Monday, December 17, 2012

India 101. Part 2

Jaipur.
After leaving Delhi, we headed west and south, into Rajasthan, to the area around Jaipur, the second leg in our "Golden Triangle" tour.  It felt good to me to be traveling through the countryside, past the rich fields and small villages, the vistas punctuated by the narrow towers of the brick making kilns. Recognizing some of the crops made me want to know more about those that I did not know. What are they growing?
Amber Fort - on the way in.

The Amber fort, was our first stop in the Jaipur. It is not named for the color, but rather for the town of Amer, and so is also known as the Amer fort.  We had the opportunity to ride an elephant up to the fort, but choose not to wait the hour or two. I think most of us felt a little sorry for the elephants as well, though we were assured that they were limited to two or three trips each.
Part of the fort - note the screen area above .

The fort itself is a great example of Rajput architecture, engineering, and artistry. The marble and red sandstone courtyards and the fine craftsmanship really are stunning, and the clever uses of water to cool and refresh are amazing.
Garden and hall of mirrors within the fort - elaborated channels to water the garden.

In the town of Jaipur itself (also known as the pink city), we saw two more significant places: the City Palace, and the astronomical observatory or Jantar Mantar.
Like many of the forts and palaces in Rajastan, the City Palace is really a complex of palaces and courtyards, elaborately decorated. It was (and is) the residence of the Maharajas of Jaipur, the first part built between 1729 and 1732. Lots of interesting things in the museum and incredible details in the ornamentation of the gates.
Detail from one of four main gates to City Palace courtyard

The Jantar Mantar was a neat combination of science and architecture. The massive sundials and observational structures are pretty impressive. From the wikipedia article: "The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars' location as the earth orbits around the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides."
The largest Sundial in the world - shadow on the curve tells time in 15 second increments.

Very worthwhile visit, enhanced by good company and food - we even did a little shopping.

Learning how carpets are made. A look of concentration.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

India 101. Part I

A week of break from work
"India 101" Nancy calls it with
A trip to the classic sites
described as must sees by all the guide books:
Delhi, Jaipur, Agra

First Stop: Delhi
A great day shared with brother Steve, laughing and enjoying each other's company and seeing the grand mosque, the Red Fort, Gandhi memorial, and Birla Temple.
Red Fort - Built by the Moghuls, taken by the British and then the site of where the flag of the new India was raised on August 15, 1947

One of the Palaces within the Red Fort.

Raj Ghat - memorial to Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi. An eternal flame marks where his body last rested before his cremation.

Birla Temple. Built in the 1930's by a major Indian Industrialist (think Rockefeller or Carnegie). He was a friend of Ganhi's and built the first caste-free temple in India. Gandhi attended the opening.  Nancy has a Birla descendent in her class.

More coming as we find time to reflect on the trip... Part II and Part III