 JAIPUR,
or JEYPORE, was the first city in India that was planned
according to the grid pattern. Its founder Sawai Jai Singh (1699
- 1744) consulted several books on architecture and architects
before designing this city. In the aftermath of his fights with
Marathas and buying of peace from aged Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb,
Jai Singh was able to concentrate on his scientific and cultural
interests and Jaipur had to be different to mark the stamp of
his brilliancy. Jai Singh was a lover of mathematics and science
and he consulted a Brahmin scholar, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya of
Bengal to help him design the city architecture. He went through
the ancient Indian literature on astronomy, books of Ptolemy and
Euclid, and information provided by his emissaries to Samarkand
who observed the observatory of Mirza Beg.
Construction of the city started in 1727 and the major palaces,
roads, and square took 4 years to complete. Architecture of the
town was much advanced to its time and it was no doubt the best
in Indian subcontinent. Pink, the sign of welcome was used to
paint the buildings in Jaipur in 1853 to honor of the visiting
Prince of Wells and is still used.
JAIPUR, or JEYPORE, a city and native state of India in the
Rajputana agency. The city is a prosperous place of
comparatively recent date. It derives its name from the famous
Maharaja Jai Singh II., who founded it in 1728. It is built of
pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, and is remarkable for the
width and regularity of its streets. It is the only city in
India that is laid out in rectangular blocks, and it is divided
by cross streets into six equal portions. The main streets are
111 ft. wide and are paved, while the city is lighted by gas.
The regularity of plan, and the straight streets with the houses
all built after the same pattern, deprive Jaipur of the charm of
the East, while the painted mud walls of the houses give it the
meretricious air of stage scenery. The huge palace of the
maharaja stands in the centre of the city. Another noteworthy
building is jai Singh's observatory. The chief industries are in
metals and marble, which are fostered by a school of art,
founded in 1868. There is also a wealthy and enterprising
community of native bankers. The city .has three colleges and
several hospitals. Pop. (1901), 160,167. The ancient capital of
Jaipur was Amber.
The maharaja of jaipur belongs to the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs,
claiming descent from Rama, king of Ajodhya. The state is said
to have been founded about 1128 by Dhula Rai, from Gwalior, who
with his Kachwahas is said to have absorbed or driven out the
petty chiefs. The jaipur house furnished to the Moguls some of
their most distinguished generals. Among them were Man Singh,
who fought in Orissa and Assam; Jai Singh, commonly known by his
imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears in all the wars
of Aurangzeb in the Deccan; and Jai Singh II., or Sawai Jai
Singh, the famous mathematician and astronomer, and the founder
of Jaipur city. Towards the end of the 18th century the Jats of
Bharatpur and the chief of Aiwar each annexed a portion of the
territory of Jaipur. By the end of the century the state was in
great confusion, distracted by internal broils and impoverished
by the exactions of the Mahrattas. The disputes between the
chiefs of Jaipur and Jodhpur had brought both states to the
verge of ruin, and Amir Khan with the Pindaris was exhausting
the country. By a treaty in 1818 the protection of the British
was extended to Jaipur and an annual tribute fixed. In 1835
there was a serious disturbance in the city, after which the
British government took measures to insist upon order and to
reform the administration as well as to support its effective
action; and the state has gradually become well-governed and
prosperous. During the Mutiny of 1857 the maharaja assisted the
British in every way that lay in his power. Maharaja Madho
Singh, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., was born in 1861, and succeeded in
1882. He is distinguished for his enlightened administration and
his patronage of art. He was one of the princes who visited
England at the time of King Edwards coronation in 1902. It was
he who started and endowed with a donation of 15 lakhs,
afterwards increased to 20 lakhs, of rupees (~x33,ooo) the
Indian Peoples Famine Fund. The Jaipur imperial service
transport corps saw service in the Chitral and Tirah campaigns.
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