Panoramic view from the hills surrounding Jaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city has been named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India. 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. Jaipur is a major tourist destination in India. In the 2008 Conde Nast Traveller Readers Choice Survey, Jaipur was ranked the 7th best place to visit in Asia. The Presidential Suite at the Raj Palace Hotel, billed at US$45,000 per night, is listed at number 2 on World's 15 most expensive hotel suites complied by CNN Go in 2012.

The urban quarters in the city 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 the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is one of the World Heritage Sites. Included on the Golden Triangle tourist circuit, along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur is an extremely popular tourist destination in Rajasthan and India. The 2012 British comedy-drama film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was set and filmed in Jaipur.

In ancient time Jaipur region came under the Matsya Kingdom. Modern Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber. The King consulted several books on architecture and architects before making the layout of Jaipur. Finally, under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, (initially an accounts-clerk in the Amber treasury, later promoted to the office of Chief Architect by the King) Jaipur came into existence on the classical principles of Vastu Shastra and similar classical treatises. The construction of the city started in 1727. It took around four years to complete the major palaces, roads and square. The city was built following the principles of Shilpa Shastra, the science of Indian Architecture. The city was divided into nine blocks, two of which contain the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge fortification walls were built, along with seven strong gates. During the regime of Sawai Ram Singh, the whole city was painted pink to welcome Edward, Prince of Wales. Today, avenues remain painted in pink, giving Jaipur a distinctive appearance.

Jaipur has a number of important cultural sites. Cultural centres like Jawahar Kala Kendra and Ravindra Manch have helped promote the culture of the state of Rajasthan. Albert Hall Museum (Government Central Museum) hosts several arts and antiquities. There is a government museum at Hawa Mahal and an art gallery at Viratnagar. The Town Hall (Old Vidhan Sabha Bhawan) is proposed to be converted into a museum. There are statues depicting Rajasthani culture around the city.

Source: Wikipedia

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