Rajasthan Whirlwind: Jaipur

What else would you call ten days of trekking through ancient forts and exploring ornate palaces and wandering colorful markets, alternating every other day with motoring a few hundred kilometers between Rajasthan’s major cities through the Thar Desert on near empty new highways? Oh, and staying in a Majaraja’s house (a real, current, Maharaja, not one from the history books) one night and a five-hundred-year-old stone rampart another? A whirlwind, of course! (And we didn’t even mention shopping extravaganzas in the footsteps of Judy Dench and Hillary Clinton or a New Year’s Eve celebration at that Maharaja’s actual Palace . . . )

Our itinerary included five of Rajasthan’s iconic cities—from Jaipur to Bikener to Jaisalmer to Jodhpur to Udaipur—over ten days and would have been impossible without the resources, knowledge, and local insights of Emma Horne Travel, a Delhi based bespoke travel advisory recommended to us by British friends who had lived there for a couple decades. As we began our planning last summer, we quickly realized a trip of this magnitude was beyond our scope, so we asked a few firms for suggestions and quotes. From the outset, Emma Horne was head and shoulders above the competition, with precise, thorough, enticing details, and they made the process a pleasure—and delivered a magical tour.

So, in late December, after taking in an intriguing recital of Odissi dancing to live Carnatic music at our neighborhood Kalakshetra Arts Colony in Besant Nagar, Sarah and I flew from Chennai directly to Jaipur and headed to our lodgings at Shahpura House, a heritage hotel that combines a fine attention to historic detail in its restoration with a royal sensitivity for creature comforts and charm.

As Sarah and I gaped our way through the maze of Shahpura House’s hallways and sitting rooms and libraries and galleries, we quickly realized there would be no way we could assimilate the overabundance of details suited to a more relaxed and gracious age. So we focused on the hotel bar and the aromatic dishes at Rasa, their north Indian fine dining venue that delivered new and exotic combinations. Later that first night, we also discovered that accommodations in Rajasthan typically provide no heat in their rooms—not a big deal, we figured, since we have no heat in our place in Chennai. Oooooops. Note to self: remember to pack heavy socks and sweaters and a real jacket when you visit Rajasthan in January since the temps can hit close to 0C at night even though the sun is delightful during the day at up to 26C.

So, next day, our first full foray into the whirlwind, we met our Emma Horne driver for the week, Shankar, along with our guide for the day, Manvi, and off they lead us through the old city gate and into the market area of Jaipur. We passed through the pink city—painted thus in 1876 to celebrate a visit from the Prince of Wales and maintained in the old city ever since—with its boistrous market stalls and the Hawa Mahal, a narrow construct with 953 jali screens—finely carved window openings designed so the women could watch the festivities on the street below, while observing the restrictions of purdah, and not be seen.

Ah, that we had had more time to join those throngs of fruitsellers and musicians and cobblers and yes, those looking for a helping hand, along the market stalls, but we needed to drive on up the valley to Amer and the iconic Amer Fort.

The Fort, actually an extensive hilltop marble and sandstone Palace built over four levels, each with its own courtyard for gatherings, was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their courts from about the early 1600s until 1727 when Jai Singh II moved the capital to Jaipur. My photos can’t begin to do it justice, and most surprising to Sarah and me, were the seemingly endless kilometers of stone walls that extended along the hills from this and the other forts we toured. We had no idea such walls had existed here in India. So much to learn!

So, after we browsed the Anokhi Museum right there by the Amer Fort, we made our way back down to Jaipur to tour the heart of the Pink City public areas, the Jantar Mantar. With a detailed plan, the construction of the basic public spaces of the city started in 1727 and was completed in four years. But Raja Jai Singh II continued to pursue knowledge and even learned Arabic so he could oversee construction of the Jantar Mantar, a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments completed in 1734. It features the world’s largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It will blow. Your. Mind.

Finally, we barely had enough time to stop by—just to look—a major cooperative where Hillary Clinton had shopped when she visited Jaipur. Just to look. No shopping for block printed scarves or intricate wall hangings and hand cut carpets, oh my . . . right? If you must know, you will have to come visit us in Chennai to see for yourself . . .

Ah, we still have Bikaner and Jaisalmer and Jodhpur and Udaipur to see . . . and hundreds of kilometers to drive, dodging cows and water buffalos and even the occasional monkey . . . not to mention our quest for Judy Dench . . . but of course that’s another story, right?