Ignoring the dust and braving the quite long distances, spend some time exploring the Jaipur overspill. Ram Singh 11's splendid cultural park is hard by the city walls, and its museum is a real treat. The splendid Rambagh Palace is south of it, and the beautiful Sisodia Palace lies out to the east. Ram Singh II laid out his Ram Niwas Gardens right outside New Gate, employing a certain Dr de Fabeck to landscape what is now reduced to 14.5 hectares (36 acres). The view down the central road, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, is closed by the palatial Central Museum. On the way there it passes first the Gallery of Modem Art, the zoo, a crocodile breeding farm and the Maharaja College (founded 1845) which taught Urdu, Persian and English. Ram Singh 11 also founded the School of Art (1868) which revived and promoted so many of Jaipur's crafts, including the well-known blue pottery. The Albert Hall, housing the Central Museum, is the park centerpiece. It is a triumph of Raj influence, having been modelled on the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone on his 1876 visit and the architect was Colonel Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob (1841-1917), a British engineer whose knowledge of Indian buildings later earned him a job as consultant for the British capital of New Delhi. Inside the thoroughly Indian palace, locals wander about enjoying models of their festivals, collections of puppets and costumes, and exhibitions of top-quality Jaipur brasswork. The separate room at the front is the Durbar Hall, usually locked, but just ask and it will be opened. It houses several exquisite carpets including the magnificent Persian Garden Carpet, one of India's finest art treasures. Made in 1632 in Kerman, Persia, its design is a paradise garden on char-bagh lines. Fish swim in canals and mother birds feed their young in blossoming trees. It is one of the best of its kind, its fine silk colours still fresh and bright. (Free on Monday, closed Friday). Also Visit - Luxury Golden Triangle Tour Packages India Further down the road, Narain Singh Marg leads past Narain Niwas, a thakur townhouse. Built in 1881 by Narain Singh, Madho Singh Its emissary, it was furnished in the heavy Raj taste so fashionable at the Jaipur court. At the end of the road, Lilly Pool Palace opposite is where the Raj Mata of Jaipur lives. She is the widow of the last Maharaja. Man Singh II Her autobiography, A Princess Remembers, describes a queen’s fairy tale life before Independence and, to a great extent, after it. The Rajmata lived much of her married life at Rambagh Palace, found by turning left down Sawai Ram Singh Road then right at the large crossroads. It was Ram Singh II who made what were originally a few pleasure pavilions outside the city into a hunting lodge, Ram Bagh (garden of Ram). Hunts played an important role in the court calendar Just as Akbar had used hunts to disguise his soldiers' manoeuvres when making his alliances with the Rajputs, so the Rajput prince used large hunting expeditions around his kingdom to visit local thakurs (landowners), deal with political and administrative business and keep himself informed. He could be hawking, using trained cheetahs to catch antelopes, hunting tigers or wild boar, or duck shooting. With Sir Swinton Jacob's help, Madho Singh II later transformed Ram Bagh hunting lodge into a royal playground, with English herbaceous borders, squash court, tennis court, indoor swimming pool complete with trapeze, and polo field next door, Not surprisingly, his adopted son, who succeeded him as Man Singh II in 1922 aged just 11 years, later chose it as his principal home. And when in 1940 he made a love-match marriage with his third wife, Gayatri Devi, Lalique fountains and the latest sleek black marble bathrooms and bold geometric furniture were added. Here the handsome, glamorous couple known to friends as Jai and Ayesha lived, ruled and played out a fairy tale life, mixing medieval with thoroughly modem. The Maharaja's water was brought in daily from a special well by four men and a soldier guard, yet the couple jetted about the world to New York, London and elsewhere. Jai died after a fall during a polo game at Cirencester in England in 1970. Today the palace is a hotel, so the courtyards, public rooms and glorious gardens are easy to see (good shops; drinks in the Polo Bar or overlooking the lawn a treat). And Madho Singh's polo grounds next door are also fun to visit if there is a game on or even a practice—the annual season is March. From here, you can look south to Moti Doongri, the fort, built like a Scottish castle, where the royal treasure was once stored. You can then move west and see Jai and Ayesha's later home, the relatively modest Raj Mahal Palace, built as the British Residency and now, like the Rambagh, a hotel. Here they entertained Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on his 1965 visit which coincided with the Hindu festival of Holi. His letter of thanks shows that the couple, although by then reduced to commoner status, could still entertain royally: 'Every moment was sheer joy and it's only the bruises from polo and the pink stain On my fingers which remain to convince me that the whole thing wasn't some marvellous dream' One last trip makes a delightful end to a city day. Just outside town, on the road eastwards out of the Ghat Gate towards Agra, Jaipur's great architect is honoured with a little garden, Vidyadharji ka Bagh, which is now sadly in need of some restoration. Almost opposite, Sisodia Rani ka Bagh is pristine perfect. This country palace was built by Jai Singh II for his Udaipur queen whom he married to cement a Rajput alliance Large, chirpy, bright murals surround the exterior, lush terraced gardens overlook the open plains, and the watchman will unlock the palace to show you a hideaway home still full of royal atmosphere. Drive on behind the palace to the hillside Hanuman Temple dedicated to the monkey-god. It surges into life each day at 4 pm. Crowds of langur monkeys come to meet the priest who arrives in an auto-rickshaw with sacks of bananas which the animals grab greedily and then sit gobbling in mid-road. The keen can do a small hike from here, up to Galta's hilltop Temple of the Sun God-worth it for its spectacular views.
For more information on Gardens and Palaces in Modern Jaipur Rajasthan contact Swan Tours one of the leading Best Tour & Travels Delhi
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1/29/2018 05:11:26 am
Looking for the best breakfast, lunch and dinner places in Jaipur. We are the best restaurants in Jaipur.
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