Rajasthan - Land of Pink City

Mohen Naorem

Rajasthan is a state bordering Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Pakistan. Main towns of this beautiful state are Jaipur, Kota, Bikaner, Gandhinagar, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Alwar, Ajmer and Chittorgarh. The place is filled with various forts, palaces and adventure spots. The only desert of India, Thar Desert is a tourist attraction for its sand dunes and yellow landscape.

Jaipur, the magical city carved out of the desert, still blushes pink even 273 years later after it was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai II in 1727. It is called the pink city of India because its prominent buildings are washed in this colour. On its colourful streets, motorbikes jostles for space with camels and turbaned village elders rub solders with youngsters in jeans.

One of the important places in Jaipur is Govind Dev Temple. The presiding deity of this unusual temple is the flute playing Lord Krishna (or Govind Dev). The temple was once a garden pavilion called Suraj Mahal where Sawai Jai Singh II lived while his dream city Jaipur was being built. According to legends, one night the king awoke from his sleep to find himself in the presence of Lord Krishna who demanded that his divine residence to returned to HIM. Thus, the king moved to Chandra Mahal, at the opposite end of the garden, and installed the image as the guardian deity of Jaipur’s ruler.

Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal or the “Palace of Winds” is a whimsical addition to Rajasthan’s rich architectural history. Its ornate pink facade has become an icon for the city. The tiered Barogue like composition of projecting windows and balconies with perforated screens in five storey high but just one room deep.

Central Museum

Central Museum or Albert Hall exhibits includes models of yogi’s adopting various positions, tribal customs, drawings, musical instruments and fine collections of Mughal and Rajput miniature paintings. The Museum’s greatest treasure, one of the World’s largest Persian carpets can be seen in the Durbar Hall.

Jantar Mantar

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is the largest and the best preserved one in India. Built between 1728 and 1734, it has been described as the “most realistic and logical landscape in stone”. Still, some of the devices are used to forecast how hot the summer months will be, the expected date of arrival, duration and intensity of the monsoon, and the possibility of floods and famine.

Ghana National ParkOne of the World’s Heritage site is famous for bird sanctuaries. This once arid scrubland was first developed by Bharatpur’s rulers in the mid-18th Century by diverting the waters of a nearby irrigation canal to create a private duck reserve. Today, the park attracts a wide variety of migratory birds that fly in each winter from places like Siberia.

Pushkar

Pushkar is a peaceful pilgrim town of lakes and temples. According to Hindu legends, pushkar derives its name from Pushpa (flower) and Kar (hand). The lakes were created from the petals that fell from the divine hands of Brahma, the creator God of the Hindu. Pushkar fair is a world festival where tourists from different countries enjoyed the true colour of Rajasthan for complete 10 days.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

The Ajmer city is famous for the holy muslim shrine, Sharif Dargah. It is the tomb of the great Sufi sant, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi. Lakhs of pilgrims come to the city for the saint’s annual URS (death anniversary) in October. Emperor Akbar was Chisti’s most famous devotee and had once walked barefoot all the way from Agra to Ajmer, when Emperor Jahangir was born.

Ranthambore National Park

The park’s razor-sharp ridges, lakes, deep boulder-filled gorges and jungles are the habitat of carnivores like panther, jackal, hyena, deer and variety of wild birds. Ranthambore Tiger, though endangered species now is the star attraction. The park derives its name from the great Rajput forest fort that is 1000 years old and stands at a height of 705 feet.

Mount Abu

Mount Abu is the highest point of the Aravalli ranges passing through Rajasthan. It is the only hill station of the state and well known for the Dilwara Temple and few archaeological remnants of the past history.