August 2-4 Jaipur

Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan, is known as the “Pink City”. There are various theories about the derivation of the “pink” nickname, from the terracotta color of the old city walls (Jaipur was built in 1727 as a “planned” city, with 9 sectors dividing the population according to occupation and caste) to the notion popularized by the British that pink is the color of hospitality, and thus the buildings were painted pink for the visit in 1876 by Edward VII. The city is now painted pink every 10 years; in 2000 the fresh paint corresponded to a visit by former President Clinton.

Our hotel in Jaipur, the Jai Palace, is my absolute favorite, and it was my turn to have a room all to myself. The building was surrounded by gardens. a life-size chess board, and a gorgeous pool. The interior décor is delightful –traditional Rajasthani themes in bright colors and modern motifs. In each of the hotels that we’ve enjoyed, the floral arrangements have been exquisite, and the Jai Palace was no exception. On our last evening there, the dining room and adjacent garden area were booked for a birthday party. Guests in stunning saris enjoyed an outdoor buffet under a billowy white tent. It was really fun to have a close-up glimpse of another aspect of the modern middle-class Indian lifestyle.
In Jaipur we had the opportunity to visit a school devoted to the education of students with disabilities. The accomplishments of the school and its students are quite impressive. It was also the first building we saw India with wheelchair ramps. The mission of PRAYAS is total inclusion of disabled and socially disadvantaged students into the mainstream of educational opportunity.

Despite an early morning rain, our group enjoyed an elephant ride at the City Palace and again marveled at the architecture, a synthesis of Rajasthani and Mughal styles. Truly marvelous is the Jantar Mantar, one of Maharaja Jai Singh II’s five observatories located in various parts of the country. Constructed with stone and marble, an array of astronomical instruments were precisely and scientifically designed and are nearly 100% accurate according to today’s computer-based readings. A large contingent of (predominantly male) university students was visiting at the same time, and like us, were undeterred by the rain that had again begun to fall.

An entire page of the local newspaper was devoted to photos of parks and the countryside surrounding “The Pink City”. Rajasthan is arid, a desert state in this country of diverse ecosystems. However, thanks to the monsoon rains, the predominant colors of Jaipur during our stay were myriad shades of green.

We concluded our visit to Jaipur with an ethnic Rajasthani dinner at Chokhi Dhani Village, and for some, a camel ride!