Welcome to the Pink City. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. It was founded in 1727 and was once the capital of royalty. We were told that Jaipur was the first well planned city in India and so far, it has been the only city we’ve seen that looks well planned. Some people even call it the Paris of India. The city is divided into sectors separated by broad streets. It has a distinct and relatively consistent architecture which I really liked. You will see what I’m talking about in these photos. Jaipur is a city of some two million people.

This first photo is the Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds. It was built in 1799, is five stories high, and has close to 1000 windows. While a big palace from the front, Hawa Mahal is only one room thick. It was built so that the women of Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh’s court could discreetly get some air and at the same time watch the activity in the streets below. It was built to take advantage of the westerly winds which blow through this palace. The servants would also throw water on the lattice to add to the cooling effect. The palace is made of pink sandstone.

Jaipur was a walled city with gates. The gates were originally closed at night. While no longer closed at night, they are still in place and quite impressive. While it was still a challenge to cross the street here, the gates did provide some blocking along the way.

The third photo is just a typical Jaipur street scene with shops in the background and people flowing by in the street. I loved the continuity of the architecture in Jaipur.