Hawa Mahal means “palace of the breeze”. It’s well-named – the semi-octagonal windows channel the wind from all directions, creating natural air-conditioning throughout the light, airy building. It was built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivals without being seen.
Constructed of pink and red sandstone, it sits on the edge of City Palace, rather helpfully connected to the women’s chambers (although nobody’s ever found the underground passages).
Built by Pratap Singh in 1799 AD for his wives, concubines and children, it was his haven also. Being Maharaja doesn’t sound like much fun, to be honest – especially during Pratap’s reign. He apparently valued his leisure time here. Unsurprising, really as he was surrounded with women, singing and dancing, and (I assume) offering their, er, “services”.
Purdah (“curtain”) is the practice of separating women from the gaze of all men except their husbands. It came over with the early Muslim traders and still exists now, albeit in a watered-down form of women covering their heads – it’s regarded as a sign of modesty and respect. Probably by those who don’t have to wear them.
I also learnt the rather distressing story of Raja Ishmari Singh. He swore “death before dishonour and committed suicide by snake bite (there being fewer options at that time). But his 21 wives and concubines were then obliged to perform a ritual mass suicide by throwing themselves on his funeral pyre. Hmmm – doesn’t sound very honourable to me.
Pratap was a devotee of Lord Krishna and designed the facade of this palace in the shape of Krishna’s crown. Pyramid-shaped, the five-storied structure has 365 windows (seemingly nothing to do with the days of the year) and stands 87 feet high. That’s 26.5 metres in real money.
“Chandpoli” is the main gate (above) with five images over the arch, each under their own umbrella (or “chhatri”):
- Ganesh (spiritual growth, remover of obstacles)
- Shiva (Ganesh’s father, the destroyer, usually holding a trident)
- Lakshmi (beauty, good fortune and wealth, but no time for those who seek easy money)
- Vishnu (the creator, has 24 avatars)
- Calci (the final avatar of Vishnu, destroyer of evil, ushers in truth and love)
In contrast to most other buildings, there’s distinct asymmetry. It’s deliberate as it stops people seeing through to the main courtyard, and the ladies. Enuchs were engaged as doormen to avoid any extra-curricular nookie.
Hawa Mahal is a seamless fusion of Rajput (square pillars, chhatri-domed small balconies) and Mughal (filigree marble, stone inlay) elements and Pratap was so taken with it that the architect was rewarded with “a handful of villages”. And very right, too.
A puppet show was in full flow (it seems to be a thing here, as we saw one in City Palace, too):
“Holi” is the celebration the day after a full moon – it’s traditional to throw coloured powder made of crushed flowers and veg, over each other. Everyone is equal for a day 🙂
There are many theories as to why Jaipur’s old city is pink. The audio guide suggested that the Maharaja wanted a city to rival others, but that funds meant he could only use local stone. Whilst good for the core, it wasn’t as pretty as red sandstone, so he had it painted.
Jaipur is built in a basin, a commercial town rather than a fort to be defended, planned on a grid structure with the City Palace at the centre. It’s founder was Jai Singh… hence the name “Jaipur”.
Albert Hall Museum was rather dry. The top five exhibits (in my view) were:
- A copy of the Qur’an (see photo above)
- Pictorial representations of the 36 ragas (the 6 Indian musicals scales, each with five “wives”)
- A collection of musical instruments (it always fascinates me how different, isolated civilisations ended up designing very similar musical instruments – a reminder that there is more that unites us than divides us):
- Four entire bookcases with each figurine in a different yoga pose – here’s one cabinet’s worth:
- The story of Rameses II:
Finally, Birla Mandir is a relatively new temple, opened in 1985. The white marble is striking, calming and peaceful. My favourite bit was the thin marble relief carving – the back had been chiselled to thin marble so that from the inside, the image appeared as a silhouette. No photos allowed and I can’t even find one on the web – so here it is from the outside:
Stained-glass windows were reminiscent of Christian churches – and I assume the images would have been as familiar to locals as the scenes of the Bible are to westerners.
A peaceful end to an enjoyable, busy day.
