Jaipur

Jaipur Jaipur
capital
Government
• Mayor	Ashok Parnami
Population  (2005)
• Total	3,324,319

Jaipur (Hindi: जयपुर), also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. Historically rendered as Jeypore, Jaipur is the former capital of the princely state of Jaipur. Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 5 million residents.

Built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, the city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 111 ft (34 m) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds), formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. Another noteworthy building is Sawai Jai Singh's observatory, Jantar Mantar.

History

For the history of all the region, see Dhundhar

Hawa Mahal, and the Principal Street of Jaipur, c. 1875

Jaipur, Principal Street, c. 1875

Jaipur, the pink city was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a Kachwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Initially his capital was Amber (city), which lies at a distance of 11km 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.

With a strategic plan, the construction of the city started in 1727. It took around 4 years to complete the major palaces, roads and square. The city was built following the principles of Shilpa Shastra, the Indian Architecture. The city was divided into nine blocks, out of which two consist the state buildings and palaces, whereas the remaining seven blocks were allotted to the public. In order to ensure the security, huge fortification walls were made along with seven strong gates.

According to that time, architecture of the town was very advanced and certainly the best in Indian subcontinent. In 1853, when Prince of Wales visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted in Pink color to welcome him. Still, the neat and broadly laid-out avenues, painted in pink provide a magical charm to the city. Jaipur is rich in its cultural and architectural beauty, which can be traced in the various historical and aesthetic places that reside in the city. This city of victory really wins the hearts of the people with its splendid charisma.

In the 19th century the city grew rapidly and became prosperous; by 1900 it had a population of 160,000. The city's wide boulevards were paved and lit with gas. The city had several hospitals. Its chief industries were in metals and marble, fostered by a school of art founded in 1868. The city also had three colleges, including a Sanskrit college (1865) and a girls' school (1867) initiated under the reign of the enigmatic Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II. There was also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers, particularly the Jains and the Marwaris.

Architecture

The Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur

Hawa Mahal

Jaipur is considered by many urbanisms to be one of the best planned cities. It has been claimed to be the first planned city in India.It was at that time one of the best planned cities in Asia. Jaipur(Amber)'s Kings are not considered to be good rajputs but were certainly good rulers. In an era when most of the rajputs were busy fighting with each other, Jaipur's kings diplomatically broadened their control sphere maintaining good relations with Mughals. But certainly they lacked the well known rajput pride.The city was planned according to Indian Vastu Shastra (Vedic or Pouranic Planning for the comfort and prosperity of the citizens). The directions of each street and market are east to West and North to South. The Eastern gate is called Suraj (Sun) Pol, while the Western gate is called Chand (Moon) Pol. There are only three gates facing East, west, and North including the Northern gate (known as Zorawar Singh gate) which faces toward the ancestral capital of Amber, while many gates face South. Although the present city has expanded from outside of its walls, the original planning was within the walls. The gates used to be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise. Almost all Northern Indian towns of that period presented a chaotic picture of narrow twisting lanes, a confusion of run-down forts/temples/palaces and temporary shacks that bore no resemblance at all to the principles set out in Hindu architectural manuals which call for strict geometric planning. Thus, for Sawai Jai Singh II and the Bengali Guru Vidyadhar (who was a 'Shaspati' - Hindu Priest Architect), the founding of Jaipur was also a ritual and a bronze opportunity to plan a whole town according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. The town of Jaipur is, in fact, built in the form of a eight-part Mandala known as the 'Pithapada'. Nine signifies the nine planets of the ancient astrological zodiac. It is also known that Sawai Jai Singh II was a great astronomer and a town planner, and hence the 'Pithapada'. Also, the commercial shops are designed in multiples of nine (27), having one cross street for a planet.

Geography and Climate

The Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal

File:View from Amer Fort.jpg

The hills around Jaipur

Jaipur is located at 26.92°N 75.82°E / 26.92; 75.82. It has an average elevation of 432 metres (1417 ft).

The district is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan. It is bound in the north by Sikar and Alwar, in South by Tonk, Ajmer and Sawai Madhopur. Nagaur, Sikar and Ajmer in the west and in east by Bharatpur and Dausa districts.

The major rivers passing through the Jaipur district are Banas and Banganga. Ground water resources to the extent of about 28.65 million cubic meter are available in the district. Although serious drought is rare, poor water management and exploitation of groundwater with extensive tube-well systems threatens agriculture in some areas.

Jaipur has a semi-arid climate in spite of receiving more than 50 cm rainfall annually, as the rainfall is concentrated in the monsoon months between June and September. This is due to its proximity to the Thar desert.

Jaipur
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     8     23 8     12     26 11     6     32 16     4     37 21     16     40 25     66     39 27     216     34 26     231     32 24     80     33 23     22     33 19     3     29 13     3     24 9 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: World Weather Information Service
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.3     73 46     0.5     78 51     0.2     89 60     0.2     99 71     0.6     105 78     2.6     103 81     8.5     93 78     9.1     90 76     3.1     92 73     0.9     92 65     0.1     84 56     0.1     76 48 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Politics

Jaipur has been a stronghold of the opposition Bharatiya Janta Party. The Indian National Congress has till date has won only two of 14 parliament elections. Maharani Gayatri Devi has been an MP from Jaipur thrice, with the highest margin recorded by the Genius Book of World Record. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has been an MLA from Jaipur thrice. BJP's Girdhari Lal Bhargav has been MP for 6 terms continuously, yet another record. Jaipur has produced the highest number of ministers in history, namely Satish Chandra Aggrawal, Bhanwar Lal Sharma, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Ujala Arora, L. Vidhya Pathak etc.

Infrastructure

Lakshmi-Narayan Temple,

Modern infrastructural facilities are currently fast developing, and in many cases surpass those of larger cities like Delhi and Calcutta . The city is expanding very quickly and has become a hot spot for development in Rajasthan. Jaipur has an airport, but is currently not equipped to handle heavy traffic, including traffic from international locations (although flights to some international destinations are available).

Since 2000 Jaipur has emerged a big center for education, as normal law and order situation is considered very peaceful so most of the north Indian parents prefer to send their wards to Jaipur for higher and technical education. In Jaipur more than 25 Engineering colleges, 27 Business Management institutes, 15 Pharmacy institutes, 4 Hotel management Institutes 3 Medical Colleges, 6 Dental Colleges are working. It also have 8 University level organizations which includes the famous Rajasthan University.The Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur is one of the best technical institutes in India. NIMS University Jaipur is among the largest universities in India.

Transport

Jaipur Ajmer Road

Jaipur city is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is centrally located. The National Highway No.8 links Delhi to Mumbai and No.11, linking Bikaner to Agra passes through Jaipur district to a total length of 366 km. The total length of different types of roads in the district was about 4,102 km as of March 2000.

Jaipur is very well connected by rail with all major cities and towns in India. Jaipur is connected on the broad-gauge and meter gauge network of the Indian Railways. Jaipur has direct trains on the broad gauge network to cities like Agra, Delhi, Gwalior, Mumbai, Howrah, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur,Patna etc. across the country and to cities like Ajmer, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur within Rajasthan.

Jaipur is connected with metre gauge rail route with Sri Ganganagar, Churu,Sikar.

Jaipur is also connected with major centres of neighbouring states such as Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Delhi through the broad gauge network. The Palace on Wheels makes a scheduled stop in Jaipur.

Jaipur's Jaipur Airport (IATA: JAI, ICAO: VIJP) is situated in its satellite town of Sanganer and offers sporadic service to Muscat, Sarjah, Bangkok and Dubai. Jaipur also has well connected domestic air links with Jodhpur, Udaipur, Aurangabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Surat and Raipur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur .

Jantar Mantar attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Amber Fort.

The Ganesh Pol of Amber fort.Amber is now part of Jaipur Municipal Corporation

Economy

Tourism is important to the city's economy

No. of large and medium scale running units: 48 No. of small scale units: 19,544 No. of industrial areas: 19 (Bagru, Bassi, Bais Godam, Bindyaka, Dudu, Hirawala, Jetpura, Jhotwara, Kaladera, Kanakpura, Kartarpura, Malviya Nagar, Phulera, Renwal, Sanganeer, Shahpura, Sitapura, Sudarshanpur and Vishwakarma)

Jaipur district is a centre for both the modern and traditional industries. The main industrial products include: acetylene gas, ACSR (Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced) cable, all-purpose flour (maida), atta flour, ball bearings, bottling of LPG, ceramics, pottery, cold roll strips, corrugated boxes, deoiled cakes, durries, dyeing and printing, edible oil, electronic items, engraving on brass items, ferrous and non-ferrous castings, gems and jewelry, general engineering and manufacturing, granite slabs and tiles, hand-made paper, handicraft items, halogen automobile headlamps, "hawai" chappals (sandals), household electrical appliances, HT steel strips, iodized salt, lamps, laminated springs for railways, marble statues, marble tiles & slabs, moulded plastic components for electronics, nitrochlorobenzene, oxygen gas, perfumes, pigment colours, plastic containers, P.P. multifilament yarn, PVC cables, PVC doors, PVC footwear, canvas shoes, Portland cement, readymade garments (clothing), re-roller products, semolina (suji), steel furniture, steel ingots, stone grits, synthetic leather, suits & shirts made of synthetic materials, tablets and capsules, two way radio and line, washing soap, wheat, woolen carpet, refined vegetable oil and vanaspati ghee heavy Steel fabrication .

Brass and lacquer work, enamel work, gems and jewellery, granite tiles, handloom, marble statues, printed cloth and textiles, readymade garments, woolen and silk carpets.

Jaipur has recently seen IT BPO sector investment Genpact and Infosys has there BPO already established and running successfully.Infact Genpact has the fastest growing location in Jaipur. Real Estate business is flourishing well from last 2-3 years.

Jaipur also has Reserve bank of India and many other prominent international banks. India's largest integrated IT SEZ is under construction and is named as Mahindra world city Jaipur on the lines of Mahindra world city Chennai. Master planned by Jurong Constructions Singapore it covers nearly 3000 acres of land off Ajmer highway and has already attracted major companies like Infosys,TCS,Wipro,TechMahindra,Truworth and Deutsche bank.India's one of its kind World Trade Park is also under contruction in Malaviya Nagar. It will be be having hotels, business halls, four screen multiplex, underwater restaurant and many showrooms of international brands. In coming years it will be the hub for modern business development in jaipur. Jaipur is soon planned to have an International Convention Centre and a Golf course. A film city near Agra highway is also in the pipeline Tourism is a significant part of jaipur's economy. More than one million tourist visit jaipur every month. Raj Vilas hotel in Jaipur is ranked 6th best hotel in the world.

Demographics

Template:IndiaCensusPop As of 2001 India census, Jaipur had a population of 2,324,319. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. In Jaipur, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

Albert hall

Jaipur has been very famous for culture. Jaipur culture is very rich. In Jaipur there are BHATT FAMILY renouners including Mohammed Kaif, Yusuf Pathan, Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Younis Khan.Team Jaipur which was considered underdogs at the starting of IPL eventually became the first IPL champion beating Chennai super kings in the finals held at Mumbai.

Further reading

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• R.S. Khangarot, P.S. Nathawat Jaigarh- The Invincible Fort of Amber, RBSA Publishers, Jaipur (1990)
• Andreas Volwahsen, Cosmic Architecture in India: The Astronomical Monuments of Maharaja Jai Singh II, Prestel Mapin, Munich (2001)
• J Sarkar, A History of Jaipur, Orient Longman Limited, New Delhi (1984)

External links

• Jaipur District Administration site
• Template:Wikitravel
• Current time and weather in Jaipur
• Jaipur city guide