The ubiquitous Thar-Parkar desert, the Aravalli hill range and water are three crucial factors that have shaped the culture, cultural landscapes and Rajasthan’s tangible and intangible heritage. Crafts, industries, agriculture, pastoralism, rituals and most other human activities have always needed water. Thus, the modern-day State of Rajasthan – with its many erstwhile kingdoms and chiefdoms, […]
Tag: Heritage
“How do you get to Ambagarh?” A question that I have been asked often in the recent past. Part of the reason may be the current news flow and the urge among residents to rediscover their city because of the Covid restrictions on travel. The interest in the Garhs of Jaipur is undoubtedly high. And […]
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Character assassination of the City
The universally famous pink face of Jaipur is fading fast. The once gay and rosy city is turning pale covered with other odd colours, not with time, but by the civic vandalism wrought by the indiscriminate hands and aesthetic tastes of the people who have emerged now to live and prosper in its mansions. For […]
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An Energy-Conscious City
Old Jaipur is a classic example of cities characterised by an innate response to local resources and climate. Climatic factor plays a leading role in the definition of a built habitat in places with a very harsh climate. The close-knit urban structure of the Jaipur city permeates all considerations of minimising the effect of the […]
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Facades and elevations
The façade of the buildings is melodious and brings out a unified and harmonious front even though each building bears a different character and function, style and mode of construction and was probably constructed at different times during the same or different eras. The principal streets of Jaipur are well-proportioned continuous urban spaces. The staging […]
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Materials and construction of Jaipur
Sawai Jai Singh opted for materials which were readily available, not too expensive and afforded quick construction. The essential building material came from surrounding hills’ greyish metamorphic sandstone called the ‘shisht’ stone, which was used with mud mortar to construct load-bearing walls. It is usual for the outer walls to be massive, pierced by a […]
While every building was the basic unit, the city was the ultimate goal. Directions and guidelines for the construction of private residential accommodation were laid down by the State, so much so that the building line, the height of the ground floor and the height of the buildings were controlled and it was ensured by […]
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Bazaars of Jaipur
Lined up with shopping arcades on both sides, streets become bazaars, messengers of the lifestyle, one dominates the other only in terms of transcending merchandise, size, intensity or interest. The unusually wide pavements emphasise that the streets are intended more for people than anything else. While on the one hand, movement at a pedestrian’s pace […]
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Jaipur is lit!
However, this is not new. The streets of Jaipur have been lit since the reign of Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II, with the establishment of Jaipur Gas works in 1878! The lighting of the main streets was further enhanced during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. In 1923, an electric powerhouse was constructed to […]
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Jaipur, the UNESCO World Heritage Site
The City of Jaipur is an exceptional example of indigenous city planning and construction in South Asia. In a remarkable difference from the existing medieval practices where settlements developed over a longer period of time, in layers, in response to local geography, topography, climate and socio-cultural systems including caste system and occupation, Jaipur was conceived […]