Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan state of India which is located in the northwestern part of the country. This city is known for its characteristic richness in tradition and culture of the region. The city is so rich in history and culture that the region has been given the name of ‘Pink City of India’. The city has many palaces and temples which are distributed throughout the city. Also, gardens are easily located in this city. Some of these were built during times in history. Although Delhi is the political and the national capital of India, Jaipur is well known as the cultural capital of the country.
Jaipur was built in an arid region in the state of Rajasthan. The Rajasthani capital was built initially as a walled city. Jaipur is the first planned city of the country. This was built by the king of Amber known as Raja Sawai Jai Singh II who came up with the idea of building this city because of the problem of scarcity of water in his kingdom of Amber and the increasing number of people in his empire. The king decided to build the city with the help of an architect from Bengal known as Vidyasagar Bhattacharya. These people decided to build the city according to the ‘vastushastra’.
This is well known as the science of construction that the Vedic people used to follow. Also, Jaipur is a perfect example of a Hindu construction with its eight sectioned ‘mandala’. Vidyasagar was the appointed head of the architecture department of the state at the time. People have often stated that the Amber king, Sawai Jai Singh, was a patron of astronomy. But this was further confirmed when he constructed Jaipur. It should be remembered that the king had himself contributed in a major way to the designing of the city. He had used the number in as many ways as he possibly could. The number is supposed to represent the nine planets of the universe.
This proves that the king was in fact a true lover of astronomy. For example, he built nine rectangular shaped city structures on each side of the main bazaar. The main palace was built in the main complex. This was known as the Hawa Mahal where the king and his family used to stay. Forts were built at different places near the king’s main palace.
These were meant for the nobles in the king’s court or the extended family of the king. Jaipur is quite famous for its havelis and forts which now stand as testimonies of its rich history. These are some reasons that people from different parts of the world having an acute interest in history visit Jaipur.
