About Rajasthan Tour

WINDSWEPT DESERTS AND EXOTIC PALACES

1. Udaipur 2. Jaipur 3. Jodhpur 4. Jaisalmer

THE PICTURESQUE TOWN of Udaipur (pop. 230,000) is a fertile oasis in the scratchy deserts of Rajasthan. Three large artificial lakes built centuries ago for irrigation still form the heart of the city, which is enclosed on all sides by mountains.

1. Udaipur

Udaipur is a colorful place, with beautiful murals on the whitewashed walls of many of its homes -it’s a local custom to paint a horse and an elephant on each side of the gateway when a marriage takes place. The women here prefer the royal colors of orange and red for their saris. The city, originally the capital of the State of Mewar, was founded in the 16th century by Udai Singh, its first maharana-a “prince among princes title bestowed only upon this Rajput Royal Family for valorous deeds and its longer than-other-Rajputs resistance to the Muslim rulers in Delhi. I ney ave into the Muslims in 1614, but the city remained, until Indian Independence, under the rule of this same royal family, who built many gorgeous palaces over the years

2. Jaipur

Rajasthan often gets in the news in India because of its poverty, aggravated by the occasional droughts that come as a reminder of hoW much of the state is desert.

comparative poverty aggravated by the occasional droughts that chow much that comes as an unwelcome reminder of how much of the state is desert. But in some ways, it’s also one of the most attractive states, with came the stone for Agra’s Taj Mahal); the forests of Sawai Madhopur filled with wild animals that otherwise rarely seen the beast of burden, the aloof camel; and the artificial lakes that have made lovely cities bloom

Not to mention the people: Women in swirling bright skirts covered from head to toe in bangles, balancing braSs jugs on their homes men with rose-red and pink turbans like until-blown roses in a desert (t takes ten yards of silk to the wind that headgear amateurs need not even try Alas, these colorful outfits are rarely seen in Jaipur anymore. Still, they are trying to preserve some of the traditional atmospheres of this city by painting all of the buildings in the old part of town their original pink shade and printing all signs in the local language. Jaipur (pop. 1,005,000), the most renowned of Rajasthan’s cities, is often referred to as rose-pink because of the delicate flamingo color with which so many of the most arresting buildings were painted,

Mirza Ismail Road separates the new city from the old, but to the visitor’s surprise, once through the ancient Sanganer Gate, he finds the

centuries-old Johri Bazar as wide a street as in any modern city in the world. Truly it is an example of foresighted planning: by Sawai Jai Singh 1699-1743), who founded the city in 1727 and determined that it should be the best-planned metropolis of its time. The streets, 110 feet wide (to accommodate old-time elephant processions), were laid out to intersect at right angles in the now-familiar grid system; eight gateways were built in the surrounding city wall, 20 feet high and eight feet thick. Jai Singh, who was only 13 when he became ruler, was dubbed “Sawaf (prodigy) by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb ruling in Delhi at the time, and the title is still borne today by the princely house of Jaipur. Jai Singh, not content with city planning, went on to become one of the world’s major astronomers, building observatories not only in Jaipur but also in Delhi and other cities.

3. Jodhpur

To many Westerners, Jodhpur 1s is the name of tight-fitting riding trousers flared at the hips. It’s been the main city of the Great India Desert since medieval days. The focal point here, the Mehrangarh Fort, is so fantastic that you think if you blink it will vanish. From the local men’s attire came the name of the breeches. More than in Udaipur or Jaipur, and despite this Rajasthani city’s abundant flowers, trees, vast artificial lakes, and lawns, in Jodhpur, you sense that only a step away is a desert landscape, almost as barren as the moon. This makes the medieval fort seem more magical-a larger-than-life version of an idealized illustration in a child’s book. And talk about pink horseshoe-shaped Jodhpur blushes like a bride as it nestles into the ridge of rosy sandstone hills whose quarries gave birth to the stones for the major structures.

Less majestic buildings in white or yellow are dazzling against a flawless blue sky. Jodhpur (pop. 495,000) once the state of Marwar, meaning land of death, was founded in 1211. The city was built by Rao Jodha in 1459. His descendants, some among the residents today, ruled these parts for half a millennium until Indian Independence in 1947. The city’s walls are almost six miles in circumference. Through its seven huge gates each commemorating a victory-passed some of Raja- that’s most valiant warriors. As with all Rajputs, they claimed that their history of heroic deeds went back as far as the epic poems, the Ramayana, and Mahabharata, and they upheld their heritage with honor. Jodhpur is visited by Mandore, a few miles away, the earlier capital of Marwar.

4. Jaisalmer

In every adventurous traveler’s imagination is a city like Jaisalmer’s rarely visited golden city rising from the wilderness waiting to be discovered. Relatively difficult to reach, but well worth the effort, Jaisalmer (poD. 238,000), founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, lies at the western end of

Rajasthan, in the heart of the Great Indian Desert. When camel caravans carried precious cargo to central Asia, Jaisalmer was in its glory days as a trading center and stop en route to Delhi. Traces of this former opulence are seen in lace-like buildings of luminous sandstone. New construction today must also be ochre-toned to blend with the old. Against this theatrical background are handsome Rajasthanis in bright turbans and vivid skirts and blouses. As Bombay rose in importance as a seaport, Jaisalmer began to lose its luster. After the 1947 partition, the trade routes to Pakistan were closed and Jaisalmer went further into decline.

During the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, Jaisalmer, with its strategic border position, was reborn as an important military base. Today the army is Jaisalmer’s main industry. While a good paved road makes it a six-hour run from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, there are no flights, which deters many travelers, and also there are no big hotels to hold tour groups. In Jaisalmer, they wish there were jet fights so tourism would further shore up the economy. But for now, at least it’s possible to be among the few visitors wandering in the magic streets of this golden and glowing city rising in the desert wilderness.