A Walk to Remember

A WALK TO REMEMBER Khamma Ghani Rajasthan

05 Cheel Ka Teela 08 Meena’s Palace 10 Abode of Tigers

EDITORS NOTE

‘Khamma Ghani Rajasthan’ allows people to see the beauty of the state Rajasthan, India. Glorious culture, spectacular forts, and dramatic desert – the mix of it is too compelling.

This earlier known ‘Rajputana’, meaning ‘Land of Princes’ has a flamboyant character. In this issue of the magazine, we would be concentrating on the Folk Tales of different Forts and Monuments of Jaipur.

We sincerely trust that you will have as much pleasure reading this edition named ‘A Walk to Remember’ as we enjoyed compiling this for you, our dear readers. Happy Reading!

CONTENTS 02 Editors Note

A compelling mix of Glorious culture, forts and dramatic desert.

05 Cheel Ka Teela

This Fort of Victory was a major centre of artillery production.

08 Meena’s Palace

A 16th Century built by Akbar is now called the Amber Fort and Palace of Jaipur.

10 Abode of Tigers

Legend says that Nahargarh was named after the spirit of Rathore, Nahar Singh.

12 Pink Royalty

City Palace is the present royal palace in the center of the city.

14 Ancient Astronomy

Jantar Mantar measures the distance of celestrial objects.

16 Wind at Heart

Hawa Mahal at the heart of the pink city, palace of winds.

18 Water Palace

Jal Mahal is in the middle of Man Sagar Lake.

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Cheel Ka Teela Jaigarh, Nahargarh and Amer Fort are the three forts, where you can immerse yourselves in a quest to explore the history of Jaipur. These three Gems are the true Soul of Rajasthan.

Jaipurites are always fascinated with these, as there is lots of history attachedthe incredible architecture, an awe inspiring planning, but what catches most is the awesome view of the city that we get from the top of any of these forts, while being hushed by the coo of the pigeons and whoop of the Monkey Cheel Ka Teela, meaning the ‘Hill of Eagles’is where the Jaigarh Fort of Jaipur is located. It mainly submerges in the Aravalli Ranges with serveral interesting features. It showcases the artillery of Raja Jai Singh II and the rest place for armed forces and cavalry. I was amazed to see the Jai Vaan - biggest cannon of the world placed in here. Also, kitchen and rain water harvesting system would be the gems of this fort.

Pigeons across the landscape

Monkey’s on the fort of Jaipur

About 15 kilometres from Jaipur, and built by Sawai Jai Singh II in the early 18th century. Despite its ancient construction, it still retains most of its imposing citadel appearance. Visitors can see the world’s largest canon – Jaivana, at the fort. The folk tale says that, the cannon was fired only once with a charge of 100 kilograms of gun powder and when fired covered a distance of about 35 kilometres. The firing was just for practice purposes. There wasn’t any such war which aimed to destroy the rivals.

The fort also houses the armory and the museum where the used weapons of the soldiers are kept. Jaigarh Fort or the Fort of Victory is the highest peak, right above the Amber Fort. Before they built the Amber Fort, the royal family used to live in Jaigargh Fort, a seperate kitchen and rooms were built for both royal men and women.

There is a huge varanda where the royals used to have their entertainment. There are many blocked ‘surangs’ which lead to the Amber Fort; most importantly there is a passage which was used only when the rivals attacked. Presently, the water supply of Jaigarh fort and its storage reservoirs are a marvel of engineering. There is a huge underground water reservoir even today in which large amount of water is filled. Back in those days, the same underground reservoir had huge amount of gold in it. The royals used such techniques to hide the important antiques from their rival families.

“Folk Tales are more than true: not because they tell us that royal spirits exist, but because they tell us that those spirits can be beaten.”

Fort of Victory Cannon

Photograph of the Month

Chirag Balani

Meena’s Palace In past Meena was ruler of Rajasthan. And it was also called as matsya Kingdom, and amer was the capital of meena state. It was said that. Meena recognize their progeny from the lord Vishnu avatar as matsya (fish).

In india it is called meen avtar. The land of dhundhar was ruled by clan of Meena for many years. It was said that this fort was named after the temple Ambikeshwar Mahadev temple. It was built by Ambika Raja 5000 year ago in Amer and the ruler of the meena was continued to built many palaces, city like Khohgang, temples after some time they lost there kingdom from the Kachwaha Rajputs.

Amer name is named after who does not have one name which is impossible to know and recognize. Amer was named after Lord Shiva temple; Ambikeshwar Mahadev which is built so many years ago. It is only then the entire concept of Meen Avtar came into India.

Amber Fort is right at the center from where it could be protected; between Jaigarh and Nahargarh Fort. Back in those days, the royals used to live at Amber Fort and hence, it had to be protected.

“Folk Tales begin to glow when they turn into something great!.”

View of the city Amber

Suraj Pol Gate

The Amber Fort is one of the greatest legacy of an entire long-lost empire. Most tourists prefer a regal-robed elephant or even a long refreshing drive around to the back of the fortress. It’s as though, beginning a journey with a simple hamlet of Amber whooshing back to the 11th century. In the name of Shringar Devi Kanakaway, ‘Shri Jagatshironmani’ Temple was built. She was the wife of Man Singh, the ruler of Amber. This temple is rare because Radha isn’t depicted with Lord Krishna. He is instead accompanied by ‘Mira Bai’, a mystic princess. The groundkeeper of the temple has been caring for the temple for over 20 generations.

Sheesh Mahal

Suraj Pol

Abode of Tigers ‘Abode of Tigers’ is a mimic for Nahargarh Fort, termed as frequented sites of the beasts. One of the major tourist attractions of Jaipur, Nahargarh Fort is known for its strong defence. The fort shares an extended wall which connects it to the Jaigarh Fort. Situated on the hills of the Aravalli, this fort offers stunning views of the surroundings. Apparently, there are rumours of this now abandoned structure being converted into a hotel like the 5 star lake palace in Udaipur.

Nahargarh Fort is nothing but the wall that used to protect the Amber Fort and Palace. One of the important historical events such as the Maratha forces invaded Jaipur in the 18th century. Hence, the fort was built to maintain the defence of the city. In 1857, several Europeans were moved to the fort by Sawai Ram Singh in order to protect them from Indian Mutiny. The fort has been named after Nahar Singh Bhomia.

As you enter the fort, the first thing you see is the view of Jaipur City on your right, the pink and the not so pink. The views from the ramparts of the city of Jaipur and its surroundings are simply breathtaking.

Nahargarh Fort

Amber Fort

Jaigarh Fort

The land on which Sawai Jai Singh began building the fort was named after this Rathore prince. His spirit haunted the area which caused an obstruction to the fort construction. Hence, Jai Singh decided to build a small fortress within the fort to pacify the soul and dedicated the fort to the prince, giving it the name; Nahargarh Fort.

The center of the fort is where the film ‘Rang De Basanti’ was shot. That area is where the water used to be stored for the soldiers who used to protect the city from the Nahargarh Fort. The medival step-well was built into the chambers to channel the water flow at intervals.

The design architect of Jaipur, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, designed this beautiful palace and festooned its interiors with stucco designs and frescos, many of which are still in pretty good condition and adorn the walls of this palatial building.

“Folk Tales are meant to be cherished as they enhance the history.”

Water Reservoir

Pink Royalty The magnificent City Palace is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh during the years 1729 to 1732, the vast complex of the palace occupied one seventh of the walled city. The imposing complex of the palace used to be the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Planned with precise intricacies, the palace was divided into a series of courtyards, buildings and gardens including the Chandra Mahal and the Mubarak Mahal along with various other palaces. The Chandra Mahal is now a museum but the major part of it is still the royal residence.

The square pink-walled courtyard has the elegant Mubarak Mahal standing in its center and the erstwhile reception hall boasts of the palace museum’s impressive textile collection. Housing some of the elaborately embroidered and brocaded garbs that formerly belonged to the royal wardrobe, it is a very charmingly intimate museum and sharply in contrast with the nearby Armoury. between the Armoury and the Diwan-i-Am art gallery, is the open courtyard known as Sarvatobhadra which holds in its center a beautiful pink-and-white, marble-paved gallery that was once used as the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience).

City Palace Jaipur

In olden times maharajas used to consult their ministers there and today display of 2 enormous silver vessels proudly declare the devout Hindu Maharaja Madho Singh II’s quirk of carrying holy Ganges water to England for Edward VII’s coronation in 1902.

Peacock gate is one of the most famous of the four gates which are depicting seasons, which are leading towards Pritam Niwas Chowk, which symbolizes the monsoon as its symbolizes the autumn season in it. This gate is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This gate is located on the North-East side of the courtyard . This gate is last in the series of the four gates of Ridhi Sidhi Pol. Padmanabh Singh is the current 19 ear old Prince of Jaipur who recently made his runway debut in Milan when he walked for Dolce & Gabbana at the Men’s Spring/Summer 19. Like his grandfather, Bhawani Singh, and great-grandfather, Man Singh II, Padmanabh is an accomplished polo player. Currenlt the entire royal family of Jaipur lives in the City Palace.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them Folk Tales.”

Inside View of City Palace Jaipur

Peacock Gate

Ancient Astronomy The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is built by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1734. It is an astronomical observatory where the largest stone sundial in the world is preserved. India has five of them and the largest one is kept at Jaipur. Jantar Mantar, Jaipur is also one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it’s as though tourists cannot go back to their counties without adding this to their itinerary.

The place comprises of interesting stone structures that give away celestial bodies and calculate local time. Jantar Mantar attracts architects, mathematicians, geographers and historians. The best to visit this historic place is during noon when the sun is vertically above and it is easy to understand the process of reading each instrument.

The observatories are no longer used for making any astronomical observations.

They are mainly a popular tourist destination. Although students of Vedic Astronomy or history can still be spotted trying to figure out how to use them. TheArchaeological Survey of India oversees them.

“The Folk Tellers dig into the fables for fun. In order to make people believe that htey are utmost true.�

Jantar Mantar Jaipur

Representation of half celestrial sphere for finding all the positions of the heavenly bodies.

Invented by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. The sphere has also been tested by Jotshis namely Gokul Chand Bhawan and Chandra Dhar Guleri.

Existence of such instrument came to known in A.D. 1901.

Jaya Prakash Yantra

Mishra Yantra is the piece of equipment used to find out the time of the day in different cities of the world. In the vast Mughal empire stretching through several time zones, it was an essential to always know what time it was in a distant city.

The Samrat Yantra this is biggest instrument. It was used to measure coordinates of astronomical objects. It’s 70 feet in height and its base spans 114 feet. The structure is 10 feet thick at the base. Its 128 feet long hypotenuse is parallel to the earth’s rotational axis.

It was so accurate that it could tell time with a maximum error of only two seconds.

The Ram Yantra was constructed inside the Jayaprakas Yantra and was used as a place to make observations using the Jayaprakash Yantra.

Ancient Planets

The Palace of Winds is the main heart of this pink city. This is the most prominent landmarks of this rich, cultural and architectural history. Hawa Mahal was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 and is located in the old city of Jaipur. This beautiful structure is made of pink and red sandstone, delineating it to the royal women so as to get an eyeful of the street festivals and the busy city life. The entire palace is in the shape of a crown of Lord Krishna with 953 windows.

The palace was designed essentially with a high screen wall as it was meant for royal women and queens; this let them enjoy the sight of the busy city life from behind these jharokas while remaining unseen from outside. The lattice was designed so as to let the breeze flow in the palace and keep it ventilated during hot summer months.The Palace is too cramped up and hence less people are allowed to go inside. The palace is situated right at the center of the city where the current tourists shop.

Wind at Heart Hawa Mahal Jaipur

The five-story palace offers a breathtaking view of Jaipur. It is interesting to note that the palace does not have any stairs to go to the top stories; it only has narrow ramps connecting the different floors. It was built in pink and red sandstone, in accordance with the other monuments of the city giving Jaipur its name, ‘Pink City’.

Hawa Mahal is a fusion of Rajput and Islamic architecture. In the domed canopies, floral patterns carved out on fluted pillars show the Rajput style of architecture; the stone inlay or filigree work and the beautiful arches of the palace remind us of the influence of Islamic architecture.

Standing at the heart of the Pink City, Hawa Mahal is a quintessence of the Rajasthan Royalty. To capture the best view, try to visit the palace in the early morning for a breathtaking view of the sunrise.

“Folk Tales always play a role in writing one way or another.”

Lal Chand Ustad had designed this palace in the shape of a pyramid with its façade similar to a honeycomb which is the symbol of the rich heritage of the Rajput’s. With windows carved out beautifully in a traditional Marwari design covered with intricate latticework.

Inside View

Jal Mahal Jaipur

Water Palace The Water Palace is situated on the middle of the Man Sagar Lake. This palace floats on the waters of the lake and is renovated by Maharaja Jai Singh II in the 18th century. Back in those days, this palace was a spot for the royal families as an area for duck shooting sessions. This palace has five storeys out of which the first four are under the water. It has been 200 years of its existence and yet the palace never fails to portray its architectural beauty. The visitors are just allowed to view the palace from a distance, the entry is strictly not allowed. The Chameli Garden is situated on the terrace of Jal Mahal. It has the best fragrance of flower from where the entire valley can be seen. The palace has exhibited loads of Rajput and Mughal paintings which features really great art and craft of Rajasthan.

“Follk Tales are the primer of the picture-language of the soul.�

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