Local Perfumes Of Jaipur

Recently Boucheron launched a perfume  called ” Jaipur”.You would think that was the only association Jaipur had with perfumes. But do you know local perfumeries have been making variety of local  perfume or Itr for the use of the Royal family of Jaipur for years now. It might be a   dying art due to easy availability of cheap deodorants and western perfumes but in its hey day Kings proposed their love for their Queens by offering these perfumes.

Naturally made from Rose petals ,Sandal wood etc. by a recipe handed down from one generation to next  there is a different Itr for different seasons of the year. They can even reproduce the smell   first rains of monsoons produce when they wet the parched land of  Rajasthan. This perfume is also used to stop a nosebleed.

Now a days Itr is not commonly  used. But people use itr  sometimes  to   perfume the stage on which the bride and groom are going to sit during the reception to receive their guests. Sometimes they use Itr on religious festivals to perfume temples etc.

Vipassana

In 1977, Dhamma Thali,The Jaipur Vipassana Centre ,was established in a hall. It was located near the Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh on the way to Galtaji.Today it has a hundred halls and is situated on a parcel of land measuring about six and a half hectares.

Vipassana meditation was discovered 2500 years ago by Bhagwan Budhha.For years it was practiced all over India.But it disappeared over the years.There is mention of this technique of meditation in the vedas .In Burma, todays Myanmar, Vipassana was taught in its pure form by the guru shisya method of teaching.Shriman Satya Narayan Goenka was taught the technique for 14 years in Mayanmar by Acahary U Ba Khin before he came to India to teach Vipassana in 1969.

Today there are about 40 centres in India and some 40 more abroad where Vipassana is being taught.All activities of the centres are managed purely by donations .

On 29th August 2000, Shriman S.N.Goenka addressed the Millennium World Peace Summit in the UN General Assembly Hall. Vipassana is a way of life taught by Bhagwan Buddha.It is not a religion.Silence of body soul and mind plays a big role in its practice. Looking to the fast paced life of today the centre teaches 10 day cources to beginners.People from all walks of life from all parts of world come here to be taught the Vipassana way of meditation.

Global Cook Book-1

Anybody who writes any thing has dreams of being published.So when I got a mailer from Fuel My Blog about their Christmas project of publishing a cook book  representing recipes from around the world of local delicacies Fuel My Blog Community members eat at their homes in their daily lives I started plotting about submitting my fish curry recipe. It was already posted on my Blog.What I needed was a good photograph of the prepared curry.So I prepared the dish just as stated in the Post and requested my brother ,Tajendra, to take a picture of the prepared Curry. And mailed it to the Fuel My Blog.And to my surprise they included it in the recipe book.This is where I thank them wholeheartedly.The reason for the numeral ‘one’ in the  title of this post is that I wish them all success in publishing other Global Cook Books with numerals ending at 101 if at all.
A Fish Curry Recipe From Jaipur,India

They have self published the book using cutting edge technology provided by the website Blurb and possible because of the Internet & Computers.

Take a look.Tell the world  how they have done in your opinion. If you decide to buy remember they are supporting Stop Hunger, a  charity .And if you would like to  publish some material in whatever numbers then consider Blurb.
Blog Post About the Global Cook Book on Fuel My Blog
Blurb Home Page

Horn Please!

HORN PLEASE!

This time around when you are following a vehicle which urges you to do just that on its bumper-do not press the horn button.Just follow him at his speed.There is no where to go.Have you noticed there is traffic all around you.You can not escape it.You can not beat it to your home/office.Go with the flow.I can make a bet with you now if you do that you will not be frustrated or full of rage waiting to explode at the most slightest trigger.In jaipur of today on a week day you can not safely drive fast to your destination.It can not be done.If you do try it you will make a lot of noise by accelarateing your vehicle’s engine and honking the horn and overtaking on the wrong side.In today’s Jaipur nobody needs it.

From this month, Jaipur is going to celebrate a no honking day on one Sunday every month.There is a big need too because the noise pollution levels in the busiest areas are much higher than 50 decibels assumed for a pollution free environment.New Delhi and Kolkatta are already trying out this one day a month of silence to educate the populace in that unending stream of traffic.

There was also talk of banning music in the vehicles.Ban loud music from a deck or CD/DVD player but in my opinion the vehicle driver needs the FM radio when he is stuck in an unending traffic jam/commute.

A Gift Of Wings

Arriving at your wedding by a helicopter is passe.Palace on Wings suggests you woo her with some panache and take your wife to her new home in a helicopter.

Plalace On Wings ,a tour operator,based in Jaipur arranged the helicopter ride for the dalit couple so that they could begin their new life in style.

Captin. Vibhooti Singh Deora M.9828011166 Web. http://www.palaceonwings.in e.mail reservations(AT)palaceonwings.in

Palace on Wings is promoting its concept of taking you to the select palace hotels of Rajasthan by Helicopter.You visit the best Rajasthan has to offer in the utmost luxury, in the quikest time possible , visiting the maximum sites, in the remotest of places  as per your customised requirements .

Call 108 Emergency

For more than 3 months now 108 very well equiped ambulances have been serving the state round the clock.It is only because of their quick response to an emergency call and well trained staff and modern equipment that they have been able to save more than 251 lives. 95% of the funds for the operation of the 108 service have been provided by the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM).

108 can be dialed from any phone without dialing the station  code.This service is fully free of cost and is providing its services to 1.3 crore people.

The authorities also propose to ply seven ambulances on the National Highway Nos. 8,11,12 & 14 very soon.

Medical,Police,Fire Control Room                108

Police 100          Fire 101              Ambulance 102

Airport   2723655

Sindhi Camp Bus Stand   5116031/ 2204445

Railways   By Mobile.01412204531   131/135

Jet air   2551354

Air Deccan 5127444

Go Air   6500801

Indian  2721333

Indigo   5119993

Kingfisher   2723485

Spice Jet   5119882

Dr.Archana Sogani Member IAMAT 09829053713

(International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers)

SMS Hospital 2560291

SDM Hospital   2566251

SDMH Pharmacy (Vardhman)   2571301

Govt.Vet.Poly Clinic   2373237

Dr.S.Chawla   (Vet)  9314656123

Tourist Information Center  1363

RTDC Pink-City-By-The-Night  2375466

Domino’s   2378526

Pizza Hut   4008628

Subway   2378191

The Verma’s 09414041624 , 2621157
Hair Academy & Beauty Sasloon
313 A,Gali no.6,Raja Park

Karan’s Guesthouse,C-Scheme 9828284433

A Birding Fair in Jaipur

From the left Mr.Ashok Singhvi,Ramana Athreya,discoverer of a new species of bird called Bugun Liocichla at the Eaglenest Sanctury and Mr Subhash Uppal at the 12th Birding Fair.

On 6th & 7th February 2009, The Tourism and wildlife Society of India(TWSI) organized the 12th annual birding fair at the Man Sagar Lake,Jaipur.The theme is “Communities in Conservation”.

Ramana Athreya,from Pune,Tom Jones and Rajkumari Jones from UK,and about a dozen representatives from Keoladeo National Park,all avid bird watchers were present.

Mr.Athreya discovered a new species of bird in 2006 and named it Bugun Liocichla.Mr.Tom Jones takes care of the shore birds at Anglesey Island in North Wales.Ms.Rajkumari Jones chairs the squirrel protection group in UK.

The event was  sponsored by WWF, SBBJ, Bombay Natural History Society and Jal Mahal Resorts (P) Ltd. among others.

This was  one more of the Society’s and the authorities ongoing efforts to develop the Man sagar Lake area into a haven for the migratory birds visiting Jaipur.Recently the Forest Department has  proposed to declare  the area as the first protected area of Jaipur  instead of  a reserve and to develop the area as a tourist spot with horse safari,nature trail,dear park etc.

Extensive renovation has been going on at the Jal mahal itself for some time now.

This 250 year old lake is a natural habitat for about 150 local and migratory birds.

Jaipuri Razai-A Quilt Like None Other

There are quilts and there are Jaipuri Razais.All sorts of quilts are made in Jaipur but the quilts which have earned the jaipuri razai sobriquet 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 colours and the filling is of finely carded cotton evenly spread in the covering and stitched by hand. The borders are sewen 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.

Like every thing else in our lives making of the Jaipuri Razais has not remained untouched by the advent of technology.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.

These quilts are in demand all around the year by the local populace and domestic and foreign tourists alike.But in the winter months you can not miss these quilts as they are prominently displayed in most  of the walled city shops selling textile goods.These quilts are also exported to the developed world to the tune of  approximately 100 crore rupees.

A journalist from Sweden,Ms.Christina and Dr.Chandramani Dixit from  Jawahar Kala kendra are writing a scholarly work on Jaipuri Quilts.

Ravindra Manch And Jawahar Kala Kendra

Ravindra Manch, Jaipur located in the Ram Niwas Garden was one of the 17 cultural centers envisaged by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1961.It was opened to public on 15th August 1963 by the then cultural minister Mr.H.Kabir. It has been newly refurbished by an expenditure of 90 lac rupees.It has all the facilities needed in a theater including an open air theater and ample parking and an art gallery.

On  8th November 2008 a three day cultural  festival was organized honoring the Nobel lauret Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore.It is proposed to hold this festival every year.

Jawahar Kala Kendra on JLN marg, designed by Charles Correa, was opened for public by the then President of India, Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma, on 8th April 1993.It is located on a  parcel of land having an area of 9.5 acers and the building is surrounded by  lush green landscaped garden.On one side it has a Shilp Gram made in a replica of a cluster of village huts.When you look at the number of facilities it provides to the aspiring artists, artists and local residents alike it is not hard to understand why it is thronged by them everyday.It has an open air theater, art galleries, library,print making shop,audio visual department and an outlet of India Coffee House.Besides this there are cultural programs, exhibitions,plays etc held all the year round.

A Village For The Elephants Of Amber

Elephants have been around Jaipur even before the foundation stone of Jaipur was laid.They were being used in the Royal armies and in the Royal shikars.They also helped to build Jaipur.
Now a days they are a very popular mode of transport up the Amer hill. The ride is much in demand by the foreign and indian tourists alike.They are also used in the groom’s wedding procession and for playing elephant Polo and in Bollywood films.In a case of Indian ingenuity a local entrepreneur runs a thriving business making hand made paper from Elephant dung.
RTDC organizes an Elephant festival around Holi in which Elephant beauty pageants and Elephant Polo and other events related to elephants are organized for the tourists visiting Jaipur and local residents alike.

India’s first and the world’s third elephant village( Budget Rs.5 Crores)- the other two are in Kegalla, Sri Lanka and Pattya,Thailand- is almost ready for occupation by its residents. 2km from Amber in the village Kunda off Jaipur-Delhi highway 51 quarters for the elephants, mahawats and their families have been made.Provision has been kept to house all of the about 95 elephants in Amber here at a later date.An elephant veterinary hospital, a cafe,a riding track,large water bodies, a museum and a shilp gram are also proposed.RTDC proposes to develop the village in a tourist spot so that visitors can watch the elephants going about their daily lives.