NEXT STOP: RAJASTHAN
Please alight for:
forts and frescoes
camels and caravans
marble hills and desert lakes
the largest state in India
Car 2 is reserved for sadhus bound for Pushkar
Car 3 is for camels only – mind the humps
The Buffet Car is now serving chilled Makhania lassi.
राजस्थान में आपका स्वागत है – Welcome to Rajasthan
Rajasthan – Land of Kings
(Hin): राजस्थान rājasthān From Skt: rāj, ‘king’; and sthāna, ‘country’, ’region’.
The very name says it all: Rajasthan is the “Land of Kings.” During British times it was known as Rajputana, “country of the Rajputs,” the “sons of kings” (rāja-putra) – clans of warriors, landholders, and patrons who carved fortresses into hillsides and left behind a culture of fierce pride and hospitality. From the 6th to the 12th centuries they rose to prominence, holding their own against Delhi Sultans and Mughals alike.
Modern Rajasthan unites nineteen former princely states and the British-run district of Ajmer-Merwara. At 342,239 km² it is India’s largest state – nearly the size of three Englands stitched together. It’s also India’s marble kingdom: ninety percent of the country’s marble comes from here, an estimated 900 million tonnes gleaming under the desert sun.
Jaipur — The Pink City
‘Jai Singh’s City’ (Hin): जयपुर jayapur [Jeypore] From Skt/Hin: [Jai Singh II] jay/jaya, ‘victory’ and Skt: pura, ‘fort’, ‘city’.
Jaipur is Rajasthan’s showpiece: bold, busy, beautiful. When Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II moved his capital from the hilltop fort of Amer to the plains in 1726, he wanted more than a fort or market town — he wanted a statement. He hired Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a young architect trained in ancient vastu shastra and shilpa shastra, to design a new city on a perfect grid: nine blocks, seven gates, broad streets, a central palace, temples and gardens. It was India’s first planned city, a kind of Baroque dream in sandstone.
The name is personal. Jaipur means “Jai’s City” (jaya = victory, pura = city), but it’s also aspirational: a king staking his claim on a landscape. The Mughal Empire was fading; the British were still far away. Jaipur showed what an Indian ruler could do with skill, science and style.
Colour made it famous. In 1876, when the Prince of Wales came to visit, Maharaja Ram Singh ordered the walled city painted terracotta pink, the colour of welcome. It stuck — by law. Even today, the old quarters glow in the sun, their latticed windows and carved facades giving the impression of a single, harmonious design. About three million people now live in Jaipur; the old city is crowded but keeps its dignity.
But Jaipur is more than pretty walls. It’s a city of makers and merchants. Gems, blue pottery, block-printed cotton, enamel bangles, leatherwork, miniatures: workshops hum with the same crafts that once supplied courts across India. Jaipur is still one of India’s jewellery capitals; its gem trade is worth billions annually.
At the Jantar Mantar observatory, giant stone instruments still track the sun and stars, a reminder that Jai Singh II was as much astronomer as warrior. At Amber (or Amer) Fort, 11 km away, you can walk through mirrored halls and courtyards where elephants once carried nobles. Echoes of Gujarat surface here too: like Ahmedabad, Jaipur mixes planned geometry with lived-in markets, and both cities became UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Jaipur in 2019).
Jaipur has an appetite for theatre. The Hawa Mahal (“Palace of Winds”) is a five-storey screen of windows where royal women once watched the street unseen. The City Palace mixes Rajput and Mughal styles, still home to the royal family. Beyond the walls, ring roads and suburbs stretch to the horizon, but the old city still holds the mood of a capital.
And Jaipur knows how to celebrate. Each January, the Jaipur Literature Festival brings writers and readers from around the world. Throughout the year processions of elephants, camels, and horses fill the streets: for the Gangaur festival in March-April when women carry clay images of Gauri and pray for marital happiness and fertility'; and in July-August for the Teej festival celebrating the reunion of goddess Parvati or Teej Mata with Shiva.
It’s a place that impresses everyone through its history, festivals, crafts, and colours.
For more on Indian place names and history - see Place Names Wallah
For a journey through tribal India & Sri Lanka see - Headhunting with Marguerite