THE BEST PLACES IN JAIPUR III

Hi,

Site # 3 - City Palace

Finally we come into the city. Jaipur became the capital of the Kachawas after they shifted from Amber in the 1700s and the city palace complex is part of the planned city of Jaipur.

Very few people know or have ignored this information but the plan of the pink city which is placed alongside is as important as the ruins of Mohenjodaro as it gives us an idea about the way our ancestors planned our cities. The plan of the Pink City as it is known is also called the nine square plan and if you love Jaipur you will surely go up to Nahargarh fort and see for yourself how well the squares are etched out.

The city palace as you will see occupies a major portion of the plan (two of the nine sqaures and one seventh of the total area) and is well protected from all sides with the exit route towards the hills clear of any inhabitation.

With this kind of planning it is no surprise that Maharaja Jai Singh could imagine and help in creation of this marvel.

Most tourists enter the City Palace from the Jaleb Chowk entrance but i believe that the main gate of the city palace is from the side of the Tripolia Gate. When you enter the gate you immediately come to the Mubarak Mahal. Although Mubarak Mahal is a latter addition credited to Madho Singh, this appears to be the main entrace as the Rajendra Gate opens to the Dewan-e-Khas. In comparision the gate from the Jaleb Chowk side connects to the main courtyard and the Dewan-e-Khas through a narrow entrance.
Anyway this is besides the point and most probably the tourists are lead into the Palace through the other gate for the convenience of the bus operators.

The Mubarak Mahal and the Rajendra gate are excellent appetizers to the main course that awaits you inside. Do not miss a picture of the Rajendra Mahal. It comes out really good and also a must is a picture with the marble Elephants that stand on Rajendra Gate.

Inside we get into a wonderfully huge courtyard with the Palace complex looming over it and the Deewan-e-Khas standing out as a solitary lotus in the midst of a pond.
Most of the Palace continues to be the private residence of the Maharaja and is out of bounds but you can get a glimpse of what can be inside by looking at the beautifully carved doors, the memorable pictures adorning the walls and the royal looking passages and verandahs. Do not forget to take a look at the largest Silver Urns in the deewan-e-khas. The local guides will have wonderful stories to tell about the Urns. One story that I know of is that there were actually three urns and one of them had to thrown into the sea when the ship was hit by bad weather on it's journey to England.

Why is it Special for me
Site # 3 has special memories once again dating back to 1985. SBBJ had loaned the royal family a small sum for the Rambagh Hotel project and in order to show their gratitude the royal family had allowed access to SBBJ officials to some parts of the royal palace which was generally out of bounds for the genral public. I am sure SBBJ abused this invitation and as part of this abuse we visited the part of the palace which faces the hills of Nahargarh and the Govinddevji Temple and had tea sitting in the verandah of the Palace.

Then in 2002 when I was the Assistant Vice President of UTI Bank, I used my connections to have the North Zone Branchheads meet at the City Palace Restaurant run by the royal family. The Palace restaurant was specially opened for us during the night and and we also had a conducted tour of the Palace. (Most probably the parts that are not used by the Royal family). My Chairman, PJ Nayak was suitably impressed by the tour and arrangements which had us coming through the Rajendra Gate on car into the main courtyard to the sound of the bugle and nagaras. The welcome and the entertainment of that night when drinks flowed uniterrupted is a memorable event in my life.

Later in 2003 I had the good fortune of being a guest of Kuwar Narendra Singhji, the son in law of Maharaja Jaipur Brigadier Bhawani Singhji. We had tea together at his office in the Palace.

It is not all
But don't go away after you have done the tour of the city palace as the tour will be incomplete if you do not visit the Jantar Mantar and the Govinddevji Temple which lie on opposite sides of the Palace.

The Palace verandah which I talk about is visible from the Govinddevji Temple and gives you a different view of the palace. There is a pathway that leads from the palace to the temple and is used by the royals when they come to the temple.
The Govindevji Temple also includes a sometimes beautiful park (othertimes neglected) and the Talkatora.
This is an artificial pond created to trap the rain water and is another example of the ingenuity of the town planners of that time.
The Jantar mantar house the biggest accurate sun dial and some of the instrments are so accurate that it leaves you astonished. Do not give it a miss as most people do that thinking that there would be no further attraction to engage you after you have been awed by the Palace.

And if you still do have time do feed the piegons in the outer courtyard towards Jaleb Chowk.

The Royal had leased out part of the Palace Complex to the Government of Rajasthan for the Assembly and this is one part of the complex that has detoriarated faster than the rest. i believe they were getting peanuts as rent. Now that the assembly has shifted I do hope that better sense has prevailed and the property has been handed over to the Royal family.

Best Wishes,
Manoj