Jaipur is located in the province of Rajasthan, different from that of Delhi and Agra and more influenced by the Raj than the Mughals. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who planned the city was unable to afford red stone as a building material so as a second best, he painted all the buildings pink and so that is how it is known, as the pink city. Unlike the forts we'd visited, the palace had been recently used by the British and the Raj king. The reception area was completely intact with large raised platform beautifully carpeted under a huge chandelier and with chairs lined all around the square space. Pictures of the Raj and his audience with Lord Mount Batten were also on display. There was the courtyard of the different seasons where much of the dancing takes place and they still film Bollywood movies. The armoury was also interesting with its many daggers and swords and shields and old flint lock guns. A decorated paper mâché horse was also on display. Apparently, it was used to parade into a city that the army was about to attack. The defending leaders could either accept its presence or go to war.
Yes, dude knew he was having his picture taken.
The Jantar Mantar was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II1 who had a keen interest in astronomy. Each of these fantastic shapes at are meant to measure the location of a celestial body in the heavens. There's one for each of the zodiac signs and the sun and the moon. Today, it resembles a modern art installation more than a relic of the 1700s. Many of the objects were curved with measurements along the edge of the curve and a series of steps along the curve. (I haven't investigated how these instruments were actually used.).
From here we meandered the streets trying to find the Palace of the Winds where the wives and concubines were kept. This is a fantastic looking building that looks like dominoes lain vertically on a table, one just overlapping the other with the top cut in a half moon. Of course it's all painted red. The women lived around three stories of courtyards with their only view of the world being stone screens where they could look out but no one could look in. A courtyard for socializing with the raj was on the main floor while another, smaller one for the wives was built on the story above. I believe the concubines lived on the top floor. Rooms were build around the courtyard for socializing, eating, sleeping, cooking, and voiding. Rooms facing the street had windows with coloured glass so creating a rainbow effect in the room but also making it possible for the women to look out onto the street and no one able to see in.
We got lost trying to find the parking lot and our driver ending up in another, auxiliary lot where one goat was standing atop one of the newer cars licking bird shit off the roof. Eventually he got tired of standing and lay down to enjoy his feast. Other drivers or lot attendants didn't seem to give the goat a moments thought. Weird country.
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