The sights and sounds of Jaipur

The hawa Mahal: An imposing five storeyed palace which stands aside the main road of the old city, it houses a myriad of windows that offered the queens different views of the crowded streets below, a partial solace to the unfortunate aristocracy who couldnt come out into the open. the windows have lattice work in them which meant that while the queens could see the outside sights, the commoner from the street could not glimpse the queen from outside. the host of windows enables good air movement throughout the palace, so you are welcomed by a breeze in the most unexpected of corners. the place isnt much crowded so we often found ourselves alone .

The jantar mantar: A very exciting place that offers immense information for astronomy enthusiasts but a great bore for non enthusiasts. it has various equipments used long before for carrying out astronomical studies. near each equipment its utility and method of use is described. a solar clock and a map of the heavens with various star positions are other attractions.

The national history museum: this houses the artefacts that the great kings left behind. the museum itself is in a part of the palace. the hall, with a gold leaved ceiling, carries various cases with numerous artefacts like ancient scriptures, paintings in silk which illustrated stories of yester years in bright shades, rugs etc. other rooms house weapons and armour, vehicles and every other paraphernalia of the aristocratic life.

The palace of Sisodia rani: story goes that among the many queens that the king had, sisodia rani demanded a separate palace for herself and thus this beautiful piece of architecture was born. set in the midst of a lush beautiful garden with exquisitely painted walls and lattice worked outer walls, the palace looks out into the garden and further onto the mountains. there is a crystal chandlier shaped like a tortoise in the main hall and every other piece of furniture was uniquely carved and bore the mark of perfect craftsmanship. i was getting partly jealous of the rani when the rest of the story unravelled. she gave birth to madho singh who grew up to be 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide!!( not exaggerating). when he wanted to travel in a boat , two people were needed to sit on the side opposite as ballast. this scene was depicted in one of the paintings in the national history museum.the ranis chambers were also elaborately furnished with beautiful mirrors that reflected her person in full.