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Jaipur, also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. Historically rendered as Jeypore, founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 5 million residents.
Built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, the city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 111 ft (34 m) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds), formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. Another noteworthy building is Sawai Jai Singh's observatory, Jantar Mantar.
In the 19th century the city grew rapidly and became prosperous; by 1900 it had a population of 160,000. The city's wide boulevards were paved and lit with gas. The city had several hospitals. Its chief industries were in metals and marble, fostered by a school of art founded in 1868. The city also had three colleges, including a Sanskrit college (1865) and a girls' school (1867) initiated under the reign of the enigmatic Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II. There was also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers, particularly the Jains and the Marwaris.
The major rivers passing through the Jaipur district are Banas and Banganga. Jaipur has a semi-arid climate in spite of receiving more than 50 cm rainfall annually, as the rainfall is concentrated in the monsoon months between June and September. This is due to its proximity to the Thar desert.
The National Highway No.8 links Delhi to Mumbai and No.11, linking Bikaner to Agra passes through Jaipur district to a total length of 366 km. Jaipur has direct trains on the broad gauge network to cities like Agra, Delhi, Gwalior, Mumbai, Howrah, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur etc. across the country and to cities like Ajmer, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur within Rajasthan. Jaipur's Jaipur Airport is situated in its satellite town of Sanganer and offers sporadic service to Muscat, Sarjah, Bangkok and Dubai. Jaipur also has well connected domestic air links.
Places of interest are:
• Amber Palace
• Amber Fort
• Jaigarh Fort
• Jal Mahal
• Jantar Mantar
• Hawa Mahal
• Galtaji
• Govind Dev Ji temple
• City Palace Museum
• Moti Dungari (Ganesh Temple)
• Kanak Ghati
• Raj Mandir
• Albert Museum
• Jawahar Circle
• Central Park
• Birla Temple
• Chokhi Dhani
• Sisodia Garden
• Rambagh Palace, now a luxury hotel
Jaipur has been famous for sports like squash, polo and of-late it has acquired a special place on the world cricket map as well. Jaipur is home to the Rajasthan Royals cricket team of the Indian Premier League.
Websites:
http://jaipur.nic.in/
http://pinkcity.info/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Jaipur
http://www.indianrail.gov.in
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