If you do not live near the Man Sagar why would you want to go there far a walk at day break? It is a good question. The answer is because I like to take pretty pictures. And sun rise is the best part of the day if you ask me. It is a different dawn every day. And each is prettier than the last one. There are birds, there are flowers and desert vegetation and paved paal to walk on. There is even a guy selling tea even before dawn. If you ask him he will serve your tea in disposable cups.There is even a Cafe Coffee Day at a petrol pump just opposite the lake which one presume is open during the day.Later in the day you can get Camel and Elephant rides too.You get a good walk, some fresh air and get to capture the changing moods of Jal Mahal Palace and the Man sagar Lake in your camera.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, Flowers, Gardens, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Photos, india, rajasthan, rajasthani | Tagged desktop back ground image, free image of a flower, india, Jaipur, rajasthan, wall paper | Leave a Comment »
Pushkar is about 150 km from Jaipur .So if for some reason you wish to hurry back to Jaipur on the same day you arrive there it can be done. So I planned to do just that. Even before I start the journey I am planning how it will end. That is a result of the rushed lives we all lead. It is just one more habit we can not seem to break.
Jaipur-Ajmer and Pushkar are very well connected, especially during the Cattle Fair time. So I put my camera in a bag and took a Meri Car Taxi to the Sindhi Camp Bus Stand to catch a Deluxe Bus to Ajmer. I was in Ajmer at about 6 am in the morning. I am glad to say it was a good trip and economically priced too. Only thing to note was that the citizens follow the first come first served rule and not the seat number rule when they take their seats on the bus. It worked this time to every body’s satisfaction. Or maybe they were not awake enough to fight.
At Ajmer I asked the ticket seller to sell me a ticket to Pushkar on one of the jam packed buses parked there. He answered reasonably enough that he had already sold 70 tickets on the bus to pushkar and asked me where I planned to sit in the event that he sold me a ticket. He told me to wait for the next bus. I finally got a ticket on the next bus which started on its winding route through the Aravalies to Pushkar after a long wait. Though the holy town is only about 15 km from Ajmer we reached there about 7 am. The town was already coming alive for the long day ahead. I bought a local newspaper in hindi and avoided drinking tea some body pushed in my face and went into the town towards the ghats.
I was surprised to see dried mud and small ponds of water. Somebody told me for 21 rupees he would sprinkle a little holy water on me to purify me as it was the holy ritual one had to follow before visiting the Brahma Temple. I avoided him too and went on to the Brahma Temple. After taking off my shoes and socks and buying flowers and prasad I tried to go in but they wanted me to deposit my bag with the camera into a free clock room which was not open yet. The Prasad seller did offer to keep the bag but you know how it is when you are traveling alone nowadays – you try not to trust anybody. So I went on again. The shops were opening up. People were trying to display their wares in the best possible way. As I went along I kept noticing temples and dry ghats. What struck me was our piety has nothing to do with a full Sarovar. It is with in us. It is good to have a full tank of water and good to take a holy dip but we can still feel we are purified even with a few drops of holy water sprinkled on us when we have to.
I came to a couple of giant wheel standing silent and empty with numerous other rides. I saw a couple of giant gas balloons giving rides to their foreign guests. I saw a craft mela and a stadium where the animal competition would be held during the day and came to the animal compound. There were Camels and Horses and tourists in a big number. I took a few photos and got directions to the Helipad on the Devnagar-Banseli Road where my friend had put up Swiss Cottages in the style of Bhadrawati Royal Camps. I got to the Helipad but there were no Swiss cottages, instead there was a big elevated road there. Later on I found out that the road is where the railway tracks are to be laid and the cottages were on the other side of the elevated road.
I had some breakfast and headed back to the Ghats again had some holy water sprinkled on me and went to the Brahma Temple and had darshan.
I came out and took some more photos of the colorful and diverse wares on display in the markets. I remember a woman exhorting her husband in a loud voice to buy her a camera and just then I saw some Kodak film cameras on display too. The gap between haves and have nots is narrowing, and rightly so too. Some of these photos are enclosed here. I had some pakoras and a cold drink as a snack. And headed back for Jaipur after 5 pm and was home for dinner after a day well spent.
Posted in Around Jaipur, City Life, Fairs, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Marwari, Melas, Perfume, Photos, Pushkar, Temples, Travel, camels, india, rajasthan, rajasthani, temple | Tagged Ajmer, Brahma Temple, Bus, Jaipur, Pushkar, Tourism, Water | 1 Comment »

Lentils
In this guest post Ms.Ratna Singh,a house wife in Jaipur, shares with us how to cook lentils the way her husband likes. Nature has blessed us with a big variety of lentils and man in his wisdom and to add spice to life has come up with numerous ways to cook them. The following simple recipe shows us how to cook chana and washed moong lentiles.
To Serve: 2 Persons.
Time taken : About 1 hour.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Washed Moong Lentils
1/2 Cup Chana Lentiles
Clean the lentils & soak the lentils in some water for 1/2 hour.Wash the lentils in the water used to soak the lentils and throw away the so used water.Put the lentils in a pressure cooker and add the following items.
1/4 Tea Spoon Turmeric Powder
A little Salt
4 Cups Water to pressure Cook the lentils.
Pressure cook the lentils on high flame till the cooker gives 2 whistles.Turn off the flame and let the cooker cool off.
Now take a wok and put in a table spoon of butter or desi ghee and 1/4 Tea Spoon of Jeera(cumin) and fry it on low flame till it changes color now add 1 tea spoon of Ginger & Garlic paste and Saute for some time then add 2 pinch of heeng . Now add 3/4 tea spoon of red chillies ,3/4 tea spoon of coriander powder, 1/4 tea spoon of turmeric and salt to taste with some water to the mixture in the wok.If you like you can also add one minced green chilly. Cook on low flame till the oil separates.
( If you think at any stage that the mixture might burn because of too much heat and not enough masala , just switch off the gas, add everything and then start cooking again.)
Now stir in the boiled lentils with the water in the cooker to the wok and bring to boil.
You can garnish the dish with Lemon Juice to taste and with green coriander leaves.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, City Life, Cusine, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, cookery, food, india, rajasthan, rajasthani, recipe | Tagged Chili pepper, Cook, Coriander, Cumin, Home, home cooked lentils, Lentil, recipe, Salt, Turmeric | Leave a Comment »
The festival of lights, after spreading a lot of cheer, is gone till next year and Jaipur is ready to welcome Winter.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, City Life, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Photos, Travel, Trees, culture, india, rajasthan, rajasthani | Tagged Amaltas blossoms, Cassia fistula, central park, deep utsav, Deepawali, deevali decoration 2009, Divali lights, india, Jaipur, Lights, rajasthan, Recreation, sunset | Leave a Comment »

Jaigarh
One of the three forts which have stood sentinel over the city of Amber & Jaipur , Jaigarh has been standing proud since the 11th century when Kakil Deo laid its foundation. The fort has been added to and brought to its present state over the years by the successive Kachawaha rulers of Amber and Jaipur. Jaigarh is built atop the aravali hills at a height of 602 meters above sea level.From North to South it stretches for 3 km while it has a width of about 1 km. To guard this vast region from intruders there used to be 27 maned check posts. Jaigarh is 15 km from Jaipur thru the Doongar Gate and only 1.5 km from Amber thru the Awani Gate which connects the Amber fort with Jaigarh by a steep road paved with stones. One more Gate known as the Sagari Gate is, now a days, used only on the day following Deepawali when anakoot is celebrated here and on the eve of Bhairav Asthmi.
The Fort had an elaborate Palace Complex, the Lalit Mandir, for the summer retreat of the Maharajas and Subhat Niwas where he addressed the soldiers and Khilbati Niwas where he met with the generals and Lakshmi Vilas the royal drawing room and the puppet show room and 2 Dining halls and kitchen and Garden and garden house known as Aram Mandir and ladies Quarters known as Vilas Mandir and Surya Mandir was used for the Gun foundry. There was even a small castle inside the Fort which was used as the armoury of Jaigarh. Two temples dedicated to Ram Harihar and Kal Bhairava are in the Jaigarh where most hindu festivals are celebrated.

Jaigarh
The rulers of Jaigarh took great effort to harvest water for the people of the fort.They had five big tanks where rain water was stored after being lifted from the Sagar lake. For 4 kms around the Fort they had pucca canals made which brought the water of first couple of rains from the catchment areas to one of the tanks for the use of the horses etc. Some of these tanks are in use even today by the staff running the fort for their drinking water supply.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, Forts, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Museums, india, monuments, rajasthan, rajasthani | Tagged amber fort, Aravali hills, aravalies, Drinking water, Durg, Garh, Jaigarh Fort, Kakil Dev, Lake, Water, Water supply | Leave a Comment »

Bajrangvana at Jaigarh is a garrison cannon. It rests on a 2 wheeled carriage and needed 16 pairs of oxen to move it.
Cannon foundry at the Jaigarh Fort was the brain child of Maharaja Man Singh Ji-I. Its plans were based on his extensive knowledge of cannons gleaned on his Kabul campaign in the 16th century as commander of Akbar’s army. It covers an area of about 9000 square feet. The furnace and the drilling complex are its two major parts.The furnace its self is of the dimensions of 24 X 12 X 10 feet. It is an open hearth furnace where very high temperatures of about 1000 to 1200 degree Celsius can be attained.There are two charging windows and three chimneys.The hearth of the furnace is oval and made of fire bricks and clay.There are two opening in its ceiling which open into the chimneys above.The hearth has a small 2X2 feet window which opens into the pit outside so that the molten metal can fall into the mould and take its shape. A 72 feet long tunnel in the lower part of the furnace worked as a wind tunnel.
The Drilling Complex is an octagonal room with the ceiling at the height of 31 feet where the barrels of cannons moulded in the foundry were bored. Four pairs of oxen were used to turn the levers of the machine which bored the barrel of a cannon in the making.
The moulds used for casting the barrel of the cannon were made in two halves and joined together after layering the inside with clay mixed with adhesives, granular sand ,silica,mica,coal etc. These moulds were also bound together with strips of iron so that the mould could stand the pressure of molten metal.
The Jaivan was the most famous cannon cast at the Jaigarh Cannon Foundry.It is the largest cannon on wheels in the world. The height of the front wheels is 9 feet and the height of the rear wheels is 4.5 feet.Its barrel is braced by a 24 feet long shaft. The barrel of the cannon is carved with flowers, animals and birds. The charge required to fire the cannon was 100 kg of gunpowder and a cannon ball weighing 50 kg.
Dhoomvan was also cast at Jaigarh Foundry in 1622. Nahar Mukhi was also cast at Jaigarh in 1675. Karak Bijli was one of the earliest cannons to be cast at Jaigarh. A flat trajectory cannon it is light in comparison to the other cannons.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, Cannon Foundry, Cannons, Forts, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Museums, Travel, culture, india, monuments | Tagged bajrangvana, Casting Molding Machining, Celsius, Foundries, Foundry, Jaigarh Fort, Jaivana, Wind tunnel | 1 Comment »
In a continuing effort to conserve Jaipur’s Man Sagar lake and try to develop it as a Mini Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, and to offer better and diverse biodiversity for peoples’ welfare, the 13th annual Birding Fair will be held on 2nd and 3rd February 2010. It will be devoted to ‘River Restoration’ to enable decision makers realize how important the role of rivers is.
Two British experts will lead the 13th Birding Fair, Mr. Robert Oates, Director of The Thames River Restoration Trust, and Mr. Jim Lyons, Technical Specialist for Fish Science at UK’s The Environment Agency. Mr. Robert has been at the Man Sagar Lake some years ago and this time would like to observe how far Man Sagar has progressed towards restoration. These two gentlemen had a meeting with Mr. Harsh Vardhan, organizer of the Birding Fair, during August 2009 in Britain to discuss how the Jaipur event could be linked with lake and river conservation initiatives overseas.
Mr. Oates heads the Thames River restoration and would like to share his experiences at a lecture in Jaipur on 2nd February to let decision makers realize the importance of lakes for peoples’ welfare. Mr. Jim would like to check the fish species at this lake and suggest how to manage their population so that they may try and improve water quality and their presence can increase the migratory bird population as well. Two bird watchers from Britain will also join them on this visit to the Fair.
The Birding Fair is a citizen’s initiative. It was started in 1997 through cooperation of the British Bird Watching Fair which is held annually in August at Anglian Water in Rutland (Oakham, Leics), Dr. Tim Appleton and Mr. Martin Davies, the two main organizers of the British Fair, are appreciative of the Jaipur event.
The Fair is organized by Tourism & wildlife Society of India (TWSI), a non government and non profit organization in service of nature conservation since 1979. It receives support from WWF – India, Bombay Natural History Society, INTACH, Schools, Teachers, government departments like Tourism, Forest, Jaipur Development Authority, banks etc.
The Jal Mahal Resorts Pvt Ltd (JMRPL) is actively associated with the Fair for past some years as it has major stake at this lake owing to its commitment to develop a tourism related multi-faceted facility over vacant land south of the water body. This company, led by Mr. N.R. Kothari, a renowned jeweler of Jaipur, has initiated series of measures to control flow of sewerage of the city in to this lake to improve water quality. Introduction of aquatic vegetation in the lake, removing plastic waste, bypassing the main drain and treatment of polluted storm water are some of the main initiatives being made by this company. It is refreshing to realize that a jeweler is serious about cleaning up this heritage lake.
Outcome of such measures is loud and clear. Water quality of Man Sagar has improved and foul odor, which would not allow a visitor to stand by the main road until a few years ago, has totally disappeared. More betterment is being attempted by JMRPL which has devised constructed-wetlands to enable sewerage water flow through vegetation to get it treated. It is going to be a two-pronged strategy. Firstly to treat sewerage received from the city, through vegetation and release the treated water in to the lake. Secondly, pump out lake water (from another end) and flow it in the same process, treating it again. The entire process does not look as simple as described here: aquatic eco systems are complex to sustain.
Larger number of birds have started arriving again at Man Sagar. More than 180 species of birds have been registered in and around this lake round the year. The number looks high as the forest habitat near by supports many birds. Happy augury is that the migratory birds have found this water body, again, as their winter home: shovellers, and pintails with good number of common teals outnumber other migratory ducks. Waders are numerous at the water edges. Divers are reporting back: pochards, grebes etc. Flamingos are becoming annual guests. Painted Storks and Spoonbills, rare here earlier, have reappeared.
Three earthen islands are being dressed up with appropriate acaia trees, wild grass and shrubs to assume the shape of ‘mound plantations’ as exist at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. They are poised to become breeding-centers (heronries) for resident bird species; when it will happen, hopefully soon, the lake will attain its long cherished objective.
The fish management is under way towards appropriate balance to be struck at this lake. Once it is completed, more fish eating birds will make this place as their breeding ground. The number of breeding birds is on rise which is a positive sign.
Despite JMRPL’s major thrust made at this lake (it has so far spent about Rs 15 crores which is about Great Britain Pounds 2 million), lot more needs to be attended to at this scenic water body by the Government of Rajasthan, which has its headquarters located a few kilometers away from the lake. The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (RTDC) is the nodal agency to monitor certain aspects of this lake while Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) is in charge of the land development, which includes areas around the lake. The Department of Forest has charge of the well wooded hills which constitute water shed of the lake. Department of Irrigation appears having minor say in water management in face of JDA’s over all control. Department of Fisheries is yet to step in to remove and reintroduce fish as per a definite plan. The sewerage treatment plant is with another agency. The Department of Tourism (DoT) takes care of promotional aspects of tourism here. The Ministry of Environment & Forest, based in New Delhi, has its indirect say at this water body, having disbursed huge amount to JDA for restoring this water body.
Man Sagar Lake is going to add a new feather in city’s cap through the various initiatives taken by the many organizations involved in its development as a world class site.
The writer of this guestpost, Mr.Harshvardhan, is a famous bird enthusiast based in Jaipur and organizer of the 13th edition of the birding Fair to be held in February in 2010.He may be contacted at birdfair@birdfair.org .
Posted in Around Jaipur, Bird Watching, City Life, Fairs, Gardens, GuestHouse, Jaipur, Jaipuri, culture, india, orinthology, rajasthan, rajasthani | Tagged !3th birding fair to promote river restoration, Harshvardhan, INTACH, J.D.A, Jaipur, Jal Mahal Resorts Pvt Ltd, Jim Lyons, JMRPL, man sagar lake, N.R.Kothari, Robert Oates, RTDC, The Thames River Restoration Trust, Tourism Wildlife Society of India, TWSI, WWF | Leave a Comment »
In this day and age of Internet and Google’s program of scaning each and every book ever written, to make a list of Libraries would sound archaic but everything has its use and its day. It is not possible for a man to know every single bit of information but he should know , when the need arises ,where to find the information or the book.So here goes.These are some of the important libraries of Jaipur.
Note:-These libraries lend books subject to their Rules & Regulations only.
Rajasthan University’s Central Library
Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg,
This library is housed in its own building and has a huge collection of reference material.Largely used by the University students and the college going students of University colleges.
Law College Library
Law College
Government Maharaja Public Library
Chura Rasta,Jaipur Phone. 0141-2575155
e.mail . directorlibraries @ yahoo.co.in
As the name suggests this library is open to the general public.They have a treasure trove of rare books which they are in the process of digitizing to be put up on the net.
St.Xavier School’s Library
Bhagwan Das Road
This library is open to the past and present students of the School.
Osho Library,
H-1,Vinay Path,Kanti Nagar . phone 0141 2207951
For all literature, tapes,CDs of Osho’s teachings,This is the place.
Shubham Reader’s Paradise,
Very Near The Shiv Mandir,In Dhuleswar Garden,C-Scheme
Run by the Ladies Club this library is open to the general public.Their forte is novels and books for children.
Radha Krishna Central Library
Ghandhi Nagar
This library is also open to the public but a lot of students throng the reading rooms.
Gangori Bazar,
Bullion Building,Johri Bazar
They deal in new books on Hindu religion.
Posted in Accomodation, Around Jaipur, Books, City Life, GuestHouse, Hotels, Jaipur, Jaipuri, Library, india, rajasthan, rajasthani | Tagged Braille Library, Gita Press, Government Maharaja Public Library, Law College Library, Libraries of Jaipur, library for blind, Osho Library, Radha Krishna Central Library, Rajasthan University Central Library, Shubham Readers Paradise, St.Xavier School Library | 1 Comment »






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