Half Windsor Full Throttle: Our Trip to India - Part 3 of 6 : Jaipur City Palace & Amber Fort Palace

Dangling from our doorknob was a complimentary copy of the morning newspaper. Here were the leading stories, including a headless headline:

While reading the paper, I enjoyed the glass walls of our hotel room's bathroom... until Lewis located the switch that lowered the curtain!

Toweled off and dressed for exercise, we took the elevator to the pool deck... and were mesmerized by the gorgeous rays on sunrise gleaming over the horizon—right at us!

Another man swam, but we savored the rising sun from the air-conditioned gym, overlooking the pool.

We breakfasted in the hotel, enjoying their buffet and freshly-brewed Masala Chai tea, which took 10 minutes and was delivered to our banquette by smiley servers.

Delightfully, the hotel featured a whole buffet of Asian breakfast items; my favorite was the steaming basket of Tea Eggs. I love the taste of Tea Eggs and usually get them in NYC's Chinese communities.

Eschewing "western" recipes like pancakes and French toast, I chose domestic menu items: Paneer Parantha with curd, fresh fruits (safely prepared in the hotel kitchen, which Jimmy warned us not to consume otherwise), chicken rolls called Kaathi, roti (lovely unleavened bread), butter-laden Pav Bhaji...

...and and freshly-made Golgappa: pastry shells filled with customized spiced ingredients which you pour broth into and pop in your mouth.

For dessert, I simply LOVED their Suji Ka Halwa, which is semolina and sweet syrup flavored with cardamom and sliced almonds and cashews. A great comfort food in India!

Equally tasty was the Semiya Sabudana Payasam, which is a milky dessert made of long-simmered ghee, cashews, raisins, tapioca pearls, saffron, camphor, and cardamom powder.

The agenda for the day offered optional activities. As a pair of adventurers, we opted for all the excursions. Finding our seats on the bus, we zoomed through the city, as it unfolded for the day. Jimmy paused us to admire the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds), built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh to allow his harem ladies to privately see the goings-on of the street. Since the ladies were forbidden to be seen, it has 953 windows veiled with latticework.

I noticed many public "bucket bathing" facilities by the roadside. Residents and truck drivers use them to wash or rinse the dust off. Voyeurism in a conservative country!

Mud wrestling is especially popular with lads in Jaipur, so the public washing is handy.

Another erotic topic is that individual prostitution is legal in India, but brothels and public propositions are not, yet they are tolerated. Jaipur and New Delhi have Red Light districts, but we did not visit them.

Crossing 280 kilometers, we rode along the Aravalli Mountain Range: the oldest in India. Our bus curved uphill through the winding roads to the Amber Fort Palace. Built high atop Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles), it is a stunning fusion of Mughal and Hindu architectural styles.

Imagine something like the Great Wall of China surrounding a palace as long as Versailles... on top of a mountain.

That is what this palace looks like, and it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was our view of it, as we approached.

Buses cannot ascend the steep road, so we exited and scrambled into a caravan of Jeeps that was waiting for us. Our quest to discover the palace began with speed! The agile drivers swerved us higher and higher through the winding roads. It was a bumpy but fun ride!

Our caravan halted in the forecourt. From there, our colorfully-attired group marched to the entrance gate.

Real gold was used to adorn the ceiling medallions and wall paintings!

In 1592, Raja Man Singh constructed this with India's famous red sandstone and topped it with white marble. Such exquisite craftsmanship cannot be believed! Superb geometrical mosaics are everywhere, comprising hundreds of perfectly-chiseled stones per pattern!
Such color! Vegetable dye was used, and the quality was so high that it still lingers brightly.

A tale of treachery overshadows the place, though. Just like an Indian movie that we watched on the plane, titled Padmaavat, the first king of this palace openheartedly welcomed strangers seeking shelter. Instead of leaving thankful, they returned with an army and mercilessly killed everyone—during the locals' spiritual holiday—so they could capture the beautiful compound for themselves. During two centuries, they enhanced the property further.

This gated courtyard, called Diwan-e-Am, allowed dignitaries and citizens to have audiences with the king. With a Mughal styled layout, it has "lucky elephants" carved over each pillar.

From top-to-bottom, the carving and masonry is ingenious... and so well-preserved despite the hot-baking summers, monsoons, and open-air access.

A technological marvel, the palace was cooled in two ways. Domes above the king's chamber were filled with water, which seeped through metal pipes that ran around the chamber. Curtains hung from them, covering all the doors and windows. The pipes were perforated to allow slow drips of water, which allowed the hot wind to cool the chamber via evaporation! The second method cooled the queen and consorts' chambers. Another dome of water trickled down a marble ramp, flowing into a shallow canal in the middle of their room, which poured into the lush garden.

Older than Versailles, this palace was equipped with a Hall of Mirrors called Sheesh Mahal... and more spectacular. France displayed its ability to make tall wall-like mirrors. India showcased glassmakers' ability to cover walls, ceiling, and columns with mirrored mosaics and reflective/polished stones. The result is mind-blowing.

Even more amazing is how the moldings are THREE-DIMENSIONAL! Protruding yet simultaneously concave and convex, their crystalline pattern is unmatched.

In its heyday, vibrantly-colored rugs and tapestries were used with candlelight to illuminate the hall in varied colors! How magical that must seem.

In the image above, do you recognize someone peeking at me through the mirrored panel? :-)

In the Golden Age of the 1620s, a famously-jeweled Peacock Throne was constructed for Emperor Shah Jahan, and it was situated in the Hall of Private Audiences. Located in the "center of the empire", it showcased the belief that everything revolved around the emperor. It was modeled on the legendary Throne of Solomon in the ancient United Kingdom of Israel, circa 970 BC. The extravagant solid-gold indulgence (with 100 to 700-carat diamonds) cost more than the Taj Mahal! The goldsmith was paid with his weight in gold.

Yet, by 1719, the empire suffered an inexorable decline. Persian invaders stole the throne in 1739: an irreplaceable loss. They also stole a spinel named the Timur Ruby: a 352.54-carat (71 gram) polished red gemstone. Initially, in 1612, the Persian emperor gifted it to the Mughal emperor. Taken back to Persia, the huge gem stayed there until 1810 when Persia's King of the Afghans was exiled to Punjab and brought the gem. In 1813, it went to the local maharaja. In 1849, Britain's East India Company invaded and took it to London. There, the executives gave it to Queen Victoria, who was an addict for jewels. People criticized it as a bribe so the company could be allowed to do whatever it wanted to exploit India. The gem remains in the Royal Collection.

Seen below, our photos show the exquisite handsomeness of the chambers.

Jimmy lectured about the hidden symbolism in a marble panel—one huge block done flawlessly. Examined in segments, one flower represented a lion, elephant, cobra, and scorpion. We did not explore tunnels beneath the complex, but we walked through darkened passageways—lit by slits in the wall (and by flame in the olden days). Soon, it was time to hike back to the Jeeps.

Intrepid peddlers anticipated tourists and endeavored to sell trinkets. One young man successfully sold hand-painted brass bowls to our Californian companion. He tried hawking some to me, but we were told to climb aboard our Jeep (it was the last to leave). Persistently, he followed us and lowered his prices. Learning from our Bazaar experience, Lewis rapidly negotiated—while the Jeep's driver rolled forward. The seller actually HOPPED ONTO the back of our Jeep—and continued bargaining! There was no malice; he smiled and considered it a fun adventure. I laughed uproariously! Together, we were all jostled and shaken, as the Jeep turned corners and descended. The driver balked, Lewis finagled, and the seller wheedled. The Jeep moved faster down the winding road. Exasperated, Lewis threatened to not buy anything if his price wasn't met. Crestfallen but successful, the young man gave us some bowls and accepted payment. He hopped off and waved goodbye with a big grin. Then, he began hiking up the mountain again. We'll keep a bowl and give one to Lewis' mom; they have a fun tale to go with them!

Impressed with the human talent of India, we toured Jaipur Handicrafts, which is a company that creates handmade carpets, textiles, pashminas, pottery, and fabrics. First we witnessed a preserved method for stamping colors onto cloth. They only use organic vegetable dyes. Wooden stamps layer each color onto the fabric—which requires perfect precision—and then the fabric is dipped in saltwater, which changes some of the colors!

Using a government-sponsored program to preserve the art of loom weaving, the workshop employs farmers on a rotating residency schedule. Following a patterned schematic, they learn to weave dozens of stitches per minute!

The resulting rugs are amazing. Using camelhair and wool—both create sheen in the material—they weave via the Persian method and add border fringe. With special scissors, they trim away unwanted strands along the ENTIRE carpet.

They blowtorch the undersides to prevent slippage on your floor! Finally, they wash and scrape the material to give it gloss. Since it was an Indian holiday season, the owner served us Indian rum and cookies... also hoping to lubricate a sale. One of our Australian ladies invested $800 (60,000 rupees) for a handsome reddish carpet. A memory for her lifetime.

From there, we took a Tuk Tuk (electric-pedicab) to the optional tour of 18th-century City Palace and Jantar Mantar Observatory. Our driver wore a trendily tinted hairstyle.

After whizzing through tight traffic—and close-calls of near-collisions (only once did the tire of a rickshaw behind us bump our cab), we arrived at the City Palace of Jaipur. It was begun in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who relocated his royal court from Amber. The city is the capital of Rajasthan (Land of Raja [Kings]), and the palace continues to be the ancestral home of the royal family.

Seen below, the governmental emblem is recognizable as the Lion Capital of Ashoka. The capital topped a column (pillar) that Emperor Ashoka the Great erected in 250 BCE and inscribed with holy Buddhist teachings. The lions were life-sized!

Excavated in 1904, it is one of the earliest depictions of lions in India. They represent the four directions that the emperor wanted to spread Buddhism to. Under each lion is a dharmachakra: Buddha's wheel of morals. He was the first king/emperor in the world to convert to Buddhism, and his wife was already Buddhist. Unlike other rulers who converted to certain religions, he abided by Buddhist monks and decreed that his realm must have religious tolerance. His royal proclamation stated that attacking other religions or over-glorifying your own must not be done. (Christianity never abided by those morals). Still relevant 2,000+ years later, his ideals beseeched his citizens and neighboring nations not to force him to act brutally. Yet, if provoked, he used his army to quell invasions and restore peace. He routinely toured through his empire and "walked amongst his people" to hear grievances against officials. He ensured social wellbeing, instead of only using people as tax revenue. (American politicians never do either of those things). His son, the Crown-Prince traveled to the island-nation of Sri Lanka to teach Buddhism, and it is still the mainstay there. Ashoka sent monks to share the teachings abroad, and that is how it eventually got to China via the Silk Road. In 270, Ashoka's empire covered most of India.

By the 1200s, few Buddhists remained in India; most went east where the enlightenment is still strong.

Jimmy guided us inside the urban palace. It's beautiful!

Partly a museum, it is still the home of the Kachhwahas royal family, who are leaders of the Rajput clan. Its style is named Rajput Architecture, which is found wherever those rulers were.

Born in 1998, the current Maharajah of Jaipur is a famous polo player named Padmanabh Singh. This is his coat of arms.

Just like China's Forbidden City, the palatial complex has an Audience Chamber: a building where the ruler meets guests.

On that day, we witnessed Ealing Studios (a British production company) filming scenes for an upcoming miniseries titled Beecham House. It occurs in 1795, before British dominion via the East India Company. We were thrilled to be "on set".

Seen below, we were able to explore the Throne Room after the filming crew took a break. Thanks to the crew, it was set to look as it did during the Golden Age. It reminded us of the Throne Room that we saw at Chambord Castle in France: built of stone that looked imposingly solid yet reminded, and carpeted and draped with vibrant fabrics to soften the mood. Smaller chairs were configured for a durbar (reception for an Indian prince).

Lewis and I can't wait to see it on PBS television; it will surely be dazzling and authentic!

India's long-reigning aristocracy bucked against its final conquerers: the British. To coerce them, the British Empire gave bribes, land, and sustained use of their noble titles. Jaipur became one of many Princely States, during the rule of the East India Company and then the British Raj (Crown). After India's independence, the royals rallied against the elections of newly-created parliament ministers. In retaliation in 1971, the government claimed "Imminent Domain", confiscated their lands, seized their assets, absorbed their political powers, and abolished their titles. Nowadays, nobles use their titles as a courtesy, and the locals still defer to them, but they entered the occupations of politics, finance, and fashion.

The last titular ruler of Jaipur was a Brigadier Maharaja named Sawai Bhawani Singh. He was a hotelier and military man who ascended the throne in 1970 (after his father's death), but the nobility was abolished the next year. Without sons, he adopted his daughter's eldest son to be his heir. (His daughter married one of his employees, which gave the marriage a Cinderella flair). The eldest prince, His Highness Sawai Padmanabh Singh is a 20-year-old athlete and a stylish "eligible bachelor".

Lewis and I think it'd be more interesting if he was gay. The world is overdue for a prominent gay nobleman.

*To see our visit inside the main palace of the British royal family, please use this link:

https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2022/09/our-return-to-london-uk-part-4-of-6.html

City Palace Museum features a spiffy café called Baradari. A lovely oasis by a waterfall. Perhaps, the royal family gets free room-service?

Across the street stands the observatory complex built in 1734 by King Sawai Jai Singh II. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that contains 19 astrological devices: sundials, an astrolabe that is used annually to calculate the Hindu calendar, astrology predictors for each birth sign, indicators of solar declination per day, gauges for altitude & zenith distances of planets, and items that predict celestial objects. Such enlightenment!

Speaking of advancement, Jimmy informed us that Jaipur is recently renown for having all-female managed train stations! The state-run railroad is India's largest employer, and they're happy with the improvements in service and revenue from the women. Those stations surpass the lackadaisical performance by traditionally all-male managed stations. Initially, conservative customers balked at seeing women in the workforce—traditionally not done in most of India. But, as station improvements and better customer service occurred, they began to enjoy the productive women being there. The female employees overcame anxiety about the work, and they're proud of their growing capacities. Hearing about this, we hope the trend continues!

There are 60 holidays in India, and our dinner occurred during a big one called Dussehra (a.k.a. Vijayadashami), the celebration of Good triumphing over Evil. In addition to fireworks, communities burn effigies of Ravana, the mythical ancient king of Sri Lanka, defeated by the Hindu god, Rama. They celebrate the epic tale of Ramayana.

That night, everyone was enrolled in the optional dinner/dancing event at a former palace-turned-hotel, as seen below. Just like a scene from the film Marigold Hotel.

We dined under the full moon at candlelit tables. A steamy buffet greeted us, the domestic beer and Californian wine flowed, and everyone wore turbans.

Similar to belly dancing, we watched Chari Dancing as precipitously placed flaming urns stayed balanced on their heads. That folk-dance began in Rajasthan for celebrations of goodness, and the talent originated from women carrying water on their heads. Before our trip, our friend, Alastair—the Chief Dance Critic of the NY Times—told us to witness Indian dances, so we were thrilled that we did! (Here is a photo of us telling him about it, after we returned to New York).