The beautiful doors of Pitam Niwas Chowk, City Palace Jaipur

There are four doors in the Pitam Niwas courtyard at the City Palace, each of which is a work of art.

The most famous of them is the Peacock Door, dedicated to Vishnu.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

 Here's a closer look at the carved peacocks above the door:

Photo credit: Thomas Hart

The other doors are also beautiful: this one is called the Lotus Gate and is dedicated to Shiva and Parvati.

Photo credit: Thomas Hart

My favourite is the Green Gate, dedicated to Ganesh: it is not as ornate as the others but the colour and graded texture created by shades of green is just wow.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

And here is the last one, the Rose Gate dedicated to the Goddess:

Photo credit: Flickr

Each one is a gem, don't you think?

The Hill Forts of Rajasthan, Aravalli Range

I clicked this photo from one of the many viewing points in Amer Fort. You can see the Aravalli Hills in this photo. Beginning in Gujarat, near Ahmedabad, the Aravallis stretch across Rajasthan in a north-easterly direction, ending in Delhi.

The Aravallis are India's oldest mountain range. They define the ecology of Rajasthan, by providing a barrier to the Thar desert; they prevent the desert from growing. Several rivers originate in the Aravallis.

Many of Rajasthan's superb forts are located on hilltops in the Aravallis. Last year six of them were declared UNESCO World Heritage sites: Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambhore (Sawai Madhopur), Jhalawar, Jaipur, and Jaisalmer.  I've marked them out on a map below.

More information about the forts and how to visit them is in my article here.

The City Palace at Jaipur

City Palace is a complex of palaces, pavillions, gardens and temples spread over several acres, located to the northeast of central Jaipur. It was commissioned by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1729, who wished to shift his capital from Amer to Jaipur, due to water problems and an increase in the population. The City Palace, and in fact the entire city of Jaipur, was planned by an architect from Bengal, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya was guided by the Vaastu Shastra and the Shilpa Shaastras (ancient Hindu treatises on architecture, arts and crafts). But the Palace is also a fusion of Mughal and European styles with Rajput architecture.

Today, part of the Palace is a museum, as well as the residence of the current royal family. The most prominent structures in the complex are the Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Mukut Mahal, Maharani's Palace, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum.

Royal carriages at the City Palace, Jaipur

A collection of royal carriages at Jaipur's City Palace

The Leheriya - Jaipur's famous tie and dye

The monsoon season marks the beginning of Chaumaas, four auspicious months from July to October. In Rajasthan, these rainy months are associated with wearing leheriya sarees and turbans. Leheriya is a tie-dye (bandhani) pattern of diagonal stripes. 'Leheriya' means waves, and the design is evocative of soothing water. When diagonal stripes are added in the opposite direction too, the design is called "mothra".

Leheriya cloth is sold with its ties still in place as proof of its authenticity. A small section of the cloth is unfolded to display the pattern to prospective buyers.

Aluminium trunks for sale in Jaipur

Aluminum trunks for sale in the market. These are very popular for storing a wide range of things - clothes, bedding, books, household implements etc. May be gifted along with a bride's trousseau. Some vendors such as biscuit-wallas also use aluminum trunks.

Lord Shiva's sculpture at Albert Museum in Jaipur

Fine sandstone sculpture of Lord Shiva's head, 8th Century, in the Central Museum Jaipur (Albert Hall Museum). The finely chiseled facial features and the subtle smile show the high artistic and empathetic skills of the time. The third eye is clearly visible and the elaborate hair arrangement is beautiful.

The sculpture is from Baansi, near Udaipur. Bansi (or Baansi) is one of the principalities under the house of Mewar (Udaipur kingdom). It is about 2hrs drive from Udaipur, in Chittorgarh district, and known for its temples. The Shaktawats who ruled Bansi are patrilineal descendants of Prince Mir Shakti Singh, a brother of Maharana Pratap of Mewar dynasty. The area got its name from the many bamboo trees (baans) in the locality. It is primarily a Hindu area with many hills and temples.

Photo source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JCM-Shiva8Jh-SDIM1345.jpg  

Shila Mata Temple at Amber Fort, Jaipur

The Shila Mata (Stone Mother or Stone Goddess) temple at Amber Fort is dedicated to the Goddess Kali. Although Jaipur is known for its murtikars (idol carvers), this particular idol was not made in Jaipur, but came to Jaipur from far away Bengal.

Raja Mansingh I of Jaipur (1550 - 1614) was sent to Bengal by the Mughal Emperor Akbar to consolidate Mughal power in Bengal and to crush anyone who resisted Mughal overlordship. The chief opposition to the Mughals came from the Bengal Sultanate (Afghan chiefs who had broken away from the earlier Delhi Sultanate) and the local landed barons of Bengal (collectively called the "Baro Bhuiyan" or the Twelve Chiefs, although there were more than 12). 

Raja Mansingh I successfully quelled all oppposition, and was rewarded with three successive governorships of Bengal. Shila Devi was the patron deity of Kedar Ray, the Raja of Sripur (one of the Baro Bhuiyan). Mansingh carried away the idol from Sripur, brought it to Amer Fort and installed it in a temple. Along with the idol, Bengali priests also were brought to Jaipur, and their descendants continue to officiate at the temple.

Silver-engraved entrance door to the Shila Devi Temple at Amer Fort, photo from Wikipedia

The Shila Mata temple draws in large crowds during the winter Navratri (Festival of Nine Nights). People come not only from Jaipur city, but from the entire countryside around Jaipur. This year Navratri is between 25 Sep 2014 to 03 Oct 2014.

Navratri, or 'Nine Nights' is a widely celebrated Hindu festival. Within a year there are at least 5 different Navratris, but the most popular is the Sharada navratri (or Maha Navratri). It is believed that during these nine days the goddess Durga manifests herself in different forms, and each of these is worshipped. The last day of this Navratri corresponds with the festival of Dussehra. Dussehra has dual significance in Hinduism. While on one hand it is celebrated as the day which godess Durga slays the demon Mahishasura, it also marks the slaying of the demon king Ravana, by Lord Ram. Both events heavily emphasise on the victory of 'good over evil'.

A painting depicting goddess Durga as 'Mahishasurmardini' (The Slayer of the buffalo demon Mahish)

During this festival, Amer is very crowded, as many people offer prayers at Shila Mata temple. Crowds and elephants don't go well together; so there are usually no elephant rides during at Amer Fort during this period.

Samosa Stuffing in the making, Jaipur

Stuffing for samosa, being cooked in a large iron pan. It has potatoes, peas, garam masala and green chillies.

Hot-air Ballooning in Jaipur

Have you been hot air ballooning in Jaipur? That's the gorgeous Amer Fort underneath, and the Aravallis behind the Fort. What a great view. You can book tickets for the balloon ride here:

http://www.skywaltz.com/index.php

The marble carvers (murtikars) of Jaipur

In the mid-1700's, Sawai Jaisingh II invited artisans and sculptors to settle in the newly planned city of Jaipur. You can still see them at work.

The photo below is of a murtikaar's assistant cleaning marble in the walled city. In the bottom left corner of the photo you can see "geru", that is powdered red stone, mixed with water. This is used by the assistant to highlight or mark areas of the sculpture which need more finishing or more detailed work.

The murtikars and their descendants continue to work the traditional way, and as their fame has grown, demand for their sculptures comes from all over India. Many sculptures for temples outside India also are made in Jaipur.

The themes are usually statues of gods and goddesses, such as the ones you see in this photo. But they also often make busts of political leaders, educators, etc, based on custom commissions.

Originally the murtikaars were Brahmins; but many other communities have joined this profession.

Stacked ghevar, Jaipur

You can see stacks of the popular Rajasthani sweet, Ghevar at Jaipur's popular sweet mart, LMB.

It is a disk-shaped sweet, normally prepared from oil, flour and sugar syrup. Sometimes eaten plain, and sometimes it is topped with malai (cream) or mawa (dried full-fat milk). You can also eat it with milk, or the milk based sweet, kheer.

Ghevar is traditionally associated with the festival of Teej, where women pray for the well-being of their husbands, and raksha bandhan, that celebrates the bond of between a sister and brother.

Crafts of Rajasthan - Kundan and Meenakari

In 1735, the Surana family of jewellers came from Delhi to Jaipur, at the invitation of Maharajah Sawai Jai Singh II. They remain one of Jaipur's most renowned jewellers, offering both traditional and modern styles of jewellery. Today they are the 7th generation of jewellers!

A typical combination of meenakari (enamelling) and jadai/ kundan (embedding) work.

What you see above is a restored, traditional piece, called 'Aad' (neck choker). It would require inputs of 5 skilled specialists:
- the designer (chitera)
- the goldsmith (sunar)
- the engraver and enameller (meenakar)
- the gemsetter (jadiya)
- the stringer (patua) 

Often, opposite sides of a piece of jewellery will be decorated with Meenakari work and Kundan work respectively. The ornament then can be worn either way.

The art of "kundan" or "jadai", i.e. the art of embedding, was introduced into India by the Mughals. Gold foil is used as the base, and precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc) are embedded into it. The glittering effect is fabulous, because the foil enables more light to reflect off and through the stone. Try wearing kundan and standing near candle-light or any kind of lights. It looks brilliant.

Meenakari (enamelling) is the art of decorating a metal surface by fusing colourful mineral substances to it. The technique also came to India from Persia during Mughal times. The salai (pattern) is engraved/carved onto the gold object with a steel stylus, creating walls or grooves that will hold colour. The meenakar then fills colourful enamel powder into the grooves - cobalt oxide for blue, copper oxide for green, etc. They apply each colour seprately and melt the powder in the heat of a furnace, so that it becomes liquid and spreads evenly in the groove.The heat-resistant white is applied first, and red is applied last. Finally, the object is cleaned in a tamarind solution and polished.

In the 16th century, Raja Man Singh of Amber invited master enamellers from the Mughal palace at Lahore to Jaipur. Today Jaipur is the center of Meenakari production. Flower, foliage and animals are the most popular motifs, and traditional Mughal colours like red, green and white are dominant in Jaipur's meenakari work. Meenakari work though is not limited to jewellery. You will find it being used in everything from palace decoration to regular shoe-pieces. These beautiful meenakari elephants are a great option to take home.

The famous blue pottery of Jaipur

Look at these colours! This is Jaipur's famous blue pottery, which came to India from Persia, via Kashmir, in the 14th century. The Mughals also began using them; primarily in the form of tiles to embellish monuments. Through the Mughal influence, it travelled to Jaipur. The rulers of Jaipur were partial to blue-glazed ware. Blue tiles were used in the building of the city of Jaipur, but they disappeared soon after. 

 In the 1960's, Kripal Singh Shekhawat of Jaipur revived the art of blue pottery which had become dead. Kripal Singhji, a trained artist, researched and brought back the methods of creating blue glaze. He created innovative designs and also came up with new shades of green, yellow, brown, black etc. For his tremendous contribution to blue pottery, he was conferred the “Padma Shri” in 1974 and was also honoured with the title “Shilp Guru” by the Government of India in 2002. His family continues the tradition at Kripal Kumbh, and you can purchase pottery from them if you visit Jaipur.

The photo below was taken in a workshop in Sanganer, a crafts village near Jaipur. Sanganer famous for its paper factory, block printing workshops and for some pottery workshops. 

Amer Fort, Jaipur

Cara, Rosh and Judith in Jaipur. In this photo you can see the restoration work at the palace of mirrors in Amer.