Tour De Royals : Jodhpur, the blue city
Jodhpur, the blue city, is named so because of abundance of
blue colored houses in the city which stand out in the brown desert plane. The
blue houses belong to the Brahmins, even though now they are found everywhere
in the city, in old days these houses were found only in the area called
Brahmpuri.
But I think it’s not the houses that give the name to the city,
it’s the charm this city has, the alleys, the marked and the old clock tower at
his heart, this city is a spectacular advertisement for the good old times.
Jodhpur is the second largest city in Rajasthan and is named
after its creator Rao Jodha … and no this is no ways related to the Jodha Bai.
Mehrangad Fort
Standing tall on the city’s landscape is the Mehrangad fort
the first expression on seeing this fort would invariably be “Hugeee”, this
fort is one of the biggest forts in Rajasthan. The fort and its palaces are
built over 500 years following its foundation in 15th century. The
foundation was laid by Rao Jodha in 1459.
The fort wall is more than 150ft tall and has interior and
exterior protector walls. The fort is also called as the Sun fort after the sun
worshiping rulers of Jodhpur, it is also said that Rao Jodha wanted the fort to
look like a peacock and hence the name Mehrangad however the folklore is also
that the tribal named Mehran sacrificed himself and was buried alive along with
the foundation stone , it was a common belief that human sacrifice at the time
of forts construction makes it strong , thus in memory of that sacrifice the
fort is called as Mehrangad fort .
The fort is now a word heritage site and has to be one of
the most well maintained forts I have seen, the fort complex is kept extremely clean
, many restoration works have been taken to restore the old glory of the fort.
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| View from Jee Ri Haveli hotel |
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| Handprints of Rajput Wives who committed Jauhar |
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| Jodhpuri Mojadi |
Jaswant Thada
Jaswant thada is the royal cenotaph created in the 19th
centur , over the year the place has been used as the royal cenotaph for the
other rulers as well.
The entire structure is built of marble, some of the rocks
are so thin and polished that they emit the warm golden glow on exposure to sun
rays.
Umaid Bhawan Palace
Umaid bhawan palace has to be the architecture wonder of the
modern days. This palace is one of the largest royal residences in the word as
was built in 15 years from 1925- 1942.
The palace is span across 42 acres and is named after its
creator Maharaj Umaid Singh as is designed by the firm Lancaster & Lodge
based in London.
The british influence on its structure is clearly visible
from the pentagon shaped bastions.
In 1920s there was a heavy draught and palace was
constructed as part of famine relief policy of the maharaja where villagers
were paid in food and money in exchange of their efforts.
During the constructions of the palace the interior decorative
were shipped from London but was the ship was drowned by Germans hence the
artifacts were recreated in india with help from a polish interior decorator.
Rao Jodha Desert Park
Just 5 minutes walk from the fort is Rao Jodha Desert Park ,
the park offers many walking trails which will take you through desert ecology.
The park also offers a great view of the mehrangad fort.
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