Moti Dungri (Ganesh
Temple)
In the middle of Jaipur rises a small hill
Moti Dungri meaning pearl hill, because
it looks hill a drop of pearl. An exotic
palace is parched which is a replica of
Scottish castle once occupied by Maharaja
Madho Singh's son. From There on remained
as a private property of the ruling family.
In the recent past it served as a home for
Rajmata Gaytri Devi and her estranged son
Jagat Singh. The mere view of this castle
is exotic enough. The highlight of this
place is the famous and auspicious temple
of Lord Ganesh, which is frequently visited
by almost whole of Jaipur and people from
outside.
Hawa Mahal
Poet king Sawai Pratap Singh built this
palace of winds. This is the most easily
recalled landmarks of Jaipur and is also
its icon. Located in the city Palace it
is best viewed from the outside for the
palace is really a facade. This five-storey
building overlooking the busy bazaar street
is a stunning example of Rajput architecture
and artistry with its pink delicately honeycombed
953 sandstone windows known as 'jharokhas'.
It was originally built for the ladies of
the royal household to watch everyday life
and processions in the city from their veiled
comfort.
City palace
Located in the heart of the walled city,
The City Palace Complex gives you an idea
about the farsightedness of the founder
of Jaipur Sawai Jai Singh. He left behind
a legacy of some of the most imposing and
magnificent architecture, art and craft
structure in the city. Sawai Jai Singh built
its many buildings but some of some of the
structures were also built by later rulers
and some of them are even dated in the in
the twentieth century too. The palace is
a blend of Mughal and Rajasthani architecture
and the royal family still lives in a part
of the palace.
On entering the complex and before the palace
proper lies the Mubarak Mahal, the palace
of welcome or reception. Sawai Madho Singh
built the palace in the nineteenth century.
It was used as a reception centre for the
visiting personage. The building now forms
the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum and
on display here are a wide array of royal
costumes, some very exquisite and precious
Pashmina (Kashmiri) Shawls, Benaras silk
saris, Sanganeri prints and folk embroidery.
An unusual display is that of voluminous
clothes worn by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh
I (ruled 1750-68).
The Maharani's Palace, the palace of the
Queen paradoxically puts a display of the
Rajput weaponry. The inestimable collections
of weapons date back to even 15th century
and are in a remarkable state of preservation.
Remarkable amongst them is scissor-action
dagger. This deadly weapon when thrust in
bodies the handles were release to spread
the blades. The dagger was then withdrawn
tearing limb from limb of the body of the
hapless victim into certain fatality. Other
exhibits include protective chain armours,
pistols, jewelled and ivory handled swords,
a belt sword, small and assorted cannons,
guns, poison tipped blades and gun powder
pouches. The frescos on the ceiling are
amazing and well preserved.
Jantar Mantar:-
Across the road from the palaces is the
famous JANTAR MANTAR one of the five observatories
in India . Built by Sawai Jai Singh, this
is one of the largest and the best preserved.
A passionate hobby of the king in the field
of Astronomy, numerology, insighted him
to execute this observatory and with the
help of skilled labourers, they managed
to create a collection of complex astronomical
instruments chiselled out of stone and most
of which continues to provide accurate information
to this day. The most striking instrument
is the Brihat Samrat yantra Sundial, an
imposing yellow edifice to the far right
of the observatory complex which has a 27m
high gnomon arm set at an angle of 27degree.The
shadow this casts moves up to 4m in an hour,
and aids in the calculation of local and
meridian pass time and various attributes
of the heavenly bodies, including declination
the angular distance of a heavenly body
from the celestial equator and altitude.
This highlight of the observatory has made
it a centre of attraction for the tourist
visiting Jaipur.
Albert hall:-
Located just outside the walled city is
the sprawling Ram Niwas garden, which has
always been a place for recreational activities
since the reign of Sawai Ram Singh ji .
This exquisitely designed garden with forcentry
doors and a huge complex with small pools
and fountains, flourishing lawns and beautiful
flower beds all around was basically a famine
relief project. It mostly attracted the
British families where they entertained
their guest and families quite often with
the lavish gowns of the Men and formal colourful
attires of the nobels and the high society
club members, this park would come alive
with the setting sun. Their individual 'BAGGIS'
were parked outside in a line and the attendants
served around as helpers. The children basically
had a gala timely playing around in 'JHULAS'(swing)
etc. During day time it was opened for the
common public and by the evening it was
opened for common public and by the evening
it was available for exclusive lots.
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