Jaipur, a capital city of the state of Rajasthan in India, is famous for its palaces and monuments.The city was founded by Maharaja MannSingh-II.
After facing many battles with Marathas, the Maharaja Maan Singh took security as a main concern and consulted various architects for the construction of the city of victory.
So Jaipur is india’s first planned city.The city was constructed based on principles of the Vaastu Shastras. The Maharaja Maan Singh had a great interest in Science and Mathematics too. So he consulted various scholars too for the planned construction of this beautiful city.
Our rich Indian history has witnessed many foreign guests and one such occasion was the visit of Prince of Whales to the city of Jaipur. To welcome him the city was painted all pink and since then Jaipur is also famous as The Pink City of India.
Jaipur is a city of rich cultural heritage in India. And the royal families still resides here in the City Palace. Though after Independence this city is also run by municipal authorities with democratically appointed members like any other city of India.
I was amazed to know that Jaipur is among few parts of India that remained untouched by the British rule.
The city has various museums, palaces & Forts, Gardens and also the famous theatre Rajmandir. So its one of the famous tourists destination of India.
Today’s post is dedicated to Amber fort of Jaipur city.
I planned my visit to Jaipur in September. I had three days off and I wanted to make a good use of it. This time the top most destination in my to-visit list was this royal city of palaces.
There is a good connectivity from Delhi to jaipur by road as well as rail. I preferred Volvo Bus services and booked my tickets online. I did my office on Friday and at night took the bus. It was quite comfortable journey and I reached my destination early in the morning. My hotel was booked prior too. The tourism is one important industry of Rajasthan and so here too there were many hotels offering many discounts, best services, pick up and drop up (without any extra charge) to lure the tourists.
So the chauffeur was sent to picked me too from the bus stop. I reached hotel much before my check in time but then also I was attended with the warm hospitality. They gave me the pool side wash room to change and freshen up. This was the first time that I used pool facility before even I checked in 😀
After that I was escorted to their roof top restaurant. The morning was calm and peaceful. I had a breakfast and tea in the company of birds who sang beautifully to me. The day 1 of my trip started well. Hotel Umaid Bhavan, they serve one of the best tea, do try their Masala tea if you get a chance to visit them. Most of the hotels will give you the look and feel of Palace in terms of their grand rooms and decor. Right from the entrance to all the corners of the hotel,even the stairs had an antique decor.
My Cab was booked by a friend of mine. And I started soon after check-in to my room (which was handed over to me 2 hours before the usual check-in time). Though it was September but still weather wasn’t pleasant so I decided to cover the Amber fort first as it gets difficult to enjoy the visit to palace if sun is on your head. Amber fort,also known as Amer fort, is situated 11kms away from Jaipur.
I reached their by 10 am. The tickets and the guide were available at the cheap rates. There were three ways to reached the Amber Fort which is situated at the hill top. I was told the strategic location was chosen from the security point of view. There were stairway for on footers, a vehicle if you aren’t comfortable in walking and also the option to ride on the elephant to experience the royalty at its best. I preferred the vehicle top escape the sun and to reach their quickly as both the other options would have taken me more time to reach to the palace.
On my way to the palace I saw the old city of Amer, it is still there. The ruins of old havelli depicts the tale of old city which was once the home to Kachchavas.
When you are visiting any historical monument it is always advisable to take a guide or you can also choose the audio guided tour. The reason why I prefer guide over audio guided tour is because of the stories told by these people which is not there on the audio tape. These stories make me feel more connected to the place. It was also told by the guide that before Jaipur, it was this city was made the capital but then due to ever growing population and the scarcity of water, the capital was shifted to jaipur.
Now as the Amber fort was grand and to depict its grandness through my words will also make this post a very long one 🙂
Soon we reached to the grand Amber fort. The beautifully constructed palace depicts the style of both th Hindu and the Rajputs style. The fort overlooks the Maota lake at the entrance and the reflection of the palace can be seen in the lake making it more beautiful.
The guide told me how in ancient days they used to have water pump facilities(manually inbuilt). Whenever the palace used to face the water crisis, the water from this lake was used to fulfil the water requirements.
The intricate carvings on the walls and ceilings inside the fort astonished me and it was hard to believe that it was all done manually.
There were many gates in the palace but the most famous were
Suraj Pol- The gate at the entrance was traditionally decorated. The pol means gate. This gate leads us to Jaleb Chowk, a square open area where they used to welcome army personnel after their return from the battle field.
Beyond this gate is a famous temple of Amer fort, the temple of Shila mata (goddess Kali).
Ganesh Pol- The gate at the next entrance was used by the queen to welcome the king after their victory. This gate is surrounded by the gardens depicting the Mughal style. The entrance in the garden is barred for the common public which makes it easy for the authorities to maintain them .
The guide lead me to the two main halls of the palace- Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas.
Needless to say both the halls were have beautifully decorated walls and ceilings,quiet different from each other.
Diwan-e-Aam was used by the king to hear and solve the ordeal of the common public.
Diwan-e-Khas was far more beautiful than diwan-e-Aam and was used by a king to meet special guests and friends.
The other major attractions of the fort was Sukh Niwas and Sheesh Mahal.
I was enjoying every bit but the hunger pang was interrupting the fun so the guide took me to the CCD outlet (which I wasn’t aware of ). After satisfying my hunger and also giving 15 minutes break to my feet I started again.
We reached Sukh Niwas, which was used by the king as palace to spend time with the queens and mistresses. There was a channel running through this hall to artificially lowering down the temperature of the hall. Isn’t it amazing that they knew such techniques in 15th century too.
Now the part of he palace about which I had heard a lot and you must have also heard about it too. Yes, the sheesh mahal, famous song from the movie Mughal-e-Azam was shot here. With the numerous coloured glasses, patterned mosaics,and glasses all over the walls and ceilings made this place a master piece in itself. Thousands of flickering reflections made this place colourful and full of life. The guide told me that even a single ray ofvlight is suffice to lit and enlighten this beautiful palace which was built for a queen.
My tour to Amer fort was nearing its end. The guide requested me to watch the evening light and sound show but I wasn’t lucky enough to be a spectator of that show which is ruined every evening from 6:30-7:30pm. The duration of the show is 50 minutes. I was told that its a real royal journey and it show the sovereign, monument and ancient anecdotes of the pink city.
Well taking this as note and promise to visit it again sometime I bid adieu to this grand palace.
We came down and the guide took me to the nearby shops located inside the premises of the fort itself. I bought some bandhani duppatas and a bed sheet from their. Though they were over priced but I was too tired to bargain. So you better check out for good bargain.
Stay tuned for the next destination.
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