Jaipur….My Most Favourite Destination

I love Jaipur…..am just back from another trip and no matter how many times I go, it never loses its charm. For me there’s something romantic about the place. From the time I enter the city and am greeted with the walls of the fort which are steeped in history I am enthralled. Driving past the Amer Fort on to the road that’s carved in the hill to my first sight of the Jal Mahal…..it’s just pure delight to the senses. Normally that’s where I stop, at the Jaipur Trident which is bang opposite the Jal Mahal. For as many days as I am there, the lake is what greets me when I first open my eyes in the morning and I never ever get tired of the view.

Now having been there many many times I won’t call myself a tourist anymore. I rarely ever go sightseeing, coz I’ve seen it all before. Nor shopping. I have shopped for silver like there’s no tomorrow…..bought bags full of the famous blue pottery…..tons of tie n dye clothes. So none of that for me anymore. I go to get my dose of history. Of the view. Of the lake. Of the fort walls. Of the elephants and camels…..I love to see them walking around being part of the traffic. I love to go under the little arches as you enter Jaipur. I love the sight of the Hawa Mahal teaming with tourists. I love the sight of everything painted pink. Of colourful clothes hanging outside shops. I could go on and on and on. You’ve got the picture by now. I love Jaipur in winter….I love it in the rain…..i even love it in summer. That’s how much I love it.

A friend of mine says I must have some past connection with Jaipur….a sort of karmic connection and I always laugh and say that maybe I was once the queen or princess or someone from the royal family who still feels the pull from that other past life. It calls me time and again and I always hear that call and go.

The only thing I hate about Jaipur is the traffic. The way people drive there actually drives me to road rage. I mean anywhere anytime they just seem to cut in. At times I actually feel like getting out of the car and whacking someone. I control myself and just honk. Long n hard and almost constantly. It’s a crowded city which is growing at a fast pace but not enough is getting done to help it develop. But that’s the story with all of India I guess. So I’ll grin and bear it.

To tell you a bit about this trip, was lucky enough to be there when the Jaipur Literary Festival was on and that was an experience in itself. Even though I only went for a few hours, it gave me the chance to soak up the atmosphere and listen to some great people reading and talking. I heard Shabana Azmi reading from her mother Shaukat Kaifi’s memoirs who was later joined by Javed Aktar. They shared little anecdotes of what life at home was all about. A reading of Tughlaq by Om Puri, Girish Kannad and Nandita Puri. The festival was held at Diggi Palace which is an old converted haveli built in the 1960’s surrounded by acres of beautifully manicured gardens. The setting and decor again full of history and colour which is the trademark of Rajasthan. Spotted a lot of famous faces there, Meghnad Desai, Alexander McCall Smith, William Dalrymple, to name a few, and was, frankly really chuffed to be rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of the literary world. I hope I get a chance to go again…..God willing.