Jaipurapalooza.
The Amber Fort is the striking striking fort and palace that is just outside Jaipur. It was built from pale yellow and pink sandstone and white marble starting in 1592. There is a small lake that reflects the fort and in the early morning light, it was glowing.
It is a wonderful example of what is called Rajput architecture. This is different from Mughal architecture (Taj Mahal style). More on that when I get to Agra.
The best way to get up to the fort is by elephant. My first elephant ride was, with some work, a wonderful experience. I know it is touristy, and some would say even cheesy, but it is what you make it, and I wanted it to be special. So I chatted up the elephant driver, and had the best time.
Our driver was named Ali and he was Muslim. We chatted about how important Ali is to Islam, and I asked him if he was Sunni or Shia - as expected, he was Sunni. We chatted about Lakshmi, the elephant. After getting her name, I asked her age (27), then Ali's (26). We laughed about the elephant being older than him. He told me that the elephants go up and down the route to the Fort about seven times each day, then have a rest.
After disembarking from the elephants, we started at the Diwan-I-Am, the Hall of Public Audience which has double row of pink and white columns, each topped with an image of an elephant.
I revealed myself as a photographer and a manager of people when trying to clear the way for a picture of a particularly beautiful building interest. I flat out told people to wait, then told some of the group to get into the building so they were out of my shot. After that, I don't think I'm the nice quiet one anymore. The upside is that people get out of my shots now.
Then the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) was revealed. The ceiling is covered in mirrors and inlaid panels, all glittering. A lot of Indian architecture is Prsian-inspired, and this place was reminiscence of Iran. The palace I saw there with the mirrors, and the glittering mosque. Persians traveled to India and brought their religion, language and architecture styles with them. In fact, The official language of Pakistan is Urdu. This is a mixture of the Persian spoken by the Mughal rulers and Hindi. Mumtaz Mahal's (the lady of the Taj Mahal) grandfather was a Persian.
We were driven down from the fort in jeeps. Getting to that car was an adventure all in itself. I wished I had an elephant then. The crush of people, cars, jeeps, and motorcycles was nearly impossible to negotiate. Once we loaded into the back of the jeep, a woman with no hands started begging, hitting us with her stumps. Many people were very upset by this, rightfully so.
After that wonderful morning at the Fort, we paused for shopping. There are some big time shoppers on this trip. Unfortunately, I did come to shop. There are some beautiful things here, jewelry and textiles, but nothing I can't live without. I've picked up a few trinkets thus far.
During lunch I had a great conversation with the professional videographer who is filming our trip for the travel company about photography and different options for furthering my interests. She's been very encouraging after seeing some of my photos and I see that as quite an achievement.
After lunch, we visited The City Palace, which, as the name implies, sits smack in the center of The Pink City. It has been enlarged and modified over the centuries, a blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture and styles. When we entered the first gate, we saw a brightly colored puppet stand. For a tip, the man played music and saw three style of puppet dancing (beautiful lady dancing, snake and snake charmer dancing, and Michael Jackson dancing). The Michael Jackson puppet gyrated pretty much like the original, which much have quoted some special puppeteering skill.
Inside is an inner courtyard there were beautiful gates that represented the seasons. The Peacock Gate, the Lotus Gate, the Green Gate, and the Rose Gate. They were grandiose and beautiful.
Inside the Mubarak Mahal (Welcome Palace), there was a portrait of Sawai Madho Singh. Madan said he weighed around 500 lbs. I pointed out that the little plaque said the portrait was rare because it depicted him as "rather large in size." We got a laugh out of that gentle, politically correct description.
His tunic and pants are on display. while the guide book described him as "a cuddly 2 m. tall, 1.2 meters wide," all I can say is that those pants were wider than my arm span.
Between sites here I have to run the hawker gauntlet. They vary in aggressiveness, and can be exasperating. Nobody wants to believe that you just don't want anything. Everything is quite cheap, especially if you haggle for it - or simply keep walking. One guy selling brass shoe horns did this: "Madam, brass home horn, only $30....ok, $20......ok, $10....ok, $3." He was practically haggling with himself.
Jantar Mantar, besides having the best rhyming name ever, is a World Heritage site, began by Jai Singh in 1728. It is full of Astronomy instruments, made on a grand scale. Giant sundials, astrological tools, and tools measuring time. It was blazing hot towards the end of the day, around 90 degrees with the sun beating down.
We drove back to the hotel and I ran across the street to the lake to take pictures of Jal Mahal. This "Water Palace" was built in 1799 as a summer palace for the royal family, but is currently abandoned.
Overall, it was an exhausting day. So I loaded my pictures, recharged my batteries both literally and metaphorically, and kicked back and watch MTV India for awhile. The videos are mini-Bollywood productions that are, of course, quite catchy. The gyrating hips, the simulated sex, the thrusting breasts, all lead up to the heroine kissing the hero with her hand over his mouth. MTV is also playing an ad for an Indian horror movie that looks not very scary ("His love is what they fear most."). They also run a Road Rules like show that is filmed exactly in the same way, same "confessional" type, and challenges. Even the girls screaming at each other is the same. This is a very bad example of an American culture export. However, it is in Hindi, with English words and phrases sprinkled in...so it does make for some confusing entertainment.
The Amber Fort is the striking striking fort and palace that is just outside Jaipur. It was built from pale yellow and pink sandstone and white marble starting in 1592. There is a small lake that reflects the fort and in the early morning light, it was glowing.
It is a wonderful example of what is called Rajput architecture. This is different from Mughal architecture (Taj Mahal style). More on that when I get to Agra.
The best way to get up to the fort is by elephant. My first elephant ride was, with some work, a wonderful experience. I know it is touristy, and some would say even cheesy, but it is what you make it, and I wanted it to be special. So I chatted up the elephant driver, and had the best time.
Our driver was named Ali and he was Muslim. We chatted about how important Ali is to Islam, and I asked him if he was Sunni or Shia - as expected, he was Sunni. We chatted about Lakshmi, the elephant. After getting her name, I asked her age (27), then Ali's (26). We laughed about the elephant being older than him. He told me that the elephants go up and down the route to the Fort about seven times each day, then have a rest.
After disembarking from the elephants, we started at the Diwan-I-Am, the Hall of Public Audience which has double row of pink and white columns, each topped with an image of an elephant.
I revealed myself as a photographer and a manager of people when trying to clear the way for a picture of a particularly beautiful building interest. I flat out told people to wait, then told some of the group to get into the building so they were out of my shot. After that, I don't think I'm the nice quiet one anymore. The upside is that people get out of my shots now.
Then the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) was revealed. The ceiling is covered in mirrors and inlaid panels, all glittering. A lot of Indian architecture is Prsian-inspired, and this place was reminiscence of Iran. The palace I saw there with the mirrors, and the glittering mosque. Persians traveled to India and brought their religion, language and architecture styles with them. In fact, The official language of Pakistan is Urdu. This is a mixture of the Persian spoken by the Mughal rulers and Hindi. Mumtaz Mahal's (the lady of the Taj Mahal) grandfather was a Persian.
We were driven down from the fort in jeeps. Getting to that car was an adventure all in itself. I wished I had an elephant then. The crush of people, cars, jeeps, and motorcycles was nearly impossible to negotiate. Once we loaded into the back of the jeep, a woman with no hands started begging, hitting us with her stumps. Many people were very upset by this, rightfully so.
After that wonderful morning at the Fort, we paused for shopping. There are some big time shoppers on this trip. Unfortunately, I did come to shop. There are some beautiful things here, jewelry and textiles, but nothing I can't live without. I've picked up a few trinkets thus far.
During lunch I had a great conversation with the professional videographer who is filming our trip for the travel company about photography and different options for furthering my interests. She's been very encouraging after seeing some of my photos and I see that as quite an achievement.
After lunch, we visited The City Palace, which, as the name implies, sits smack in the center of The Pink City. It has been enlarged and modified over the centuries, a blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture and styles. When we entered the first gate, we saw a brightly colored puppet stand. For a tip, the man played music and saw three style of puppet dancing (beautiful lady dancing, snake and snake charmer dancing, and Michael Jackson dancing). The Michael Jackson puppet gyrated pretty much like the original, which much have quoted some special puppeteering skill.
Inside is an inner courtyard there were beautiful gates that represented the seasons. The Peacock Gate, the Lotus Gate, the Green Gate, and the Rose Gate. They were grandiose and beautiful.
Inside the Mubarak Mahal (Welcome Palace), there was a portrait of Sawai Madho Singh. Madan said he weighed around 500 lbs. I pointed out that the little plaque said the portrait was rare because it depicted him as "rather large in size." We got a laugh out of that gentle, politically correct description.
His tunic and pants are on display. while the guide book described him as "a cuddly 2 m. tall, 1.2 meters wide," all I can say is that those pants were wider than my arm span.
Between sites here I have to run the hawker gauntlet. They vary in aggressiveness, and can be exasperating. Nobody wants to believe that you just don't want anything. Everything is quite cheap, especially if you haggle for it - or simply keep walking. One guy selling brass shoe horns did this: "Madam, brass home horn, only $30....ok, $20......ok, $10....ok, $3." He was practically haggling with himself.
Jantar Mantar, besides having the best rhyming name ever, is a World Heritage site, began by Jai Singh in 1728. It is full of Astronomy instruments, made on a grand scale. Giant sundials, astrological tools, and tools measuring time. It was blazing hot towards the end of the day, around 90 degrees with the sun beating down.
We drove back to the hotel and I ran across the street to the lake to take pictures of Jal Mahal. This "Water Palace" was built in 1799 as a summer palace for the royal family, but is currently abandoned.
Overall, it was an exhausting day. So I loaded my pictures, recharged my batteries both literally and metaphorically, and kicked back and watch MTV India for awhile. The videos are mini-Bollywood productions that are, of course, quite catchy. The gyrating hips, the simulated sex, the thrusting breasts, all lead up to the heroine kissing the hero with her hand over his mouth. MTV is also playing an ad for an Indian horror movie that looks not very scary ("His love is what they fear most."). They also run a Road Rules like show that is filmed exactly in the same way, same "confessional" type, and challenges. Even the girls screaming at each other is the same. This is a very bad example of an American culture export. However, it is in Hindi, with English words and phrases sprinkled in...so it does make for some confusing entertainment.
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