History and Culture of Jaipur

The city of victory “Jaipur” a city on the Golden triangle tour, the cities of Agra and Delhi were the seat of mughal sultans all the monuments in Delhi and Agra have an Islamic touch there are grand Jama mosque both in Agra and Delhi. The lanes, mohallas, Katras bear the similar nomenclature in Agra and Delhi. Jaipur is the most different out of this trio. Jaipur is seat of Kachchwahas the Hindu rajpur rulers so while on Golden triangle tour look forward to see beautiful palaces and temples made by the Rajput rulers of Jaipur. The seat of Amer was of the meena rulers Raja Alan Singh a meena founded the settlement of Amer in 967BC

The now famous Amber Fort was initially constructed by king Man Singh in seventeenth century. King Man Singh was the commander of the forces of mughal king Akbar he is known to have led many military campaigns successfully and subjugated a large area to the Mughal Empire. He help a positive of extreme respect and pride in the court of the mughal emperor Akbar.

Son of Raja Man Singh Mirja Raja Jai Singh after acceding to the royal throne added his contribution to the Amber fort. He was a powerful ruler. His son Sawaai Raja Jai Singh II the title of sawaai was accorded to the king by the emperor Aurangzeb as he was impressed by the gallantry of Raja Jai Singh II even today a small quarter flag flies atop the flag of Jaipur royalty signaling the title sawaai. Sawaai Raja Jai Singh had great interest in astronomy and astrology he is known to have made the Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Jaipur, these are the observatories where many a set of ancient astronomical instruments were built Sawaai Raja Jai Singh II in 1727 laid the foundation of a new city, a city built in commemoration of victory "Jaipur". As the king had penchant for astronomy and astrology he in consultation with his friend philosopher and guide a Brahman Pandit Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya laid the fountain of a planned city in accordance with the established principles of Vastu shashtra.The city was a walled city comprising of Palaces, office buildings for the smooth functioning of the royal government. The city was divided into nine blocks. Seven were reserved for the public and two were resourced for construction of Palatial complex and other government structures. The high walls around the city were very much in accordance to being a kind of fortification, a total of seven gates opened up into the inner area of the walled city. Jaipur probably is the first planned city of India. The planning too is of very high quality markets, alleys all were laid with a very profound meticulous planning, there were schools, hospitals all incorporated into the layout. Jaipur the princely city has a majority Hindu population major festivals celebrated here with utmost vigor are the Hindu festivals like Deepavali, Gangour and Holi, clothes and out fits of Jaipur.

Jaipur being a part of the desert state has a very hot summer, the residents of the desert state love bright colours, the rajputi dresses of women comprises of a long lehenga also called as ghangra, It is a actually a long skirt worn with a choli (top) known as Kurti. This dress is made in different fabrics cotton, silk, georgette etc. the Rajasthani touch is very evident in the mirror work, bead work, prints of tie and dye(Bandhej). The odhni a kind of veil is a long cloth displaying various colours and designs. The males can be distinguished with a colourful turban known as "pagdi". The males today largely have adopted the western style of dressing only the females even today ascribe to the ethnic way of dressing. The females can be ascertained from the looks and jewellery they wear whether the young ladyy is a newly wed or a virgin. The form of the turban also tells a lot abort caste, social stature of the person wearing the same.

Cuisine: - As Jaipur has a hot and sultry weather so the cuisine of Jaipur is hot, mirchi bada, Dal batti, Pyaz ki Kachori are various dishes of Jaipur having a very profound chilly flavor. Various dishes made from gram flour, Kadhi, Pakoras (fritters) of various kinds make up the stable food of Jaipur. Wheat, corn, millets is the staple diet of the people. Do not forget to taste the Dal Baati choorma and the Rajasthani Thali while you are on Jaipur tour.

Language: - The people of Jaipur today come from various parts of India and today Hindi is the main language of the city but few decades back the Rajasthani language was spoken largely by the masses, other dialects of Rajasthani like Marwari, Bagri etc were also spoken but in small percentage.

Fairs and Festivals: - As the majority people follow Hinduism the main festivals belong to the Hindu religion. The entire walled city is specially decorated on occasion of Diwali the festival of lights. The MI Road is also decorated with strings of light bulbs, Gangour a festival celebrated by the women folk of Jaipur is a 18 day festival, the city adorns an air of festivity during the Gangour festival other festivals like teej and fairs such as chaksU fair, shitla mata fair are held. Now many modern festivals have been added to the list, Jaipur is now known for its Jaipur literature festival, kite festival and elephant festival.

Art and crafts: - During the mughal era the cities Delhi and Agra were major centres of attraction the craftsmen such as jewelers were settled in Agra and Delhi but after the mughal power faded away most of these craftsmen moved to the new city of Jaipur. Jaipur became a major center of art and craft. The art of making and coloring the textile, jewellery making, block printing, Enamel based jewellery, tie and dye(Bandhej), sculptors, meenakari, Zardozi, Kashikari, the leather art.