Jaipur: The Pink Shopping Mall

I am of two minds when it comes to Jaipur, the fifth stop on our journey throughout Northern India. On one hand, while I was there, I was extremely frustrated at the absurd amount of time wasted shopping, or to put it more accurately, sitting listlessly in stores. Our driver, Amar, had the unenviable task of making one avid shopper, one complete non-shopper and Laura, who could go either way, happy. Jaipur being a city well versed in shoving commerce down a visitor's throat, he usually opted for the path of least resistance and took us to a textile factory or a jewelry wholesaler or an antiques market or some other ring of Hell that I wanted no part of. I loathed it and by association, I loathed Jaipur and any moment not spent in a temple, fort or palace.

But on the other hand, I am now home, looking through the photos and feeling my rancor towards the Pink City ebb away. I am remembering how giddy I was following an audio guide through the Amber Fort discovering one stunning room after another. I am taken back to the thrill of leisurely strolling through the Hawa Mahal, the honey-combed structure where the women of the court could watch the city at work and play without being observed by any man other than the King. I am recalling the afternoon Amar noticed I was about to snap it if I had to enter one more store and suggested that we go somewhere else while the girls shopped. That day, he took me to a walk-up liquor store, got us a couple of beers and parked his tuk-tuk on the side of the road where we chatted and toasted to the joys of not shopping. In this more forgiving frame of mind, I am almost prepared to say that I liked Jaipur.

It is a pretty drastic change of heart. The first line in the journal entry from our first full day in Jaipur was this: "The city has found a new way to disappoint and annoy me." Their crime: shutting down all the government-run offices (museums included) to mourn the death of the President of Rajasthan. I realize that we would have encountered the same problem anywhere in Rajasthan, that he was an old man whose time had come and he probably did not die specifically to spite me, but the fact that it happened while we were in Jaipur counted as a strike against them in my book. Rational? Of course not, but the shopping was getting to me.

Instead of going to the Amber Fort as we had hoped, we ended up at its neighbor on the hill, the privately owned Jaigarh Fort. The two were initially part of the same complex, with Amber being the palatial quarters and Jaigarh being the militaristic portion keeping on it. They were, and probably still are, connected via underground passageways. Nowadays, Jaigarh is known primarily for its views of Amber and the for Jaivana, the world's largest cannon on wheels. In other words, it probably isn't visited all that often, but since it was one of the few shows in town, there were a good number of groups touring the vast grounds. The grand scale of the fort highlighted the amount of power that the Maharajas once held.

The descendants of the Maharaja still reside in Jaipur, in the City Palace to be more precise, which was our second stop on dead president day. The palace sits within the city walls, covering a seventh of the entire area. In order to make sure I saw all the parts open to the public in this 'city within a city', I rented my first of many digital audio guides. I absolutely love these things for providing valuable information about the sights, yet never rushing me and never angling for a tip. This particular one took me through a museum dedicated to the Maharajas and their passion for polo and turbans, explained the architecture and history of the different buildings and, because it was Jaipur, required me to go shopping. And not just a little gift shop by the exit...No. The tour had approximately 30 numbered stops. Right around 11-12, I found myself in bazaar showcasing the 'crafts of Rajasthan', or at least that is how it was billed. It was full of vendors selling all the same crap you can find anywhere else and not wanting to jump ahead in the audio guide, I had to stay and search out the two numbered stops. Damn me and my anal audio guide ways.

That evening, we got away from both forts and shops. Instead, we joined roughly 1000 other movie-goers at India's largest theater (capacity is 1237), the Raj Mandir for a showing of the latest Bollywood hit, De Dana Dan. I think it was funny, but since it was entirely in Hindi and had no sub-titles, I can't be completely sure. I am certain, however, that everyone that appeared on that screen is really, really popular. The appearance of each actor was greeted with manic screams and I think I even saw people get up to dance during the musical numbers. It is hard to say which was more entertaining, the movie or the crowd.

The next day, no one knew whether the museums were going to re-open, but we returned to the Amber Fort, just in case. When we saw gaudily painted elephants carting fat tourists up the hill, I wanted to cheer like an Akshay Kumar fan. It was open...and if the signs were to be believed, they had an audio guide. We climbed the hill, over taking the poor over-worked elephants on our way up and entered through a main gate into a crowded open courtyard. We were now at the looking up at a great view of the Jaigarh Fort. Amber (or "Amer" as the audio guide called it) is surprisingly colorful once you get inside. The main buildings are elaborately painted and wonderfully maintained. They share a blend of Hindu and Islamic architecture that complement each other seamlessly. In a country of stunning fort/ palaces, this was one of my favorites for its warmth and small scale. Plus the audio guide was extra entertaining in that the point of view of the narration continously shifted from a caretaker, the Maharaja, the Maharanis, the buildings themselves and at one point, a lake that no longer contains any water. Best of all, at no point was I led to a shop of any kind.

The same can not be said for the Hawa Mahal, the one building that features prominently on all of Jaipur's tourism brochures. The former playground for the women of the court is still quite peaceful and lovely once you step inside. The problem is the mass of commerce that has sprung up around it. No matter, they had an audio guide (2 in one day...score!) and Amar had given us ample enough time to soak up the atmosphere so I lingered inside for as long as I could before having to brave the shopping gauntlet.

Waiting for Amar, even 15 minutes of that annoyance was enough to turn me into a raving loon...one that hated Jaipur. I spent the remainder of my time in India telling people how much I disliked Jaipur (always after verifying they were from somewhere else, of course) and more often than not, they heartily agreed. In retrospect, I don't think that's true (on my part, at least). I hated one aspect of Jaipur, that's a fact, but the non-commercial part of the city more than holds it own. Now, with the benefit of distance, I would go as far as to recommend visiting Jaipur (preferably on a day when all the leaders are feeling healthy) but making it crystal clear to your driver what your preferences are. And if that doesn't work, you can always ask him if he knows somewhere to get a cold beer...

A Rhesus Macaque monkey hanging out near the Galta Temple.


The landmark Hawa Mahal, it was where the ladies of the court could watch city life without being observed.


A Langur Monkey on the road to Jaigarh Fort.


Sears family portrait, Langur monkey-style.


Jaigarh Fort: it was built to keep watch over the Amber Fort.


The World's Largest Canon on wheels.




Fortification walls around Jaigarh Fort or I preferred to call it 'the Great Wall of Jaipur'.


One of the entrance gates into the city.


The City Palace's Diwan-I-Khas or Hall of Private Audiences.  The silver vessel is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as one of the two largest silver vessels in the world. They were used to carry holy water from the river Ganga.


The Chandra Mahal




Amber Fort




The Ganesh Pol gateway leads to the living area and gardens of the palace.






The Winter Palace.


The Zenana Mahal, this area was reserved for the women of the court.


The Entrance to the Hawa Mahal


Anyone need a wedding band?