Elephant Leading the Parade

I bought this painting in Jaipur, India while on a trip to the Golden Triangle of India. The Golden Triangle includes Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.

Jaipur is the largest city in the state of Rajasthan.  It is known as the Pink City of India. The city was painted pink to welcome Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert who visited the city in 1876.  

The Hawa Mahal which means the Wind Palace or the Palace of Winds is one of the major attractions in Jaipur.  It has 953 small windows called Jharokhas.  They were built to keep the wind blowing inside this palace which was a summer retreat for many Rajputs families. Rajput means son of a king. Until the 20th C Rajputs ruled the state of Rajasthan.

Another palace found in Jaipur is the Jal Mahal. Jal Mahal means Water Palace.  This palace is located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city. Built of red sandstone, this five-storied building has four floors which remain underwater.  When the lake is full only the top floor is exposed.  The palace was used for Royal duck shooting parties.

Amer Fort located 11 km from Jaipur was built by Raja Man Singh. The fort is located high on a hill and locals and tourists often take an elephant ride to make their way from the parking lot up to the fort.  I remember this elephant ride with my friend, Carol. 🙂 

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is another interesting place to see.  The Jantar Mantar is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by the Rajput King Sawai Jai Singh II.  Completed in 1734, it showcases the world’s largest stone sundial.  This is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  I remember taking a picture of this sundial.  

In a previous post I shared the story of the Elephant Festival held in Jaipur.  March 17 is the start of the festival this year.  The painting I bought shows the elephant leading the other animals in the parade.  The elephant leads the horse, the camel, the peacock, the lion and the … Oh dear, I can’t tell for sure what this last animal is. What do you think it might be?  Please comment below.

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