The Jaipur Literature Festival

The Jaipur Literature Festival – always colorful, often controversial -- is the premier literary event in the country, and befitting its status, has a permanent slot on the cultural calendar, between January 24 and 28. The event, traditionally held in the spectacular Diggi Palace, features readings of their works by top Indian and international authors, workshops, debate, participatory discussions and, by way of relief from words, an array of cultural performances that light up the evenings.

There is more to Jaipur than the literary luminaries who arrive for four days of immersion in words. The capital of and the largest city in Rajasthan, Jaipur’s origins stretch back into antiquity, tracing the date of its founding by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II all the way back to November 1727. A feature of the Pink City – the sobriquet famously attached to it for the pink stone which is its architectural signature – is its wide, regularly spaced roads and streets, and the grid-like patterns that dictate its living quarters or sectors. The city is dominated by the palace in the center, four quarters wrapping it around in the four directions, and a sixth additional quarter off to the east. Jaipur forms part of the popular tourist circuit known as the Golden Triangle, and those who descend on the city for the annual literary fest will find exploring it a rich, rewarding experience. 

 

Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, dominates the central business district of Jaipur, an incongruously attractive flashback in the midst of bustling contemporary commerce. Tradition has it that in 1799, Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh had it constructed in the shape of Krishna’s crown; its five-storey structure composed of red and pink sandstone and characterized by a honeycomb format featuring 953 latticed windows was intended to permit the royal ladies to observe the citizens going about their daily lives while maintaining their own purdah. In keeping with its intended purpose, the Hawa Mahal seamlessly leads into the Zenana and the chambers of the harem. Best time to see it? At dawn, when the sun’s golden glow strikes it and brings out the richness of its pink and red stone. 

 

The city of Jaipur is heavily fortified with magnificent forts on all sides, some of the main attractions are Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort and Amer Fort. The forts have massive gun turrets that protected the city from invasions back in the day. The forts and fortresses still stand majestically and command breathtaking views of the entire city.
The city of Jaipur is heavily fortified with magnificent forts on all sides, some of the main attractions are Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort and Amer Fort. The forts have massive gun turrets that protected the city from invasions back in the day. The forts and fortresses still stand majestically and command breathtaking views of the entire city.

 

The Jal Mahal, or Water Palace, is situated in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake within the city. Within, the tourist wanders along richly decorated hallways and chambers, each replete with items of antiquity, to the Chameli Bagh, a richly fragrant rooftop bower meant for the royal ladies to take their ease while admiring the vista of the lake in the foreground and the Aravalli hills in the backdrop. Much effort has gone into the renovation of this structure, including the diverting of drains dumping used water from the city, the dredging and removing of millions of tonnes of toxic waste, and the introduction of a special water treatment system to keep the waters pristine. With this renovation and the regeneration of the surrounding wetlands, this region has in contemporary times become a haunt of bird watchers who go there to observe migratory patterns of a vast variety of birds. 

Back in the day, this is where the Royal ladies of the house of Jaipur came to take their ease in summer months – in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake, within the shelter of the Chameli Bagh, from where they could view not merely the city their men ruled over, but also the magnificent vista of the Aravalli range that forms the compelling backdrop.
Back in the day, this is where the Royal ladies of the house of Jaipur came to take their ease in summer months – in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake, within the shelter of the Chameli Bagh, from where they could view not merely the city their men ruled over, but also the magnificent vista of the Aravalli range that forms the compelling backdrop.

In keeping with its status as the locus of power in ancient Rajasthan Jaipur is dominated by its forts, which formed the first line of defense around the palace, itself heavily fortified. Three forts in strategic locations dominate the city-scape: Amber, Jaigarh and Nahargarh. While each has its own unique features depending on the topography and the defensive needs of the time, all showcase the enduring majesty of medieval construction, and each is an architectural marvel in itself. Visit any or all – the view from each fort is unparalleled; but while there, think also of this: These forts were built back in the 18th century, without benefit of earth movers and other heavy machinery, and relied entirely on the physical labor of its citizens. 

A common subtext of Jaipur is how seamlessly the ancient co-exists with the modern, how easily a richly caparisoned elephant, reminiscent of the ones that used to take royals in procession back in the day, shares street space with the cars, lorries, and pedestrians in the teeming business centers of the city. It is not uncommon to see an elephant ambling along down the middle of the central thoroughfare, at its own leisurely pace, and a long line of vehicles trailing after it without anyone evincing the slightest sign of impatience – a sight that is possible only in those ancient cities of India where ancient and modern are both integrated into the DNA of its people so deeply it is hard to say where one begins and the other ends.

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