INTRODUCTION

Jaipur, the pink city was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, a Kachhwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Initially his capital was Amber, which lies at a distance of 11kms from Jaipur. He felt the need of shifting his capital city with the increase in population and growing scarcity of water. Jaipur is the first planned city of India and the King took great interest while designing this city of victory. He consulted several books on architecture and architects before making the lay out of Jaipur.

After several battles with Marathas, Jai Singh was keen on the security aspect of the city. Due to this reason, he focused on his scientific and cultural interests to make a brilliant city. Being, a lover of mathematics and science, Jai Singh sought advice from Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a Brahmin scholar of Bengal, to aid him design the city architecture. Vidyadhar referred the ancient Indian literature on astronomy, books of Ptolemy and Euclid, and discussed the plan with the King.

This famous city the capital of Rajasthan and has earned universal name as the ‘Pink City’, and pink it is, with beautiful constructed palaces, havelis and forts. Tall, rugged men with handle bar whiskers sport bright pink turbans. Jaipur which means the City of Victory was built exactly 269 years back and is 262km by road from Delhi A strong wall encircles the old city and even today has a suggestion of formidable strength; its function of protecting all within is obvious. The plains of Rajasthan of which Jaipur is the capital once thundered and echoed with the clash of swords and the drums of war. Built in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh-II, Jaipur was the first planned city of its time (the earlier planned city in Northern India having been built near Taxila sometime in the 2nd century BC) Jaipur was planned by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a Bengali architect, in a grid system with wide straight roads, streets and uniform rows of shops on either side of the bazaars arranged in nine rectangular city sectors. The city it self is an attractive creation worthy of universal admiration.

High walls & gates fortify the pink city, similar to the ones in the ancient sites of the Indus Valley civilization.

Jaipur was painted pink in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1876, & has since then adapted this unique colour scheme to earn its present epithet.

There is a feast in store for the tourist. Attractive monuments where one can breathe the proud palaces of kings, parks, gardens and excursions of nearby places of interest make Jaipur a tourist’s paradise. Jaipur unique fusion of traditional & modern.