guided and provided by the gypsies. Perhaps this explains why they prefer their freedom? Living the life of a mercenary, which no longer has a place in modern society, hence their feeling of disconnectedness to the rest of society? Perhaps after the wars ended, they simply returned to what they’ve always been? Well, I can’t categorically say – it’s just an inchoate thought.

Jaipur the city where the colour pink is royalty has 3 forts: Amer Fort (also spelled and pronounced as Amber is built of sandstone and marble), Jaigarh Fort, and Nahargarh Fort. Bolero jeeps seems to be the car of choice in Jaipur especially as we head towards to Amer fort due to its winding, rough and uphill terrain. Iconic structures such as the City Wall of Jaipur, City Palace, Diggi Palace, Hawa Mahal will simply blow your mind.

Reaching Jaipur, lodged at the Ramada Hotel, I look out the window and was struck by how the entire landscape, hills, architecture, road links was so reminiscent of Minna in Niger State particular that area where IBB resides.

The Royal Family in Jaipur and elsewhere in India has no ruling power. The chief ministers who make up the legislature make rules for the state which the Governor of the state simply signs, almost without questioning their decisions (except in very rare cases). I got a deeper appreciation of the nobles and their unprecedented contribution towards Independent India in 1947 after reading the A Princess Remembers.

The current king of Jaipur is 18-years-old and single. He is the titular head of the royal family, King number 141. He became crowned when he was barely 12-years-old to become Maharaja Sawai Badmnabh Singh. The Royal family of Jaipur who first located themselves at the Amer Fort some 1,000 years ago are originally from Central India and not from Jaipur. Jaipur was given to them as a marriage gift by the people some 300 years ago.

In 1902, it was said that of the King of Jaipur, Maharaja Ram Singh II when he visited King Edward VII’s coronation, carried along with him 8,000 litres of water in the biggest silver jars in the world. Why go through all that trouble you may wonder. Well the Maharaja said he could only drink India water and no other! This obviously was based on the Hindu belief that if he crossed the seas over to Europe, he was sure to pollute himself and become defiled! This was just a tip of the many precautions and purification sacrifices he took as he ate only India meals while he was in England.

Unfortunately for the royal family, their power and wealth was stripped off when the government decided to take interest in the running of affairs in India after independence. The heir to the throne at the time, the grandmother of the current King, Maharani Gayatri, fought the government and even went to prison for daring so. Today she left behind a startling, revealing and most enjoyable memoir, titled: A Princess Remembers. 

The great wall of Jaipur is 18km long and takes one horse at a time compared to the Great Wall of China which takes 4 horses at any one time.

Today there is not enough water in Jaipur. It is fed along with three other states from a dam. They import vegetables, fruits etc from neighbouring states to carter for their agricultural needs. Other forms of business boom quite well in Jaipur: 

• Hand block printing textiles, 
• Gemstones and jewelries, 
• Homemade carpets different from cashmere carpets that are very expensive. Jaipur carpets are cheap and feel like silk to touch. 
• Lots of marble mines which accounts for the exceptionally high amounts of marble statues produced from this region.

There’s so much to see in Rajasthan, particularly in Jaipur. And that’s where our next story is taking us to: Amer Palace: where the Palace of Mirrors shines bright like diamonds. Click on link below for part 6 to enjoy that story.

Part-6:http://ladyechannel.blogspot.com.ng/2015/11/my-love-story-with-india-part-6-jaipur.html

Part-7:http://ladyechannel.blogspot.com.ng/2015/11/my-love-story-with-india-part-7.html

Part-8:http://ladyechannel.blogspot.com.ng/2015/11/my-love-story-with-india-part-8-entre.html

Attributions:wikipedia/commons/3/39/Solstice_and_seasons_at_the_Jantar_Mantar,_Jaipur.JPG; https://farm6.staticflickr.com