MUMBLINGS February 9, 2006

Of the 101 countries it has been my pleasure to visit, India is one of the most interesting, diversified, and historical of any.

Of course, that is a big statement because I am talking about such places as Egypt, Israel, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, France, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, etc. It is not my intention to ever visit India again because of its distance from here. But if it were a few hundred miles I would certainly like to go back.

Last week we were talking to you about the Great Sundials in Jaipur. This city was the cleanest; most beautiful of any we visited in India. Also we stayed in one of the finest hotels on our trip.

Jaipur, is a city of about three million people and interestingly, its population in 1900 was 160,000. Another interesting subject in India are the Maharajahs. They are a historical group of individuals, some four or five hundred of them, without any political power but all are rich and own a lot of land and palaces, etc. They go back several hundred years of history.

In Jaipur, which was founded in 1728, and named for Maharahas Sawai Jai Singh, who laid out the city with wide streets and modern ideas that were not seen in most old countries.

He built a palace for his wife and family and built another palace for his concubines. This one was later made into a modern hotel with beautiful yards, swimming pools, gardens, and good restaurants. The waiters and waitresses were polite, courteous and the girls were attractive. Of course the Maharajah’s family still owns the properties and thousands of acres surrounding it.

The city was built of pink stucco, imitation sandstone. The layout of the city streets is remarkable for pre modern India… It is laid out in six quarters separated by broad streets of 111 feet wide. Networks of gridded streets divide the urban quarters. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west side of the central palace. The palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa Mahal, or palace of the winds). In the compound are formal gardens, and a small lake. A fort crowns the hill on the northwest corner of the old city.

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Continued

We visited the Amber Fort, which has a five-mile wall around it to protect it from enemies. The ancient fort was on high ground and near the village. It had several lakes that added to its attractiveness and its height also furnished a good view of the surrounding country mountains, and the village.

The old fort was interesting, but putting this 90 year-old to the task of climbing up 45 steps to the top was about all I could take. We went through the lovely palace art rooms. Our guide rented a jeep, which took us halfway to the top, which left 45 steep steps to climb. The view at the top was beautiful and we spent some time resting and met some other tourists from various parts of the country and world.

The Amber Fort and palace complex overlooking the artificial lake south of the town is one of the most popular tourist sites in the city. It is famous for its mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture, and offers elephant rides from the town up to the palace courtyard.

The Maharajahs have ruled Jaipur since 1157 B.C. Four times a year, they arrange for a royal parade of elephants, with all types of fancy decorations. The elephant guides seem to know what they are doing and keep the elephants under perfect control.

In the Treaty of 1818, the protection of the British was extended to Jaipur. In 1835 there was a serious disturbance in the city, after which the British assisted the Maharajah in keeping a firm control. Following this, the state became relatively prosperous and still remains so today.

Next week I plan to conclude our series on our trip to India. I saved one of the most important tourist attractions to the end. It is the Taj Mahal.

See you again soon, I hope.