This past week in Agra and Jaipur, India, have given me a whole new perspective on history. I discovered an excitement and curiosity that could only come from personally witnessing the places where some of the greatest rulers walked, wielded power, resided, played and governed.
That of course is not unique to South Asia. But somehow it takes on a special dimension here because of how powerfully interwoven India's history is with the social and political and religious landscape today.
We saw that in Sri Lanka also and it was even clearer and sometimes more dramatic in India. It is to the credit of the people who preserved these great edifices of Indian history that UNESCO has designated some of them World Heritage Sites. I think I have lost count of how many World Heritage Sites we have seen in the past five weeks.
One of the most interesting of these sites is the city of Fatehpur Sitri, founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar. It served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. It got its name for two main reasons. First, Fateh is loosely translated victory and Pur is city. Second, Sitri represents the tomb of a Soufi saint who was said to have granted the wish of the Mogul to have a son and heir. The victory part is the King's desire to build a monument to celebrate a great military victory that saved his massive kingdom.
Akbar planned the complex on principles of his native Persia but wanted to include Indian embellishments to reflect the influences of his adopted land. For example, he used Indian red sandstone that was readily available in the area.
I invite you, if you are interested, in researching some more about this important Indian monument. Meanwhile, here are a few images and lasting memories we have of Fatehpur Sitri.
Of all the forts we have seen in India, there was none more impressive, more dramatic than Amber Fort, in Jaipur.
We cannot adequately describe this majestic World Heritage Site. Its very location atop a mountain invokes an air of wonder. And once you climb to the fort, you can't help gasping in utter amazement at the architectural features on the inside and the breathing panorama on the outside.
This historic fort was built over the course of the reigns of three mighty Rulers or Rajas: Raja Man Singh, Raja Jai Singh 1 and Raja Jai Singh 2. The first Raja had 12 wives, so he built a fort large enough with all the comforts for all of them. The second and third had two wives each.
Other highlights of Amber Fort is its use of architectural devices that used the surrounding water and wind and sun to create warm and cool conditions in summer and winter. It also skillfully blends design elements from Hindu and Muslim traditions.
Inside the fort, are three palaces, each with its own exquisite designs to suit the wives of the three Rajas.
For vast distances around the fort, covering nearby mountains, there is a walled protection that is reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, and below the fort is a man-made lake to provide irrigation for a royal garden.
It will take too much space to say all that can be said about Amber Fort, so I suggest you read some more from the internet. Here are some photos to illustrate some of what we saw of this amazing monument.
Rulers were known to build special palaces for specific purposes, in addition to those for making big decisions or receiving guests or courting their wives. In Jaipur there is a large, impressive palace in a lake and is a popular attraction called Water Palace. This can only be viewed from the highway as it is not in use. This was built by one of the Rulers for his own entertainment and features five stories, two above and three below the water.
Another palace known as City Palace was for governing the kingdom and is now a museum of interesting costumes and artifacts used by the Maharajas and their Maharanis. Today this palace also includes an art studio, with descendants of the early artist creating and selling art pieces on site. The Raja himself was a lover and supporter of art.
Nearby City Palace is one of the most unusual and probably the most interesting of all palaces, the Jantar Mantar Palace. I call it the Technology Palace, but the name actually means instruments and calculation.
And that is where the world's first observatory is located. The Raja himself was a bit of a scientist, cum astronomer cum astrologer.
It is almost beyond description the many massive instruments, like sun dials, that can be seen to tell climate conditions or the time of day in all seasons. It boggles the mind that these instruments could be built with such detail and precision in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Here are some of what we saw at Jantar Mantar.
To cap off a long day of palace hopping, we stopped for an external shoot of Wind Palace in downtown Jaipur. The most notable feature of this palace, in addition to its architectural beauty is that it has 365 windows. This made it breezy and was named Wind Palace.
A couple of final notes about Jaipur. It is the capital of Rajasthan State and is also known as the Pink City. The great Raja that created it actually pre-planned it, the first ever pre-planned city. This included the street design and the exact number of shops he wanted on each street. Each shop is actually numbered, although many are no longer in use.
Yes, much of the city is painted pink, a color that denotes welcoming, to welcome the visit of British Prince Albert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this prolonged "summary" of our Jaipur visit. We hope it gives an idea of our experience of Indian history, culture and beauty. Please revisit our blog in the next few days.
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