Jaipur: Evolution Of an Indian City

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.

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 temple
B – Political centre or for
C – Gates and walls
D – Havelis and houses
The site selected for establishing the new
capital of Jaipur was a valley
located 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 the
north 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

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 urban
renovations 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
Footpath
Road 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 by
the use of cusped, trefoil or pointed arches
with rectangular or chhatri (vaulted dome)
type framing, flanked with lotus columns.
Stylistically, the bangaldar (curvilinear) roof
became 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 underground
canals 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

Jaipur: Evolution Of an Indian City