History of Jaipur

Jaipur is Located 262 kilometres from Delhi, Jaipur was the first planned city in northern India and was conceived by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1727. Maharaja Jai Singh’s predecessors had enjoyed good relations with the Mughals and he was careful to preserve this alliance. He laid out the city, with its surrounding walls and rectangular blocks according to principles set out in the Shilpa-Shastra, an ancient Hindu essay on architecture and in 1728 built Jantar Mantar, the remarkable observatory that still stands as one of the city’s main attractions.

Amer Fort Jaipur’s true history though dates back to the 12th century when the Kachchwaha clan of Rajputs arrived at the old fort palace of Amer in the Aravalli hills. The Kachchwaha belonged to the Kshatriya, or the warrior caste of Hindus, but they traced their origins back to the sun, via Kusa who was the twin son of the god Rama.

The ousted Kachchwahas people were the Susawat Minas, who became the hereditary loyal guards of what became one of the largest and most valuable treasuries in India. From this base, the Kachchwaha Rajputs, with their brilliant soldiering and knack for lucrative alliances, amassed a fortune. However it was the special relationship the Amer rulers developed with the Mughals that brought them real power, influence and wealth.

Jaipur Amer Fort Arriving in Jaipur through the narrow pass in the hills, you are presented with a view of the Amer fort-palace that conforms to every aspect of how a romantic Rajput fort should appear. Rambling over a rugged hill, reflected in Maota Lake below, it is a magnificent sight. A circle of protective hills surrounds it and snaking up them are crenulated walls punctuated by look-out posts.

Maharaja Man Singh II Not long after this the two rulers who built Amer, Man Singh, a leading general under both Akbar and Jahangir, and Jai Singh I, a military and diplomatic genius brought the house of Amer to its highest point in the Mughal court. On the throne Jai Singh I (aged 11) was soon commanding a Mughal force for Jahangir, which went on to fight the Mughal empire for Shah Jahan and finally succeeded. This then led him to became emperor Aurangzeb’s most prized Rajput commander.

AurangzebAll this time, the Kachchwaha coffers were filling with prizes, rewards and booty. Three rulers later, Jai Singh II, another child prodigy, came to the throne. The boy quickly impressed the 71-year-old Aurangzeb who awarded him the title ‘Sawai’, meaning one-and-a-quarter. (Even today, the flag flying above the City Palace in Jaipur has an extra, quarter-sized one next to it.) Jai Singh II, having proved his soldiering ability further enriched his coffers and fulfilled his other passions - the arts and sciences. After ascending the throne, he shifted the capital from Amer, studied the architecture of several European cities and drew up plans for constructing a larger and well-planned city. He consulted his best mathematicians, astronomers and the Silpa Sastra, a traditional Hindu architectural treatise before making the blueprint for the new city.

Vidyadhar BhattacharayaAfter building close bonds with the Mughals and sure that there could be no danger to his throne, Sawai Jai Singh, envisioned his dream project, the building of Jaipur. The foundation stone was laid by him in 1727 and an eminent architect, Vidyadhar Bhattacharaya, was asked to design the ‘Pink City. ’It was a two-in-one compliment as ‘Jai’ means victory and was also the ruler’s first name. That it was later chosen as the capital of Rajasthan formed from the amalgamation of various kingdoms, a tribute to both Jai Singh and Bhattaccharya.

Jaipur Gate, The city is planned in a grid system of seven blocks of buildings with wide straight avenues lined with trees, with the palace set on the north side. Surrounding it are high walls pieced with ten gates. The site of the shops, were chosen after careful planning and they are arranged in nine rectangular city sectors (chokris). Jaipur was the first sizable city in north India to be built from scratch, though the famous pink colour symbolising ‘welcome’, came later when Ram Singh II received the Prince of Wales in 1876. The colour was chosen after several experiments to cut down the intense glare from the reflection of the blazing rays of the sun. To this day, the buildings are uniformly rose pink. After Jai Singh died in 1773, a battle for succession followed and the Marathas and Jats who were making advances in various parts of the country also decided to try their luck and Jaipur lost large chunks of territory with the ruler playing second fiddle to the fast-growing East India Company.

Maharaja Jagat SinghIn 1818, several maharajas of the north-west princely states and Maharaja Jagat Singh of Jaipur, signed a treaty with the British under which they could continue to have control of their states, but would be collectively supervised by the British under a new name, Rajputana.