Royal Rajasthan- A Dream Come True
The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is also known as the 'Pink City' due to beautifully constructed palaces, havelis and forts, all painted in pink. The literal meaning of Jaipur is 'the city of victory', which was built in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh-II. Jaipur was the first planned city of its time, planned by Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya, a Bengali architect. A strong wall encircles the old city, which was built with an aim to protect the city, even today it has a suggestion of formidable strength. Jaipur has wide straight avenues, roads, streets and lanes and uniform rows of shops on either side of the main bazaars, all arranged in nine rectangular city sectors (chokris). The city itself is an attractive creation worthy of universal admiration.
Christmas is a very special time with us and every year we usually set off for a destination of our choice. This time it was my long standing dream of visiting Rajasthan which came true. What can you say about a place which is steeped in history, culture, architecture, mesmerising colours and amazing music of the desert. All I can say I know exactly why the international superstar Madonna too would like to visit Rajastahn... after all it is nothing but "Incredible India"! The picture above shows Saurabh, Jina, Meself and Sonju all smiles as we reached the entrance of the magnificent Amber Palace. This was shot by Khan Sahab our extremely polite guide.
Jina and myself getting enthralled at every step, one can see the elderly Khan Sahab walking towards the entrance, couple of steps ahead of us and indulging us to be the gasping tourists trying to savour every second of the experience.
There is nothing more majestic which can match up with views that one gets from the forts. This one is from Jaigarh fort. One thing that strikes you the moment you walk into the grounds is the sense of proportion and the aesthetic sense in these magnificient structures. This window is just one of them. Notice how effortlessly a painting in blue is created with the right design sense. The amalgamation of Mughal and Indian styles are just breathtaking, that's why the great Mughal architecture had always been such a source of inspiration for me.
Nothing can beat this royal ride, although we preffered to walk up as we wanted to do it all, but the second time round I shall definitely spend a packet on this ride. This time I just preffered watching them pass by.
Christmas is a very special time with us and every year we usually set off for a destination of our choice. This time it was my long standing dream of visiting Rajasthan which came true. What can you say about a place which is steeped in history, culture, architecture, mesmerising colours and amazing music of the desert. All I can say I know exactly why the international superstar Madonna too would like to visit Rajastahn... after all it is nothing but "Incredible India"! The picture above shows Saurabh, Jina, Meself and Sonju all smiles as we reached the entrance of the magnificent Amber Palace. This was shot by Khan Sahab our extremely polite guide.
Jina and myself getting enthralled at every step, one can see the elderly Khan Sahab walking towards the entrance, couple of steps ahead of us and indulging us to be the gasping tourists trying to savour every second of the experience.
There is nothing more majestic which can match up with views that one gets from the forts. This one is from Jaigarh fort. One thing that strikes you the moment you walk into the grounds is the sense of proportion and the aesthetic sense in these magnificient structures. This window is just one of them. Notice how effortlessly a painting in blue is created with the right design sense. The amalgamation of Mughal and Indian styles are just breathtaking, that's why the great Mughal architecture had always been such a source of inspiration for me.
Nothing can beat this royal ride, although we preffered to walk up as we wanted to do it all, but the second time round I shall definitely spend a packet on this ride. This time I just preffered watching them pass by. The surroundings from Jaigarh fort. One of the tanks where water was collected for the fort's requirement. Picturesque Jaigarh.
All four of us are Satyajit Ray buffs and were wondering was that sphire where the princess use to catch a glimpse of her prince from in the film Gupi Gyne Bagha Byne. The princess residing in the City palace is called Diya Kumari Singh and she married her prince, a commoner, a son of the noble Thakur of Kotda in Tonk, Narendra Singh of Madhopur. She has three children Padmanabh Singh, Govri and Lakshraj. Padmanabha has been nominated as the heir by princess Diya's parents to continue with the tradition. May the princess live happily ever after!
All four of us are Satyajit Ray buffs and were wondering was that sphire where the princess use to catch a glimpse of her prince from in the film Gupi Gyne Bagha Byne. The princess residing in the City palace is called Diya Kumari Singh and she married her prince, a commoner, a son of the noble Thakur of Kotda in Tonk, Narendra Singh of Madhopur. She has three children Padmanabh Singh, Govri and Lakshraj. Padmanabha has been nominated as the heir by princess Diya's parents to continue with the tradition. May the princess live happily ever after!
Photographs courtsey Saurabha Das.
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