Jaipur,the Pink City

Jaipur pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: जयपुर), also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. Historically rendered as Jeypore, Jaipur is the former capital of the princely state of Jaipur. Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 5 million residents.

Built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, the city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 111 ft (34 m) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds), formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. Another noteworthy building is Sawai Jai Singh's observatory, Jantar Mantar.Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Architecture
3 Geography
4 Politics
5 Infrastructure
6 Transport
7 Places to see
8 Economy
9 Demographics
10 Sports
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links


[edit]
History
 
Hawa Mahal, and the Principal Street of Jaipur, c. 1875
For the history of all the region, see Dhundhar

The city was established in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II as a new capital of Kachwaha dynasty (Dhundhar region). Then the capital was shifted from the historical capital Amber, India.
 
Jaipur, Principal Street, c. 1875

In the 19th century the city grew rapidly and became prosperous; by 1900 it had a population of 160,000. The city's wide boulevards were paved and lit with gas. The city had several hospitals. Its chief industries were in metals and marble, fostered by a school of art founded in 1868. The city also had three colleges, including a Sanskrit college (1865) and a girls' school (1867) initiated under the reign of the enigmatic Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II. There was also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers, particularly the Jains and the Marwaris.

On May 13, 2008 bomb blasts occurred in seven places of the city causing more than 100 deaths.[1]

[edit]
Architecture
 
The Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur

Jaipur is considered by many urbanists to be one of the best planned cities. It has been claimed to be the first planned city in India.It was at that time one of the best planned cities in Asia. Jaipur(Amber)'s Kings are not considered to be good rajputs but were certainly good rulers. In an era when most of the rajputs were busy fighting with each other, Jaipur's kings diplomatically broadened their control sphere maintaining good relations with Mughals. But certainly they lacked the well known rajput pride.The city was planned according to Indian Vastu Shastra (Vedic or Pouranic Planning for the comfort and prosperity of the citizens). The directions of each street and Bazzar are east to West and North to South. The Eastern gate is called Suraj (Sun) Pol, while the Western gate is called Chand (Moon) Pol. There are only three gates facing East, west, and North including the Northern gate (known as Zorawar Singh gate) which faces toward the ancestral capital of Amber, while many gates face South. Although the present city has expanded from outside of its walls, the original planning was within the walls. The gates used to be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise. Almost all Northern Indian towns of that period presented a chaotic picture of narrow twisting lanes, a confusion of run-down forts/temples/palaces and temporary shacks that bore no resemblance at all to the principles set out in Hindu architectural manuals which call for strict geometric planning. Thus, for Sawai Jai Singh II and the Bengali Guru Vidyadhar (who was a 'Shaspati' - Hindu Priest Architect), the founding of Jaipur was also a ritual and a bronze opportunity to plan a whole town according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. The town of Jaipur is, in fact, built in the form of a eight-part Mandala known as the 'Pithapada'. Nine signifies the nine planets of the ancient astrological zodiac. It is also known that Sawai Jai Singh II was a great astronomer and a town planner, and hence the 'Pithapada'. Also, the commercial shops are designed in multiples of nine (27), having one cross street for a planet.

[edit]
Geography
 
The Jal Mahal

Jaipur is located at 26.92° N 75.82° E.[2] It has an average elevation of 432 metres (1417 ft).

The district is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan. It is bound in the north by Sikar and Alwar, in South by Tonk, Ajmer and Sawai Madhopur. Nagaur, Sikar and Ajmer in the west and in east by Bharatpur and Dausa districts.

The major rivers passing through the Jaipur district are Banas and Banganga. Ground water resources to the extent of about 28.65 million cubic meter are available in the district. Although serious drought is rare, poor water management and exploitation of groundwater with extensive tube-well systems threatens agriculture in some areas.

Jaipur has a semi-arid climate in spite of receiving more than 50 cm rainfall annually, as the rainfall is concentrated in the monsoon months between June and September. This is due to its proximity to the Thar desert.

[edit]
Politics

Jaipur has always been the stronghold of the opposition Bharatiya Janta Party. The Indian National Congress has till date won only two out of 14 parliament elections. Maharani Gayatri Devi has been an MP from Jaipur thrice, with the highest margin recorded by the Gusiness Book of World Record. Rajasthan's legendary leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has been an MLA from Jaipur thrice. BJP's Girdhari Lal Bhargav has been MP for 6 terms continuously, yet another record. Jaipur has produced the highest number of ministers in history, namely Satish Chandra Aggrawal, Bhanwar Lal Sharma, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Ujala Arora, L. Vidhya Pathak etc.

[edit]
Infrastructure
 
Lakshmi-Narayan Temple,

Modern infrastructural facilities are currently fast developing, and in many cases surpass those of larger cities like Delhi and Calcutta[citation needed]. The city is expanding very quickly and has become a hot spot for development in Rajasthan. Jaipur has an airport, but is currently not equipped to handle heavy traffic, including traffic from international locations (although flights to some international destinations are available).

Since 2000 Jaipur has emerged a big center for education, as normal law and order situation is considered very peaceful so most of the north indian parents prefer to send their wards to jaipur for higher and technical education. In Jaipur more than 25 Engineering colleges, 27 Business Management institutes, 15 Pharmacy institutes, 4 Hotel management Institutes 3 Medical Colleges, 6 Dental Colleges are working. It also have 8 University level orgnisations which includes the famous Rajasthan University.

Jaipur now has one of the best infrastructure for the IT industry which is required for setting up BPO operations[citation needed]. In the past couple of years companies like Genpact, Infosys, IBM, Wipro, and others have been acquiring land and setting up operations. Jaipur district receives hydroelectric power from the Chambal Hydel system. 98% of the total of 2,131 villages in the district receive electricity as of March 2000.

[edit]
Transport
 
Hawa Mahal from front

Jaipur city is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is centrally located. The National Highway No.8 links Delhi to Mumbai and No.11, linking Bikaner to Agra passes through Jaipur district to a total length of 366 km. The total length of different types of roads in the district was about 4,102 km as of March 2000.

Jaipur is very well connected by rail with all major cities and towns in India. Jaipur is connected on the broad-gauge and meter gauge network of the Indian Railways. Jaipur has direct trains on the broad gauge network to cities like Agra, Delhi, Gwalior, Mumbai, Howrah, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur etc. across the country and to cities like Ajmer, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur within Rajasthan.

Jaipur is connected with metre gauge rail route with Sri Ganganagar, Churu,Sikar

Jaipur is also connected with major centres of neighbouring states such as Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Delhi through the broad gauge network.

Jaipur's Jaipur Airport (IATA: JAI, ICAO: VIJP) is situated in its satellite town of Sanganer and offers sporadic service to Muscat, Sarjah, Bangkok and Dubai. Jaipur also has well connected domestic air links with Jodhpur, Udaipur, Aurangabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Surat and Raipur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur .

Call Taxi or Call Cabs or famously known as Radio Taxi is a fare mean of transport in the city. It runs as per the fare meter. The fare of the taxi is governed by the State Government. It is known to be the safest transport in the City. Pink City Radio Taxi is the name of the service and to call them you can have to dial 511 5100 or 220 5000.

[edit]
Places to see
 
Jantar Mantar attracts thousands of tourists every year.
 
Amber Fort.
Amber Palace The Amber Palace complex overlooking the artificial lake south of the town of Amber is one of the most popular tourist sites in the city, famous for its mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture, and offering elephant rides from the town up to the palace courtyard. Although the structure is today known as Amber Fort, the complex was initially a Palace Complex within the Fort of Amber which is today known as Jaigarh fort.
Jaigarh Fort The Jaigarh Fort on the hills above the Amber Palace complex offers stunning views of the foothills of the Aravalli range, as well as attractions such as immense underground water-storage tanks, a medieval canon foundry and an impressive collection of medieval cannons including the Jaivana which is reputed to be the world's largest cannon on wheels. Historically this was the original Amber Fort, although it became known as Jaigarh from the time of Sawai Jai Singh II onwards.
Jal Mahal is located on the way to Sisodia garden. The rajput style "Water Palace" sits in the center of the Man Sarobar lake. The lake is often dry in the summer but winter monsoons frequently turn it into a beautiful lake filled with water hyacinths.[3]
Jantar Mantar
Hawa Mahal
Galtaji
Govind Dev Ji temple
City Palace Museum
Moti Dungari (Ganesh Temple)
Kanak Ghati
Albert Museum
Jawahar Circle
Central Park
Birla Temple
Chokhi Dhani
Sisodia Garden
Rambagh Palace, now a luxury hotel