Memoirs of Rangoli ... (p20) - Hawa Mahal ... the wind palace

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur
Rajashtan, India
February 2016

a pink city. ok. honestly that puzzled me too when i wandered and looking for what makes such representation. i thought my x-gene that limit how i see things, unabled me to see the pink or even its vibe. but when others validated it wasn't 'exactly' pink, but more like orange etc. it made me to ponder and ask ' where does the origin of such perspective?'. upon googling the truth behind all of these, i encountered a piece of write up that briefly mentioned, back then, the whole city walls and palaces were painted pink, it got washed out and turned to orange, as per colour of the bricks used to build the buildings and walls. ok?

Hawa Mahal or also known as the wind (Hawa) palace is also one of the major tourist attractions in Jaipur. 

From wikipedia

The structure was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It was designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god. Its unique five-storey exterior is akin to the honeycomb of a beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework.The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to obey strict "purdah" (face cover). The lattice also allows cool air from the Venturi effect (doctor breeze) through the intricate pattern, air conditioning the whole area during the high temperatures in summers.

the palace itself located next to busy street of city of Jaipur and i had to bear with the tight angle to memograph this place. i had to change to my old 24-105mm to fit everything into the frame. we were there for a while, and then crossed to other side of the street. a breathable angle, perhaps, as i could fit more elements into the frame.

anyway, there were shops selling souvenirs and local products along both side of the streets, readied for the tourists to splurge their money. but the atmosphere that day, sort of carrying the low season's vibe, as it looked like it was only our group that wandered around and being the centre of attraction of the shop owners etc.

we walked further, trying to avoid as much as possible any communication that might lead to shopping persuasion, and then was told by one of them that we could take stair to the higher level of the shop-lot to see the Hawa Mahal. we went up, and had another better view of the palace. 

it was almost noon already as i looked at my watch. we'd been on the road, and yet to have our shower and rest, since we left Delhi the night before. we walked back to the bus, and then had another short ride to the hotel, which located just outside of the busy city of Jaipur.

time to rest! 

Syib told us that we could have lunch at the hotel's cafe, and then we'd be visiting the Elephant Village in the late afternoon.

tbc.