Hello there all, get off the computer and go wish your father a happy father's day- or alternatifively, if you're like me you can IM him and do so in real time....from India. So today's entry is dedicated to my dad, the ever-inquisitive one. I have been holed up in our Jaipur apartment for the last few days, working away on several projects. My dad indicated that I hsould leave the comfy air-conditioned confines of our desert apartment and head out to explore the city, and so that is what i did. Braving the 110 degree heat I went and explored the old section of Jaipur, known as the pink city for its walls, which are painted that color and glow in the sunset. There are so many interesting sites in Jaipur, the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan.
Like all of India, it is super saturated with history, and that shows itself in everything from archaic forts to incredible ornate temples. On this day I chose to explore Jantar Mantar ( an appropriate choice for Father's Day, especially knowing mine who would have so many questions to ask we would have all dropped from heat stroke). Experimenting with cross-pollinating media sources, you can check out this link which has the pictures from my explorations. To see the pictures try copying and pasting it into your browser: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=55161182004133616/l=254584071/g=86844910/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB Jantar
Anyway, Jantar Mantar is an astronomical/astrological observatory begun by Jai Singh in 1728. At first glance it looks like a collection of mammoth, bizarre sculptures. Each of the numerous instruments provided a specialized function, allowing JaiSing to measure time using the sun (it contains the world's largest sundial, accurate to two seconds!). There were about thirty or so gigantically bizarre instruments/sculptures, each with a specific function, such as measuring the altitude of the sun or the astrological position of such and such. The incredible instruments (in combination with the extreme heat) left me in quite a surreal state-perfect to return to the bustling streets of jaipur.
1 comment:
As the Dad -- the ever inquisitive one -- David mentioned, Thanks for the posting and thanks for the discription of the --truly bizarre- astronomical observatory. I can't understand how it managed to not be disassembled in subsequent 300 years. The coliseum in rome and the pyramids were each used for building materials for mundane projects. If you've got quicktime, you might enjoy a 3d view of the lot at http://www.jantarmantar.org/JaipurTour_2.html
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