JAIPUR AND AGRA TOUR

My wife’s cousin brother was celebrating his 60th birthday. He flew down from the U.S. to celebrate his birthday in India by visiting Jaipur and Agra. It was a 7 day tour starting from 1st November, 2023 to 7th November, 2023.

The tour started by our taking a flight from Mumbai to Jaipur and the cousin’s family of 6 taking a flight from Chennai. We met at Jaipur airport at 1.30pm. He had booked a 13 seater vehicle for the entire tour. The van picked us up from the airport and we were booked to stay at Club Mahindra, Golimar Garden at Jaipur.

We started from Club Mahindra after checking in our baggage and lunch to visit Amber Fort, our first destination point at 4.30 p.m.

Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amber or Amer Fort is known for its artistic style elements like different types of gates and structures. Amer is the Moghul name for Jaipur. It is the Kachwahas who shifted from Amer to the now Jaipur in the 11th century. The Fort and the palace is 412 years old and the inscriptions on the ceiling are gold coloured with gem stones. The stones are placed in a such a way that at night, you can see blue shining colour on the walls. There is a Shivmandir which opens only on Shivrathri.

After the visit to Amber Fort, we visited Rajasthali Cottage Industries’ Factory Outlet located at Jagat Shiromal Temple Road, Amer, Jaipur. Here we could see the process of block printing technology for printing the bed sheets, cloth items, quilts etc. Jaipur is to gems as Surat is to diamonds. 30% of population of Jaipur is in gems cutting industry. Artisans could be seen cutting and polishing gems of different shapes and sizes here. Carpets are hand woven vertically which are used in the palaces in Jaipur. These carpets are quite expensive. Quilts manufactured here are of export quality. They use Muslin cloth imported from Bangladesh. Hence, they are light weight and quite soft. The shops claims that when you wash these quilts, their colour becomes more bright.

On Day 2 after breakfast, we moved out to visit Ghatore ki Chatriyan. This ornamental structure was built by Maharaja Sawai Mansing II. It is managed by Maharaja Sawai Mansing II museum trust in the City Palace of Jaipur. The cenotaphs are shaped like umbrellas (chhatris) and hence the place is called Ghatore Ki Chhatriyan. There are 5 cenotaphs of the Maharajas. Their wives tombs are located elsewhere. The cenotaphs are made out of Italian marble and the smaller structures are placed next to each other in such a symmetrical way that from the furthest one you can clearly see the person sitting at the end of these structures.

From the Ghatore ki Chatriyan, we moved on to see the Jal Mahal. This palace is placed at the middle of the Man Sagar Lake. This was designed to be a hunting lodge for the local Raja. It is a five storied building four floors of which are under water and hence, no entry is available to this mahal. It can only be viewed from the Amer Road. A lot of birds are seen sitting on the structures nearby.

Opposite to the road of viewing Jal Mahal, there is a photo shop providing traditional Rajasthani dress for men and women for taking photographs wearing such dresses. We took some photographs with such dresses.

From there we had lunch at Royal Rajwada Hotel. It was a typical Rajasthani lunch with live folk music from a duo. The food was quite delicious.

After lunch, we moved on to Kanak Bagh or Kanak Garden. This was a garden of the Maharaja. Opposite to the garden is Shri Radha Madavji Temple. It is just a garden with some structures.

Then onwards we moved to the Nahargarh Biological Park. Vehicles are not allowed inside the garden. The park provides cart inside the garden. There are a number of animals in the garden viz., tortoise, deers, Bengal Tiger, Fox, Wolf, Chinkara, Black Buck etc.

From there we moved to the Elephant Village. It is a 32 hectares forest land with a number of huge elephants with whom you can Meet and Greet, Take a Ride and/or Feed the Elephants at a cost. All the elephants are trained to take the tourists on a ride and for meet and greet and feeding them.

Next we moved on to Panna Meena Kund. This is a olden days rainwater harvesting system. The architecture is quite unique. This was made by the Royal family.

On day 3 we first visited Govindji Temple. This is a Krishna temple built by the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh in 1727 for his queen. Hall of this temple has no pillars in the middle but only on the sides. It is on Guiness Records for pillarless construction. You could witness large number of devotees visiting this temple every day.

Next we moved to Jantar Mantar. This is a wonder of the 18th century. Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh wanted to know the time of the day as there were no watches then. He built these 19 astronomical instruments in 1734 to know the time of the day. These are calculation instruments to calculate the direction of the sun during the day. It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All instruments work on the movement of the sun. Among the 19 instruments the Samrat Yantra is considered to be largest sundial of the country. Each of these instruments are named as Yantras. 23 astronomers of Jaipur were involved in the construction of this observatory.

There are structures named after astronomical stars. This was a 18th century computer to know the rashi of the birth of a child.

Next we moved to the City Palace. It is also the museum now. City Palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who headed the Kachwaha Rajput Clan and holds the credit of being the founder of Jaipur. This was built in the 17th Century when the Maharaja wanted to shift his capital from Amer to Jaipur. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II was the last occupier of this palace. The different structures are a combination of Rajput, European and Moghul style. The palace has three gates. Each of these gates signify seasons.

Inside the palace area you have Mubarak Mahal, which was built by Maharaj Madho Singh II. This is on European design as the Maharaja used to welcome foreign dignitaries here.

Then you have Chandra Mahal, which has a peacock gate at the entrance. This has beautiful floral carvings and mirror decorations. This was built by the Maharaja for one of his Queens. The Sukh Niwas is designed in such a way that the floor, walls and ceilings are decorated with mirrors.

The Museum showcases the photographs of Maharajas as Polo players with the trophies and their dresses for different sports like polo, Billiards etc.

The flag of Maharaja of Jaipur still occupies a place at the top of this palace.

The palace also has two wings viz., Diwan-e-Khaas and Diwan-e-Aam.

Diwan-e-khaas was the Maharaja’s Durbar. Walls of this hall holds large paintings of the Maharaja of Jaipur and other articles.

Diwan-e-Aam was meant for general public for the Maharaja to hold audience with them.

There are two huge silver jars, which according to guide, were shipped to England containing Gangajal for consumption by the Maharaja while he was on tour of England. It is said to hold a place in Guiness World Records.

The palace lawns are given on hire for functions at a highest cost. On the day we visited the Palace, there was a wedding function scheduled and we could see a number of wooden elephant effigies of different sizes placed in the area in preparation for the function.

Next we moved on to Albert Hall Museum. This museum is famous for collection of different artifacts like painting, jewellery, carpets etc. There is a mummy of female member of a priest family of Egypt called Tutu. The hall has a seating capacity of 5000.

From there we visited Birla Mandir, Jaipur. This was built by the Birla Foundation in 1988 and is constructed solely of white marble like the other Birla Mandirs in India. It is also known as Laxminarayan Temple. A large number of devotees and tourists are seen visiting this temple. You get a good view of the city and sunset from this place.

As a last stop, we visited Patrika Gate. This is a destination mainly for pre-wedding shoots. It is the entrance to Jawahar Circle Park. It is a renowned photographic spot of Jaipur. The gate is made up of archways, walls and pillars painted with different scenes of Rajasthan.

On day four, we first visited NaharGhar Fort, Sheesh Mahal and Wax Museum which are all in one place.

NaharGhar Fort : Located in Amravalli hill range, this fort was built in 1734 by the then Maharaja Jai Singh as a resting place for him and his queens. This was also used for hunting by the royal family. From the fort you get a view of the city below. This fort was originally built to protect the empire from invaders.

Inside the fort, there are three attractions viz., Wax Museum, Royal Dabar and Sheesh mahal. All three attractions are worth watching

Wax Museum :

At the entrance is a 3 seater motor cycle for taking photographs. There are 32 effigies of prominent personalities like Albert Einstein, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ravindranath Tagore, Gandhiji, Subashchandra Bose, Bhagatsingh, Cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Former President Dr.Abdul Kallam, Film personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Jackie Chan, Sportsperson like Saina Nehwal and Lionel Messi, other personalities like Swami Vivekanand, Mother Teressa, Tenzin Gyatso, Michael Jackson,, Iron Man, Spider Man, Doremon, Astonaut Kalpana Chawla etc. Photography inside the museum, darbar and sheesh mahal by pubic is not allowed but you can hire professional to take photographs.

Royal Darbar :

This depicts the charming royal courtroom from the 18th century. Aptly named The Royal Darbar, right from the entrance till the end, it is decorated with the enchanted paintings that depict the rich heritage of Maharajas Sawai Singh II, Sawai Ram Singh II, Sawai Modho singh II, portrait of Maharna Pratap and Maharani Gayatri Devi. There is also the Kohinoor Diamond on display here.

Sheesh Mahal :

Sheesh Mahal is full of awe inspiring mirror work, a craft centuries old. Consisting of more than 25 lac glass pieces, the illusions created here are very inspiring. The mahal is of glass floor, ceiling and side walls. All these pieces were hand stitched. The flowers and paintings are made from gold colors. The glasses are of different shapes and colors like white, green, red and blue glasses. On the floor is a circular design consisting of different colors of glasses. It was an awesome experience to walk on a glass flooring. The throne here is sun shaped with white structure on top coupled with white, yellow and orange glass pieces placed together. Precious stones and gold leaves were used in designing the walls, ceiling and rooms.

We then moved on to Jaighar Fort.

This fort was built by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1726 to protect the Amer Fort and its palace complex and was named after him. This fort was the center point of artillery production for the kings. It houses the world’s largest cannon viz., Jalvan Cannon. The fort provides a stunning view of Jaipur city and also the long wall that was created around Amer city to protect it from intruders.

It also houses a museum of statues and the grandeur of the dynasty at this fort. It also has an assembly hall for the warriors.

On completing our 4 days tour of Jaipur, we moved on to Agra on the 5th day.

On the way we visited Fatehpur Sikri.

We hired a guide to tell us more about this wonderful town. This town was built by emperor Akbar between 1571 to 1585. This is one of the finest example of Moghul architecture. The town has two centers viz., Sikri and Fatehpur.

Sikri has structures of Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khaas. Diwaan-e-Aam hall was built for the general public where the emperor would hold audience with them and it was also used for public payers. Diwn-e-Khaas was a hall of private audience between Akbar and his ministers. It is said that Tansen used to play for Akbar here. It is reported that at Sikri, there was no hanging of sentenced people. Instead they were put under the feet of the emperor’s favourite elephant known as Hiren.

Then there is the Turkish Sultana’s house. To the left of the Diwan-e-Khaas is the Khazana Mahal. It is said that Akbar used to play hide and seek with his wives at this place.

The long building was Akbar’s palace.

There is also a library. To the right is Akbar’s Christian wife Mariam’s house.

There are two bedrooms at the fort, one for winter and the other for summer.

Then there is Jodha Bai’s palace. The red structured building provided secrecy and security to Akbar’s Rajput wife Jodabhai. It was Jodabhai who provided Akbar with a son. History has it that when Akbar was returning from victory over Gujarat, he made a hault at Sikri village to offer prayer to Baba Saleem Chisthi to bless him with a son. It is said that the Baba sacrificed his son so that Akbar can be blessed with a son. Jodhabhai was accordingly blessed with a son who was named Saleem. Hence, Jodabai had a important place in Akbar’s life.

In the center is a seat where Akbar and Jodabhai were reportedly spending time. This seat is used by tourist for photographs.

Fatehpur is the Tomb of Baba Saleem Chishti. At the tomb, it is said, you can ask for only 3 favours at a time and serve food for 2 people anywhere. You can place a chaadar on Baba’s tomb and pray for favours. The display board specifies the amount you can pay for a chaadar. Otherwise, it is likely that the sellers will charge higher amounts. There are a number of tombs of the priest’s generations inside the complex.

On the backside is the Buland Darwaza. It is a 13-metre flight of steps which adds to its grandeur. The gate was constructed in 1602 to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Deccan. It is the entrance to Jama Masjid mosque. The doors are of horse shoes shape and its height is 176 feet. It has the biggest arc which was completed within a year.

After halting at a hotel at Agra overnight, we started for visiting Mathura next morning.

First we visited Sri Krishna Janmasthan. This temple was constructed by the Dalmias in 1925. This is the place where Krishna was born but he stayed at Gokul with his mother. Kans was killed by Krishna here. His mother Yasodha was kept in Jail here. There is a mosque next to the temple i.e., Jama Masjid.

There are three main temples inside the premises - Keshavdev temple which is dedicated to Krishna, Garbh Griha where Krishna is believed to be born and Bhagvath Bhavan where presiding deities are Radha Krishna.

We then moved on to Vrindavan to visit ISKCON Temple. The temple stands on the banks of Yamuna River. As you enter Vrindavan, you can see this magnificent structure of the Iskcon Temple. The temple is under expansion, to accomplish the vision of Swami Prabhupada, for an international center in Vrindavan. They serve meals for the devotees at a reasonable cost. Wherever you are in Vrindavan, you see inscription "Radhe Radhe".

We also visited other temples in Vrindavan by hiring two autos viz., Prem Mandir, Kalidas Mandir and Madan Mohan Temple. We could not visit Vaishnodevi Temple as it was extremely crowded.

On the seventh day we visited the Taj Mahal. It took 22 years to create this historic monument employing about 22,000 labourers. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died at the age of 38. The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on banks of river Yamuna. It also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.

Other attractions include twin mosque buildings (placed symmetrically on either side of the mausoleum), lovely gardens, and a museum. The four minars have straircases but entry is not allowed to the public. Mumtaj Mahal’s body is buried 25 feet below the structure of Taj Mahal. The tomb is open for public only on February 7, 8 and 9th every year. The red stones used are from Yemen. There are four gardens in front. It also houses 11 domes on top of the gate. The flowery work is made from gem stones. At the entrance there are writings from the Holy Quran. It is declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Taj Mahal looks identical from all four sides.

The guide informed us that Saal wood is placed at the bottom foundation of the Taj to give it strength by drawing water from the adjoining Yamuna River. That is why after nearly 4 centuries, the structure remains unaffected, attracting millions of visitors.

On the day we visited, it was quite foggy in Agra in the morning. The Taj was hardly visible from even a short distance.

On the last leg we moved to Agra Fort.

It is located about 2.5 km northwest of Taj Mahal. It took 95 years to complete this Fort from 1565 to 1660.

It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty till 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. The Agra fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The entry to Agra Fort is allowed through the Amar Singh Gate only which occupies about 25% of the space which is open to pubic and the remaining 75% is not accessible to public which is held by the Indian Army.

This fort also has Diwan-e-Aam or the Hall of Public Audience. This hall with numerous pillars is said to be erected by Shah Jahan in the year 1628. There is a Royal Pavilion surrounded by two mosques and Khas Mahal, Sheesh Mahal and Meena Bazar. Meena bazar was used for shopping by the royal ladies. The gates inside the fort are in a zig-zag fashion to keep away invaders. The floor of the entrance gate gives horse hoof sound. It was designed to warn of any horse entry into the gate. You can also hear eco inside the fort. Jehangir Mahal was designed for entertainment purposes. This fort has a great drainage system. The Jehangir kitchen is similar in design to that of Jodabhai’s kitchen. The walls sound hollow. The Sheesh Mahal is closed and not accessible to public. The window in one of the walls is designed in such a way that from the outside the window looks closed but from inside if you throw a coin, it will fall outside.

The fort has two Doli shaped structures first one was constructed in memory of his second daughter Roshanara and the second structure was constructed in memory of his first daughter Jehnara.

While Shah Jahan liked white marble stones for structures, Akbar liked red stones. You will find both types inside the fort.

The ceiling and walls are painted with gold paint. In the Khaas Mahal, 13 children were born.

Aurangzeb placed Shah Jahan under house arrest at this fort. He was allowed to see Taj Mahal from this fort only. The pillars of the Diwan-e-Khaas hall inside the fort are in absolute symmetry whereas the pillars of Diwan-e-Aam are also in symmetry but apart. The fort also houses 4500 workers quarters which is currently closed to public. From a particular point in Agra Fort, The Taj Mahal looks bigger. The lighting of this fort is done in such a way that at night, Agra Fort looks in tricolor.

On the last leg, we saw the Light and Sound Show. This show highlights the various heroics of the Rajput Kings. It starts at 7.30pm and lasts for an hour in the open seating area. The lighting effect can be seen on the Amber Fort coinciding with the sound. There is no parking near the show area but it is at a distance of about 500 metres.

After seven days of intensive travel to visit Jaipur and Agra, we concluded the tour and returned on the 8th day morning by travelling to Delhi by road and taking flights from Delhi.

It was a wonderful experience visiting the historical monuments of the 17th and 18th century which are still in good condition and attracts tourists from India and abroad. Thanks to our cousin Vasanth, his wife Charu and son Arun and brother-in-law Krishna Kumar for making us a part of such a memorable tour. Also to Kumar and Uma for the company.