Our first
night in Jaipur ended on an epic note with vodka cocktail we made in our room
coupled with funny videos on YouTube. Next morning we were determined to
explore more places than going berserk over skirts and shoes. We were on a
major ‘money-saving’ mission so we went for a humble breakfast session. (Huh.
Shoes are more important than food.) After that we hopped on a toto whose driver
was determined to take us to some market and we were adamant about not going
there. So as a result he refused to take us and we had to find another vehicle.
That’s another thing about Jaipur – every single auto driver will want to
take you to some market or shop that inevitably offers the cheapest and the
best rate. We managed to dodge some; we fell prey to some.
In between
another thing happened that I must mention here. I was out of cash so we headed
to a nearby SBI ATM after breakfast. We saw no crowd outside but a cluster of
people surrounding the machine inside. Apparently nobody in Jaipur would mind a
thing if you poke your nose while someone is drawing their money. I was on my ‘incredible
India’ mode and found this to be pretty interesting. If the same thing happened
in Calcutta? Well, people would start quarreling so much that everyone would
end up forgetting their respective ATM pins. But as I said, Jaipur is that quintessential
Indian city where nothing really seems odd. You can simply shrug and say, “Well,
we are Indians after all” and move on. Nobody would bat an eyelid.
Jaipur’s
Jantar Mantar was one of the five observatories built by Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh II during the eighteenth century. Neither of us understood anything about
a single instrument but we were just happy to be roaming in a place that did
not exhibit a shameless display of unjustly acquired wealth. Not to mention it
has a breathtaking view of the Amer Fort. The only that I could relate to was
the Rashi Valaya Yantra or the Zodiac Cycle.
 |
| Sagittarius! |
After Jantar
Mantar we bought ourselves some Rajasthani matka kulfis and headed for our next
destination – Jal Mahal. It was a disappointment. We had thought we would get
to visit the palace but we ended up in the park across the lake with the palace
in the background. We are Jupiter children so we know how not to remain bogged
down by disappointment for long. So we opted for a photoshoot in traditional
attire and by the time we left the park and boarded the bus to Amer Fort we
were feeling excited again.
Amer Fort
was the most amazing place we visited in Jaipur. The massive structure perched
on a hilltop is visible from various parts of Jaipur but when the bus halted in
front of it we got off with our mouths open. Amer Fort is beautiful. It was built
during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh and it remained the centre of the
Kachwaha dynasty until Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II shifted the capital to Jaipur
in 1727, owing to a severe water crisis in Amer.
Amer Fort is
best explored with a guide, and preferably with a Govt. appointed one. The private
ones lurk about outside the main premises of the fort. It is advisable not to
fall prey to their ardent calls. We took a Govt. approved one and he showed us
around the entire palace with much gusto and devotion. We roamed about in Diwan-e-aam, Diwan-e-khaas, Sheesh mahal, queens’ apartment with him explaining the history
of everything. The details of the motifs at the Sheesh Mahal were as amazing as
the engineering of the place. The funniest and the saddest part came with the
queens’ residence. Raja Man Singh had twelve queens. And every queen had her
own apartment with a secret passage from the king’s apartment connecting each
of them. So that the horny king could visit whomsoever he wished without
inducing jealousy or resentment among others. Not to mention, the queens were
not allowed to interact with each other. We couldn’t suppress our appalled laughter when our
guide explained to us with a very serious face that none of the maid-servants
were allowed to spend night with a queen in order to prevent any homosexual
activity during the king’s long absence owing to a war or something. Chauvinism
and misogyny at its best.
However, the
tour through the fort was a great experience. And we ended our tour upon
deciding that we were better off being normal, peasant people. Being queen is not
our cup of tea.
The ancient
village of Amer could be seen from the fort. It consists of several old temples
and dilapidated houses, some of them were abandoned. It was our sheer great
luck that we got to visit a Krishna temple nearby. The priest’s assistant was
beside himself seeing unusual visitors and he told us the detailed history of
the temple and its idol. He also mentioned that only the lucky ones got to see Meerbai’s
Lord Krishna residing there. All my life I have never been much of religious
person. But I can spot a subtle change in me these days. And when the garrulous
Rajput guy was putting heavenly smelling sandalwood teeka on our forehead, I could feel a lump in my throat. I didn’t know I could
be worthy of a lucky encounter with the god.
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