Jaipur, the city painted in the color pink is located in the eastern part of Rajasthan. The city is known for the rich cultural heritage attached to it. Probably the first planned city of India, the royal town is dipped in magnificent architecture, amazing forts and stupendous palaces. The city has been luring tourists from all over the world since ages through its rich traditions, customs, lifestyle, art and architecture. The splendid monuments of Jaipur like the huge fortresses of Mughal and Rajput reigns, the Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jal Mahal, Jaigarh Fort, Amer Fort, City Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Gaitore, Rambagh Palace and Statue Circle etc appropriately describe the culture of the city. The Jantar Mantar is the largest of all five similar observatories in India. It is known for its architectural spectacle.
The people are friendly and warm to their guests. Their colorful outfits and unique jewelry speak a lot about their culture. They love to dance to the tunes of Rajasthani folk songs. Ghoomar and Chari are the traditional dances where the dancers dance on a pot with lit diyas (earthen lamp) on their head. Sarangi, Ektara, and Jhalar are traditional instruments played on the backdrop as they sing their folk songs. Food or local delicacies like the delicious mangodi, papad, khichdi, buttermilk and sohan halwa are the favorite ones. Jaipur is also known for the handicrafts items, carved silver jewellery, kundan, meenakari jewellery, ivory carved sculptures, wood work and leather goods flooding the market. Blue pottery, miniature paintings and traditional clothes with work of bandhni, zari and zardosi also says a lot about the rich culture of the city.
The Mughal and Rajput rulers in the past had skilled artists and craftsmen invited from other parts of India and abroad to display and share their work with the general people. Most of these craftsmen never went back. It led to the development of the rich art and culture of Jaipur as seen today. Bandhani; Block printing; Stone carving and Sculpture; Tarkashi; Zari, Gota, Kinari and Zardozi; Silver Jewellery; Gems, Kundan, Meenakari and Jewellery; Miniature paintings; Blue Pottery; Ivory carving; Shellac work; Leather ware will be to name a few.
Jaipur hosts its own unique form of performing arts. The Jaipur Gharana for Kathak is the most popular of all the performing arts hosted by the city. Tamasha is another wonderful example.
Jaipur is also famous for its fetish and relishing scrumptious cuisines in India. Some of the most mouth watering ones includes Dal Bati Churma, Missi Roti, and sweets like Ghevar, Feeni, Gajak, Chauguni ke laddu and Moong Thal. Rajasthani cuisines are generally made of pure ghee and butter and are mostly vegetarian.
This city is never quite. Various fairs and festivals are lined up one after the other all throughout the year. Festivals like Gangaur festival, Jaipur Literature festival, Kite festival, Teej festival, Shitla Mata Fair, Chaksu Fair, Elephant Fair, Chhat ka Mela in Amber during Navratri are the most famous ones.
The localites in Jaipur are warm and friendly and are always more than eager to welcome their guests. The colorful outfits and ethnic jewelries worn are a beautiful way to exhibit their rich culture. The official language of the state is Rajasthani. Folk dances are preformed at the tunes of Rajasthani folk songs. Marwari, Hindi and English are also spoken in the city to quite an extend.
Majority of the people follow Hinduism. However, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity are also followed by a smaller section of the people.
Dance and music acts as sanjeevni to the barren desert land. Ghoomar is the main folk dance of Jaipur. Ladies elegantly flaunt their huge ghagras or skirts while dancing to the beats of ghoomar. The people still share the royal interest of Rajputs with their Morchang, Naad, Tanpura, Sarangis in the city.
Jaipur is fast developing as a commercial hub. People from the rural areas come to Jaipur for various personal and commercial reasons like business and shopping. You see them walking down the street and markets in their typical Rajasthani outfit. Men wearing turbans and women in ghagra-choli are a common site in the semi desert city.
To sum up, the rich culture of Jaipur not only provides a wonderful view of Rajasthan but also make us familiar to the culture of India.