Home of the Rajasthan Royals

Jaipur (also known as “Pink City”) is the capital of Rajasthan state and is one of the most culturally rich heritage cities of Northern India. Jaipur was the first planned city of India. The name of the city “Jaipur" served as two- in- one compliments for the city as “Jai” means Victory (in hindi) and it was named after its first ruler. Jaipur is home of the Rajasthan Royals as the city was ruled by several Rajput rulers. The foundation stone of Jaipur was led on 18 November, 1727 by Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh II, after whom the city was named.

 Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II was a Kachhwaha Rajput, who was only 11 years old when he came into the power after the demise of his father Maharaja Bhishan Singh. Initially, Jai Singh’s capital was Amber, which is located at a distance of only 11kms from Jaipur. The need to shift his capital arose due to the increase in population and shortage of water supply. The king took keen interest in the designing of the Jaipur city and gave great importance to the security aspect of this city. While preparing layout for the city, he took references from several Indian books on architecture and architect and even sought the advice from Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya, the chief architect from Bengal.  Vidhyadhar Bahttacharya than developed the plan and discussed it with King Jai Singh after following the principals of Vastu Shastra, Ptolemy, Euclid, Astronomy and the science of Indian architecture (Shilpa Shastra).

 It took about 4 years to build the precisely planned city’s important Palaces, Market areas, Roads, Parks, Canal system and the Square. The city was divided in the nine blocks, two of among them consisted State Buildings, while the others were allotted to the public and for the security aspect, the city was encircled by the huge defensive and fortification walls which were opened only with the seven strong gates. Maharaja Jai Singh made sure that the architecture of Jaipur should depict the traditional Rajput Architectural design and all the buildings were built with the special sandstone, which is found in abundance in Rajasthan.

The color of the sandstones which were used for the construction of all the buildings was pink. This is one of the reasons why Jaipur is known as “Pink City”. Besides, pink color has its own history. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria visited Jaipur, Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur painted the whole city in pink color to welcome and honor the guests as pink color denotes the color of hospitality.

The city is renowned for its bounteous charm, vibrancy and it is amongst the most beautiful cities of Northern India which captivates the hearts of visitors by its beauty. Today, Jaipur city is the most popular tourist destinations in India. The Amber Fort, City Palace, Jaigarh Fort, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh Fort, Hawa Mahal, Govind Dev Ji Temple, Birla Mandir, Jal Mahal, Albert Hall Museum, Raj Mandir Cinema Hall and many more magnificent places which keep alive the glorious  past of Jaipur. People come from all over the world to admire the tales of valour and visit the astonishing beauty of the majestic Forts and Havelis, the serene landscapes, the beautiful temples and the cultural heritage of Jaipur.