The view of the city from that
height was impressive and panoramic. The fort has exquisite Rajasthani
paintings of warriors mounted on elephants and bouquets of dainty flowers. I
was almost expecting some warrior or damsel from the ancient ages to come
face-to-face with us and surprise us! A cannon at its entrance invited all of
us to click ourselves beside it. Had it been in its true form, spitting balls
of fire, we’d have run miles from it, I thought, amused!
Near the fort is a deep
well-like structure with an amphitheatre like ambience. Our guide informed us
that this was where the famous song, “Loose control….” from the hit film, ‘Rang
De Basanti’ had been shot, with Amir Khan, dangling perilously from the edge.
After trekking back to our
bus, I joked with the guide and told him that he had made us hungry by asking
us to trudge uphill to the restaurant and then helped us in digesting our lunch
by the return trek! The driver of the bus and the guide shared a hearty laugh.
At our next halt, Jaigarh Fort, we saw the largest cannon
in the world, proudly standing on a hillock. It weighs 80 tonnes and has been
constructed in-situ, that is, just where it stands. It was capable of firing a
huge round of ammunition at one go. Phew! Just thinking about its capability
made us perspire. An elderly man from our group gave us an interesting insight,
just then. He hastened to us and told us to click a snap of a pigeon that had
just entered into the mouth of the cannon. He told us that that bird was a
symbol of peace in that symbol of war! It wanted peace, not war! Just like us,
I mused. But the bird gave us a slip, as it flew away, just as I was poised to
take a shot. I ruefully looked at that gentleman and wondered why he hadn’t taken that shot instead of
telling us about it. I thought that maybe that elusive bird had spoilt his shot
too!
Amer fort, a massive yellow-stoned edifice, majestically soaring
into the skies, was our next invite. The massive, strong wooden doors with
bronze knobs welcomed us into a very vast and spacious area where we saw the
“Diwan-e-Aam” and the “Diwan-e- Khaas”, the halls which were used for public
meetings and private consultations, respectively. The beautifully carved stone
pillars and arches, with their perfect symmetry, were very pleasing to the eye.
So were the “Zanana Mahals” which were 11 in number, and comprised of a set of
halls, bedrooms, bathing spaces, etc. for each of the 11 wives of the King,
Maharaja Amer.
The garden was perfectly
maintained and had an inbuilt system of small channels which instantly watered
the whole garden from the central duct. We marveled at the ancient architects
and wondered why we couldn’t take lessons from them! Such huge edifices had
been meticulously crafted when there had been no modern equipments or even the
now-ubiquitous and essential cement! Truly, all these fine structures were a
labor of love and hard work. Passion coupled with pride had transformed sturdy
rocks into memorials that had withstood centuries of time. Neither war not the
ravages of weather had succeeded in diminishing their majesty!
We rounded off our sight-seeing with a visit to the Lord Krishna’s beautiful temple in Kanaka Vrindavan. (Recently, I saw the movie Lamhe, in which actress Sridevi was dancing to the divine melody of “Mohe chedo na nand ke lala….” (Please don’t tease me, my beloved Lord Krishna…) in this temple.)
Near-by was located a small shop selling footwear, jackets, and
handbags made from leather and lac bangles. The prices were reasonable and
the salesmen assured us of the sturdiness and comfort of the footwear that we
bought there, a pair of slip-ons for my hubby and a pair of “medicinal”
chappals for myself; which would ostensibly, give great relief to any ‘foot
problems’(as per the salesman)! Interestingly, the shop had been founded by the
oldest man in India, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records, who died
when he was 114! Till date, the shop is ably managed by his progeny. A
laminated poster, right at the shop’s entrance, proudly displays a photo of
that venerable man with his Guinness Certificate and his children and
relatives.
Enroute to our drop-off
point, the guide pointed out the reason for Jaipur earning the sobriquet of “The Pink City”. We were driving
through the old Jaipur area, where a broad thoroughfare was flanked by elegant
buildings of pink stone, on both the sides. He even said that Jaipur was
supposed to be the second well-planned city in the world, in those ancient
times, after Paris! Later he pointed out the exquisite ‘Jal Mahal’, beautifully lit and sitting like a lantern amidst a
huge lake and the ‘Hawa Mahal’, in its fully illuminated glory. It was dusk.
Jaipur was enchanting with its street-lights and regal aura.
The sight-seeing ended with all of us in a trance. We had been so
enveloped by the glorious past that we found it a tad difficult to come back to
the present-day chaos.
All the photographs have been clicked by Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
The copyright of this travelogue is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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