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: Walled City
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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 […]
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Jaipur, the new Capital
The most astonishing fact about the city is not its planned regularity since there have been other cities built precisely to plans (Sisupalgarh, Orissa), but that the city was completed and inhabited within a short span of 7 years. A reading of its history divulges no clue to any urgency that might have necessitated its […]
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A filigree city, spun out of nothingness
Cities are like individuals. Each has its own character and physiognomy. Political events and historical phenomenon play essential roles in the shaping of the human environment. A city is the visual aspect of history, expressive of the creative forces which brought it into being. Planned cities are always the true expression of a culture and […]
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The unfamiliar city
It is a city that emerged not in the same manner as cities had in India. Jaipur’s inception marked a change in the way the city was looked at, built and experienced – a shift in the spatiality of the city. The experience of Jaipur’s spatiality stands out in contrast with the experience of other […]