Jaipur is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. This is the first planned city in India. This is called as pink city and city of Rajputs. Most of the buildings in Jaipur are in pink color and that is how it got the name. It is divided into six major sectors with roads of 111 feet wide. The planning of the city was done by Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya and has many attractions in store for the tourists. It spreads about 11117.8 square kilometers.

History of Jaipur

Jaipur was ruled over the Matsya kings in ancient India. The Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who ruled over from 1699 to 1744 had Amber as his capital and he founded the modern Jaipur 11 kilometers from Amber. The city was named after him. He shifted his capital to Jaipur after building it with the help of the architecture Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya. Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya also designed many other buildings in the city including the Royal Palace. The construction of Jaipur started in 1727 and it took about 4 years to complete. The principles of Shilpa Shastra were followed in building this city. It had nine blocks and two of them are reserved for government buildings and palaces and the seven of them was open to the public. The fortification walls were built encompassing the structure. When the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur in 1876 during the period of Sawai Ram Singh, the city was painted in pink as a mark of welcome to him. Since then it was called as pink city.

Geography and Climate

Jaipur is located at an altitude of 431 meters with the hot semi arid climate. The maximum and minimum temperature during summer is 45 and 25 degrees centigrade and that during winter is 22 and 5 degree centigrade respectively. The average annual rainfall is 650 millimeters. Most of the rainfall is received during the months of June to September. The cold waves in winter make temperature reach near the freezing point. The River Banas and the River Banganga flow through this district.

People and Culture

The population of the Jaipur district is 6,663,971 as of 2011. 78% of the populations are Hindus, 17% are Muslims, 0.5% is Sikhs and 4% of them are Jains. 76.44% of them are literates with the male literacy ratio of 87.37% and female literacy ratio of 64.63%. Hindi and Rajasthani languages are spoken here commonly though other languages like English, Sindhi and Punjabi are also spoken. The male female ratio is 1000:909.

The city of Jaipur is famous for its arts and culture because the rulers patronized the artists and craftsmen. Some of the traditional crafts of Jaipur are Bandhani, stone carving, block printing, zari works, zardoshi works, ivory carving, shellac works, miniature paintings, etc.

Important festivals celebrated here are Gangaur Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival, Kite Festival, Chaksu Fair, Teejh Festival, Shitla Matha Fair, Deepawali, Eid, Makar Sakranthi, elephant festival, Holi, Pushkar Camel Fair, Nagaur Cattle Fair, Looniyawas, etc. The traditional dances are Ghoomar, Kaalbelia, Therah Taali and Kacchi Ghodi, etc.

The Jaipur cuisine includes Gatte Ki Sabzi, Ker Sangari, Puaz Ki Kachori, Mirchi Bare, Pheeni, Gazak, Khatto, Kulfi, Mawa Ki Kachori, Choorma Daal Bati, Raabri, Heeng Ki Kachori, Heeng Ki Sev, Doodh Jalebi, Meethi Lassi, Ghewar, Gulab Sakri Mawa, Kangan, Laal Maans, Safed Maans, Paan, Mutton Sule, Shammi Kabab, etc.

The newspapers and magazines published here are Rajasthan Patricka, Rashtradhooth, Daink Bhaskar, Dainik Navjothi, Mehaka Bharat, Times of India, DNA, etc.

Economy and Education Details about Jaipur

This city has both the traditional and modern industries. The industries that produce aluminum conductor steel reinforced cable, all purpose flour, corrugated boxes, edible oil, gems and jewelry, granite slabs, ceramic tiles, electrical appliances, pvc products, readymade clothing, semolina, steel products, etc are located here. Some of the major companies situated in Jaipur are Coca Cola, IBM, Ericsson, NBC Bearings, Ziberi Engineering Company, Genpact, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Truworth, ISYS BPO, MICO, etc. Reserve Bank of India and many other important Indian and international banks are situated in Jaipur. Another important industry in Jaipur is tourism. Since it has many historical places it attracts tourists from India and all over the world.

Jaipur has become an important educational centre with more than 60 engineering colleges, 40 business management institutions and 3 medical and 6 dental colleges. The eight universities located in Jaipur are Rajasthan University, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, Jaipur National University and Suresh Gyanvihar University.

There are more than 250 schools in Jaipur and they follow either CBSE pattern or ICSE pattern. Some of the schools are Maheswari girls public school, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidhyalaya, Army Public School, Seedling School, Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan Vidhyashram, Brightlands School, Kanoria Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Kendriya Vidhyalaya No. 1, Little Flowers Academy, Saint Anselm’s Pink City School, etc. The two important libraries are Maharaja Library which includes some of the rare manuscripts and Radhakrishna Library in JLN Marg.

Internal Infrastructure of Jaipur

The important areas of Jaipur are Parasram Nagar, Shankar Nagar, Brahmapuri, Badan Pura, Gaitaji, Janata Colony, Hasanpura, Sindi Colony, Ram Nagar, Devi Nagar, Vishveshwariya, Vasundhara, Gandhi Nagar, Bajaj Nagar, Staff Colony, Birla Mandir, Jawahar Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Saket Nagar, Jagatpura, Chainpura, Manoharpura, etc.

There are many gardens in Jaipur namely Sisodia Rani Garden and Palace, Kanak Vrindavan, Technology Park at Mansarover, Central Park, Vidhyadher Ka Bagh, Vidhyadhar Garden and Jawahar Circle Garden.

The bazaars of Jaipur are Bapu Bazaar, Nehru Bazaar, Johri Bazaar, Thatheron Ka Raasta, Maniharon Ka Raasta, Khazanewalon Ka Raasta, Raja Park Market, Sonthliwala Ka Rasta, Choti Chaupar, Bari Chaupar and Rajasthali at Ajmeri Gate.

Some of the eat outs of Jaipur are Swarna Mahal, India Coffee House, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Palace Café, Cave Inn Natraj Restaurant, Durg Cafeteria, Polobar, Steam, Lounge and Bar, Revolving Restaurant, Pink Pepper, Tapri, Niros, etc.

The hospitals in Jaipur are Sahai hospital and Research Centre, Manu Hospital, Agarwal Eye Hospital, Jaipur Hospital, S. K. Soni Hospital, Dr. Thakkar’s Jaipur Dental Hospital, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Medical Hospitals, etc.

Some of the hotels to stay in Jaipur are Chit Chat Guest House, Bhim Vilas, Youth Hostel, Pearl Palace, Pink Petals Inn, Satkar Hotel, Sunder Palace Guest house, Arya Niwas, Athithi Guest House, Sangam Hotel, Krishna Palace, Naila Bagh Palace, Hotel Umaid Lake Palace, Jaipur Inn, Sarang Palace, Loharu House, Fort Madhogarh, Oberoi Rajvilas Palace Hotel, etc. As Jaipur is very hot during summers, if you happen to visit the place in summer it is better to hire the air conditioned rooms. In budget hotels they are extremely affordable.

There are many clubs in the city of Jaipur and these offer best options for entertainment with drinking and staying. Some of them are Jaipur Club, Ashok Club, Polo Club and Golf Club.

Many people visit Jaipur for its ancient temples. Some of the famous temples in Jaipur are Thikana Govind Dev Ji, Ganesh Temple, Laxmi Narayan Temple, Shilla Mata, Galtaji, Panchayati Hall, Radha Govind Ji Temple, Hanuman Temple, Kala Hanuman Temple, Garh Ganesh, Nahar Ke Ganesh Ji, Jagat Shiromani Temple, Akshardham Temple, Ram Krishna Mission, Sanghi Ji Jain Temple, Choolgiri, Padampura Jain Temple, etc.

Transport Facilities in Jaipur

The city of Jaipur is well connected with other cities of India by road. The NH 8, NH 12 N 11 pass through Jaipur and the total length of these roads passing through the city is 366 kilometers. The total length of all the roads in the city is 4,102 kilometers as of 2000 March. The intercity buses are operated by the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation. There are both air-conditioned buses and non-air-conditioned buses connecting various places in Rajasthan and other states. The bus stands from which these buses are operated are Sindhi Camp, Jawahar Nagar Bus Stand, Sodala Bus Stand and Durgapura Bus Stand.

The Jaipur City Transport Services Limited operates more than 300 buses within the city. The bus depots are located at Vaishali Nagar, Vidhyadhar Nagar and Sanganer. JCTCL operates air conditioned buses. JCTCL has also undertaken the construction of Bus Rapid Transit Service and among the two proposed corridors, from Sikar Road to Tonk Road in the north south corridor and from Ajmer road to Delhi road in the east west corridor, a portion of the north south corridor started its service in 2010.

Jaipur International Airport is situated 10 kilometers from the main city in the town of Sanganer. Many domestic and international flights are operated from here. There are two terminals in the airport and terminal 1 serves for the domestic and international flights while the terminal 2 is for the domestic purposes. The airport handles more than 1,500,000 passengers every year.

Jaipur serves as the headquarters of the North Western Railway zone. The project Unigauge has converted the meter gauge lines to broad gauge. The city is well connected by train to all the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabadm, Kochi, Pune, Bhopal, Gwalior, Nagpur, Chennai, Patna, Kanpur, etc. The Jaipur Metro project is under construction and is expected to provide fast means of transport by 2014.

Places of Interest in Jaipur

Some of the major attractions in the city are City Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, Sargusuli, Niwas Bagh, Vidhyadharji Ka Bagh, Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh, Jaigarh Fort, Moti Doongri, Jal Mahal, Govind Devji Temple, Kos Minar, Birla Planetarium, Jal Mahal, Madvendra Palace, Gaitore, Jantar Mantar, Ram Bagh Palace, etc.

City Palace: It stands in the center of the city bearing testimony to the architecture of Rajputs and Mughals with seven storied Chandra Mahal, Diwan E Khas, Mubarak Mahal and its Clock Tower and Sileh Khana. The entry fee is 35 INR for Indians.

Jantar Mantar: This is the observatory built in eighteenth century during the rule of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II to study the constellations and stars.

Hawa Mahal: This semi-octagonal monument was built in 1799 and is a wonder piece of Rajput architecture. It has 152 windows and was meant for the ladies from the royal families to watch the processions. There is a museum within this building.

Jal Mahal: This palace is constructed amidst Lake Man Sagar. This beautiful water palace is worth visiting.

Jaigarh Fort: It is located on the hill in the city of Amer and boasts the world’s biggest cannon on wheels with 20 feet long barrel.

Kanak Vrindavan: This is an excellent picnic place near Jal Mahal and has beautiful gardens in it and this is a popular shooting spot.

Birla Temple or Laxmi Narayana Temple: It is noted for the marble carvings made in the white marble.

Birla Planetarium: You can learn about stars and solar system with the audio visual education provided through its computerized projection system. There are specific show timings every two hours from morning eleven till evening six.

Central Museum: This was established by Prince Albert in 1876 and hence is also known as Albert Hall and is situated in the Ram Niwas Garden. It contains a rare collection of archaeological and handicraft items.

Amer Fort: It is built with red sandstone and white marble pavilions with a fine blend of Rajput and Mughal architecture. The palace was built by Raja Man Singh and later extended by Maharaja Mirja Raja Jai Singh and Sawai Jai Singh. The Sheesh Mahal, chamber of mirrors, Diwan e Khas, Diwan e Aam, Sikh Mandir and sculptured pillars are worth noticing here.

Chandra Mahal: This includes Mubarak Mahal, Diwan E Khas, Diwan E Aam, Ridhi Sidhi Pol and Hawa Mahal. It houses the largest silver vessels in the world which has taken place in the Guinness book of records.

Gaitore: This is the cremation place of the royal kings of Jaipur and is located in the area of Brahmapuri.

Ramniwas Garden: This garden was built in 1868 by theMaharaja Sawai Ram Singh and includes a bird park, zoo, art gallery, museum, theatre, gymnasium and cafes.

You can notice unique blend of modern and traditional lifestyle in the city of Jaipur. The planning of the city and its industries makes it look modern while the number of historical monuments and places makes us live and feel the life of ancient India. These details about Jaipur will help you to enjoy its treasures to the core.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On December 12, 2011lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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