Jaipur

Evolution of an Indian City…..

Jaipur lies at a distance of about 200 miles from Delhi, 150 miles from Agra and 84 miles from Ajmer. Capital city of Rajasthan is located amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an altitude of about 430 m above sea level.

Latitude – 26 55’ N

Longitude – 75 50’ E

The eastern Rajasthan, lying to the east and south east of the Aravalli divide includes the modern administrative districts of – Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Bharatpur and Alwar.

The current district of Jaipur lies in Eastern Rajasthan, in the Banas River basin and forms a part of Eastern Plain of Rajasthan. The region is drained by a number of seasonal rivers of which Banganga, Dhundh and Bandi are prominent.

In Aryan epics, Dhoondhar region (called Matsya Desh/ Mina Wati) was the shortest trade route between north India and rich port cities of Gujarat and Malabar. The region was held by Badgujars, Rajputs and Minas till the 11th century. From the 11th century onwards, however, the Dhoondhar region was increasingly under the power of Kachchwaha dynasty of Rajputs.

The three main capitals of the Dhoondhar Region under the Kachchwahas –

Dausa Amber Jaipur.

Sawai Jai Singh II (1700 – 1743) who outlived five Mughal emperors and tried to prop up the Mughal Empire from 1707 – (Aurangzeb’s death) to sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah (1739) established the city of Jaipur and strengthened the boundaries of Dhoondhar.

CITY

AND ITS EVOLUTION

Modern Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber who ruled from 1699–1744.

Initially, his capital was Amber, which lies 11 km from Jaipur.

The generic plan of a medieval Rajasthani hill town- as in Dausa and Amber (TOP)

A – Religious centre or templeB – Political centre or forC – Gates and wallsD – Havelis and houses

The site selected for establishing the new capital of Jaipur was a valleylocated south of Amber and the plains beyond, a terrain that was the bed of a dried lake. There used to be dense forest cover to the north and the east of the city.

To facilitate water supply to the new city, the Darbhavati river in thenorth was dammed to create the Jai Sagar and Man Sagar (that later housed the Jal Mahal) lakes.

The east-west axis of the town was divided by three perpendicular roads into eight portions with the central ones of equal size and the outer ones as per the remaining dimensions till the Chand Pol in the west and Suraj Pol in the east.

Reasons for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to change his capital from Amber to Jaipur :

Military Reasons

Defence was an important consideration. A site at the South of Amber ensured greater distance from Delhi and also prevented the expansion of the city in that direction.

It was clear that the out skirting hill ranges (Nahargarh hills) shaped as a horseshoe would allow the new city to expand only in the South. So this flat site with a basin like shape was chosen. It was an open plain bounded on the north-west and east by hills.

Geographical Reasons

The rocky terrain of Amber restricted expansion.

Jaipur had the potentialities of developing into a city with adequate drinking water due to the presence of a perennial stream nearby and good drainage system. Its rugged hills also ensured a constant supply of building material, which might be required in the times to come

PLANNING

PRASTARA PLAN: It is a model of town planning- the first planned city in India. It is based on Hindu systems of town planning and followed the principles prescribed in the Shilpa-shastra, an ancient Indian treatise on architecture .according to this shastra the site should be divided into grids or mandalas rangung from 2x 2 to 10 x 10.

Planned according to the Prastara type of layout, which gives prominence to the cardinal directions.

Thus the plan of jaipur gridlines being the city’s main streets.

The central axis of the town was laid from East to West between the gates of the Sun(Suraj pol) and the moon(Chandpol)

This was crossed by two roads at right angles dividing the town into nine almost square, almost equally sized blocks, which were further sub divided by lanes and alleys all at right angles.

The mandala could not be complete in the NW due to the presence of the hills.

So this North-West ward was transferred to the South-East corner of the city, making the shape of the plan as a whole asymmetrical rather than square.

The city’s division into nine wards was also in conformity with the Hindu caste system, which necessitated the segregation of people belonging to different communities and ranks.

Even the lanes were named after the occupations of inhabitants such as Maniharon ka Rasta, Thatheron ka Rasta & many others.

Following the directions of the Hindu Shilpa shastra, width of the main streets & other lanes were fixed. Thus the main streets of the city were 111ft. wide, secondary streets 55 ft. wide & the smaller ones 27ft. wide.

South of the main road were four almost equal rectangles. The rectangle opposite the palace has been broken up into two equal and smaller rectangles by the Chaura Rasta.Thus altogether there are now five rectangles on the south of the main road called Chowkris.

On the North of the main road from West to East are the Purani Basti, the Palace and Ramchandraji.

The principal bazaar leads from the western gate in the city wall, The Chandpole, passing in front of the Tripolia Gate, to the eastern city gate, the Surajpole.

Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were additions in the built fabric of the city and the palace such as the Hawa Mahal and a number of temples added by Sawai Pratap Singh under whom the Jaipur architectural vocabulary reached its peak in terms of stylization.

In the 19th century, with the accession of Sawai Ram Singh II, the city extended beyond the old city walls, adapted newer modes of transport such as the railways with a railway station located on the western outskirts, started using gaslights on the streets and adopted modernized drainage and piped water supply system.

The 20th century observed further modernization and urbanrenovations within the walled city, including the restoration work of the city walls and gates and, converting the inner temporary houses in the sectors into more permanent structures

URBAN FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY

WHY PINK?

Using pink to cut down glare

Jai Singh II's apparent devotion to Lord Shiva (whose favorite color is reputedly terra cotta)

Pink is the traditional color of hospitality, and the city was freshly painted and paved with pink gravel to warmly welcome Edward VII for his visit here in 1876.

ROAD NETWORK

Jaipur’s road network follows a definite hierarchy. The major east-west and north-south road ,form the sector boundaries and are called Rajmarg as they lead to the city gates. These measure 33m. wide.

Next there is a network of 16.5m wide which runs north-south in each sector linking the internal areas of the sectors to the major activity spine.

PUBLIC SPACES

CHAUPAR – It’s a square that occurs at the intersection of east west roads with three north south roads. Each chaupar is around 100m x 100m. Were used for public gathering on festive occasions. The distance between two chaupars is about 700m which is ideal for pedestrian movement. It has controlled façade treatment enveloping it.

BAZAARS - Originally only four bazaars were planned for the city. These were later named as Johri bazaar, Sireh Deori Bazaar, Kishan pole Bazaar & Gangori Bazaar

On the main streets strict control was exercised on the street façade, along which were located shops and arcades- one storey high, but beyond the frontage the buildings could be of any height or any shape, some built with flat roofs & others with traditional chattris.

Commercial

FootpathRoad Temple

Section through Ram Ganj Bazaar

Original markets in the city include Kishanpole bazaar, Gangauri bazaar, Johari bazaar, Sireh Deorhi bazaar, along the main north-south and east-west axes that intersect at Chhoti and Badi Chaupars.

Bazaar streets have temples above shops with wide staircase starting from pavement to the temple level.

Space above shops at first floor level originally functioned as galleries for watching royal processions, religious festivals and public celebrations

TYPOLOGY OF FACADES

Façades of Jaipur and surroundings typically have gokhdas (sitting spaces) on either side of the entrance.

The openings are often characterized bythe use of cusped, trefoil or pointed arches with rectangular or chhatri (vaulted dome) type framing, flanked with lotus columns.

Stylistically, the bangaldar (curvilinear) roofbecame prevalent in stone chhatris and chhajjas (sunshades) and was later used in other areas of Rajasthan too

The bangaldar chhatri with the sunshade following the profile forms the focus of the Chandra Mahal façade, in the City Palace complex

Goyal Bhawan

TYPOLOGY OF TEMPLES

Each mohalla (cluster of houses) has its own temple presided over by the deity most appropriate for their prosperity and protection. A relationship between temples and wells (both constituting ritual spaces) can be observed inside the chowkries in the layout of the sectors.

TYPOLOGY OF HAVELIS

The havelis ofJaipur range from a single courtyard house form to an assemblage of multiple courts, depending on the status of the owner and number of family members.

Majority of the havelis have one or two courtyards.

TYPOLOGY OF WATER BODIES

The surface water bodies – Talkatora, Jai Sagar,Man Sagar (Jal Mahal Lake) and the Ramgarh Lake were important features in the city plan. The artificial lakes were created in response to the natural topography

A unique water system of undergroundcanals was specially devised for the water supply in the city and the square central tanks were located in the Badi Chaupar and Chhoti Chaupar.

VISION FOR PLANNED GROWTH

This section simulates the original form, studies transformations in built form over time and demonstrates possibilities of enhancing the built heritage through planned intervention and architectural guidance

REFERENCES

WWW.UNESCO.ORG/ NEW DELHI

WWW.ARCH.MCGILL.CA

WWW.ARCHINOMY.COM

WWW.IHCN.IN

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

THANK YOU……..Ankur Podder / Lakshya Pandit / Rakesh Kumar / Ravi Banra / Jatin Karnani