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.

An image of a flower from Karpoor Chand Kulish Smriti Ban, Jaipur, for your computer desktop background.

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.

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.

Prepadred Dish of Chana & Washed Moong Dal

The festival of lights, after spreading a lot of cheer, is gone till next year and Jaipur is ready to welcome Winter.

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.

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.

A young man in Jaipur welcoming some migratory visitors to Jaipur

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 .

Jaipur – Presentation Transcript

1. JAIPUR
2. • Part of the Golden Triangle Travel Circuit in India, Jaipur is one of the top travel destinations of the world. It is the capital of the state of Rajasthan, the land of Princes and valour, Sand-dunes, Palaces, Gardens, Museums, Textiles, Blue pottery Mojaris and Paintings. It is known for its hospitality and cuisine. Just about 225 km from New Delhi it is very well connected with rest of the world.
3. The Idol of Sawai Jai Singh Ji-II At The Statue Circle
4. Sawai Jai Singh Ji-II Founder Of Jaipur
   • 1727 saw Sawai Jai Singh Ji-II(1688-1744) lay the foundation of what is now The Walled city of Jaipur or the famous Pink City of India.
   • He was crowned in 1699 A.D. He reigned for 45 years.
   • A learned man he built observatories in Jaipur, Ujjain, Matura and Benaras.
5. Places To Visit
   • If you are looking for new places to visit with a lot of history thrown in Jaipur is the place to be in.
6. City Palace
   • Except for, Chandra Mahal, the residence of the present Maharaja of Jaipur most of the City Palace is open to Public and houses museums.
7. Hawa Mahal
8. Hawa Mahal
   • Built in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh Ji in the City Palace Complex this palace was built so that the ladies of the royal family could watch the royal and religious processions in the bazars and still be in purdha. It has 953 windows.
9. Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh
10. Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh
    • About 6km from the city centre on the way to galta ji off Jaipur Agra Highway is a garden built by Sawai Jai Singh for his second wife, a Sisodia princess from Udaipur. It is a terraced garden with a palace on the top terrace.  This garden is a popular venue for weddings and parties.
11. Vidhyadhar Ji Ka Bagh
12. Vidhyadhar Ji Ka Bagh
    • Named after the genius who planned the Pink City for Sawai Jai Singh II this garden is under renovation right now( Budget 5 Crores).They have discovered a 250 years old bawadi which was used to harvest water. This water was used for Vidhyadhar Garden and The Roop Niwas Garden.It was also used as  a vineyard for the Jaipur royal family in the times gone by.
13. Kanak Vrindawan Garden
14. Kanak Vrindawan Garden
    • This garden is on the way to Amber, near Jal Mahal. Govind Dev Ji temple and the Natwar ji’s Temple and the garden have been recently restored to their former glory by The B.M. Birla foundation. It is a popular picnic spot.
15. Albert Hall
16. Albert Hall
    • Built in 1886 and designed by Sir Swinton Jacob, Albert Hall, has been recently renovated with a budget of 4.5 Crore Rupees-this museum is known for Persian Carpets, Egyptian Mummy, antique crockery and metal objects collections. There is an organic restaurant also in the complex.
17. Jantar Mantar
18. Jantar Mantar
    • Built in 1827 by Maharaja  Sawai Jai Singh Ji and  situated in the present day City Palace Complex  this Astronomical  Observatory’s instruments are  made with stone, marble and masonry and  consequently were so accurate that Sawai Jai Singh Ji was able to find errors in the astronomical tables then in use. Sawai Jai Singh Ji published his own tables in 1723. There are 18 instruments in the Observatory. The largest instrument is the Samrat Yantra.It is a Sun  Dial. It is 89 feet high and 148 feet wide and can find the local time with an  error of only a couple of seconds. It is in use till date. Samrat Yantra is used on the full moon night of guru poornima to find out when the monsoon is going to set in and how plentiful it will  be.
    • Due to the efforts of UNESCO and Archaeological Survey of India, Jaipur Jantar Mantar has become the second World Heritage Site from Rajassthan. In 1985 Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, had joined the World Heritage Sites list.
19. Amber Fort
20. Amber Fort
    • Amber fort was built over two centuries from the 16 th century onwards by Raja Man Singh Ji and Mirza Raja Jai Singh Ji and Sawai Jai Singh Ji.
    • The temple of Shila Mata is also here.
    • A light and sound show takes place in the Kesar Kyrai every evening.
21. Jai Garh
22. Jaigarh
    • The most impregnable fort in the world was built by Mirza Raja Jai Singh & Sawai Jai Singh.The museum here showcases Rajput artifacts and weaponry.
    • Remains of 16th century canon foundry where Jaivana was cast can still be found. Jaivana was world’s largest wheeled canon-9 feet high, over 20 feet long and weighed 50 tons. It was engraved with scroll-work. It took 4 elephants to change its direction.
23. Nahargarh
24. Nahargarh
    • Built in 1737 and named after the Prince Nahar Singh Rathore it over looks the city. Presently it is under renovation.
25. Jal Mahal
26. Jal Mahal
    • Built by Sawai Pratap Singh Ji in 1799 A.D. It is located in the Man Sagar Lake which was built by Sawai Man Singh Ji-I. Presently under extensive renovation every year it stands witness to the annual birding fair held on the banks of Man Sagar Lake.
27. Isar Lat
28. Isar Lat
    • The Victory Tower known as Isar Lat or Sargasooli or Vijay Stambh was built by Sawai Ishwari Singh Ji in 1749 to celebrate  his many victories in wars. It over looks the Tripolia Bazar and the Atish Market. Tourists are welcome to climb this tower  by paying a small  entrance fee. It is an easy  climb up to the  top of this seven story tower.It has been recently renovated.
29. Birla Planetarium Auditorium & Convention Centre
30. Birla Planetarium Auditorium & Convention Centre
    • It is built over 9.5 acres and is the major conference venue of Jaipur. It’s auditorium can seat 1300 persons. It also has a museum, a library and a planetarium.
31. Thikana Govind Dev Ji
    • Legend has it that Lord Krishna came in  Sawi Jai Singh Ji’s dream and asked to have His idol installed in a part of the City Palace Complex. The Kachawa rulers of Jaipur have always maintained that the real ruler of Jaipur is Govind Dev ji and they  just Diwans. So Lord Krishna got his wish.
    • The idol of Govind Dev Ji was originally installed in Vrindaban by Maharaja Man Singh Ji but was taken in hiding due to a threat from Aurangzeb’s armies. 45 years later in 1714, Sawai Jai Singh Ji installed the idol in Kanak Vridaban and later on in the present day City Palace.
    • The Govind Dev ji Trust commissioned the State Road Development Corporation with the responsibility of building the new satsang bhawan. The corporation in turn commissioned Jaipur’s noted structural engineer Deepak Sogani to do the needful. Mr Sogani used the latest technology of post tensioning (PT) to cast a single span roof  of 118 feet length and 124 feet width. This architectural feat may be included in the Guinness Book of Records soon.
32. Laxmi Narayan Temple Ganesh Mandir
    • On the foot hills of the Moti doongri hillock are situated the Laxmi Narayan Temple or the Birla Mandir and the Ganesh Temple.
    • The Ganesh Temple is sure to be visited by the populace of Jaipur one time or another in their lives. Every new vehicle is taken there for blessing and He is the first deity to be invited to any wedding.
33. Mojari
    • Mojari is traditional Indian style footwear of leather with embroidery done on the upper part of the footwear. They come in numerous shapes and styles. They are a must in weddings where both bride and groom wear them.
34. Blue Pottery
    • The art of making these glazed pots of multani mitti with intricate designs of blue green and white had almost died until Rajmata Gaytri Devi took an interest in reviving the art and started promoting it.
    • Today it is a flourishing art form.Much in demand in India and abroad.
35. Bagru and Sanganer Print Textiles
    • These textile prints get their names from the villages where they are produced. These prints used to be produced by hand by wooden blocks. Now a days some times screens are used to keep the costs down. Now a days vegetable dyes are used and the colors are pastel colors. The cloth used is fine quality cotton. The clothes and furnishings etc. made from these textiles are in great demand in India and abroad.
36. Jaipuri Razai
    • Jaipuri Razais are around 700 to 800 gram in weight with  outer covering  made of very soft cotton cloth which is hand block printed in vegetable dyes in pastel colors and the filling is of finely carded cotton evenly spread in the covering and stitched by hand. The borders are sewn by machine to make them last longer. These quilts come in all sizes. They are filled with the best cotton money can buy brought  from Punjab, Haryana and Ganganagar. They are mostly manufactured in Chardarwaza, Idgah and Shastrinagar and sold mostly in the bazars of the walled city. In keeping with the demands and tastes of the customers the outer coverings are also made of silk and velvet.
    • Instead of hand block printing  screens are also used to print the outer covering to keep the cost of the finished product down. That is why a single quilt can cost from couple of hundred rupees to more than a couple of thousand rupees.
37. Lac Work Items
    • From 18 th century onwards the  artisans of Jaipur in the maniharon ka raasta  have been producing lac bangles- Chura. Now a days  they make whole jewellery sets of Lac.  They also make gift items of Lac like replicas of guitars, jewellery boxes, mirror frames  bottles  and pen stands. To add beauty to these items they are inlaid  with little pieces of mirror etc. These items are in huge demand by the locals and tourists alike. Lac items are exported also.
38. Puppets
    • Your children will no doubt enjoy the puppet shows. But you can buy a puppet or two for decorating your sitting room.
39. Paintings
    • Copies of ancient classical miniature paintings and folk paintings are freely available in art shops besides the contemporary work of local artists.
40. Carpets
    • Besides daries and carpets Jaipur craftsmen also make silk carpets.
41. Laheriya
    • Laheriya is a sari design which is especially worn during the monsoon months.
42. Jewellery
    • Jaipur is known for enamel or meenakari jewellery, thewa and kundankari. It is also known for polished precious and semi precious stones. It also produces silver ornaments.
    • However if you do not have any personal knowledge of jewels or stones do not buy any or buy only from reputed firms.
43. Hand Made Paper Products Of Sanganer
    • Sanganer is famous not only for sanganer print textile products but also for recycled paper products. These paper products are much in demand in India and abroad.
44. Marble Statues
    • Jaipur’s Khazanewalon Ka Rasta is famous for articles made from marble. You can even watch the craftsmen at work here.
45. Raj Mandir
46. Raj Mandir
    • Raj Mandir Cinema hall is a single screen theatre. They do not build them like this any more. An evening of entertainment by a Bollywood potboiler is a must here.
47. Cuisine
    • In the old times Rajasthani households subsisted on food made from grains as vegetables were not easily available because of lack of transport.
    • On your visit try to have one Rajasthani meal of choorma-dal-bati. For a non vegetarian a meal with lal maans cooked rajasthani style is a must.
48. Mehendi
    • When in Jaipur if the women of the family have the time one fun thing to do would be to have mehendi applied to their hands and feet. They can find some body to apply mehendi out side one of the big malls. It not only will make the women’s hearts sing but it is also auspicious.
49. Links
    • A Guesthouse In Jaipur
    • www.karans.info
    • A Blog About Jaipur
    • http://karansguesthouse.wordpress.com
    • M.9828284433

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.

Braille Library,

Gangori Bazar,

Gita  Press,

Bullion Building,Johri Bazar

They deal in new books on Hindu religion.