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About Jaipur
Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh
 II,
a Kachwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Initially his capital was
Amber (city), which lies at a distance of 11 km from Jaipur. He felt the
need of shifting his capital city with the increase in population and
growing scarcity of water. Jaipur is the first planned city of India. The
King consulted several books on architecture and architects before making
the lay out of Jaipur.
After several battles with Marathas, Jai Singh was keen on the security
aspect of the city. Being a lover of mathematics and science, Jai Singh
sought advice from Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a Brahmin scholar of Bengal, to
aid him design the city architecture.
The construction of the city started in 1727. It took around 4 years to
complete the major palaces, roads and square. The city was built following
the principles of Shilpa Shastra, the Indian Architecture. The city was
divided into nine blocks, of which two consist the state buildings and
palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge
fortification walls were made along with seven strong gates.
For the time, architecture of the town was very advanced and certainly the
best in Indian subcontinent. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales visited
Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome him. Today, avenues
remain painted in pink, provide a distinctive appearance to the city.
In the 19th century the city grew rapidly ; by 1900 it had a population of
160,000. The city's wide boulevards were paved and lit with gas.
The city had several hospitals. Its chief industries were in metals and
marble, fostered by a school of art founded in 1868. The city also had
three colleges, including a Sanskrit college (1865) and a girls' school
(1867) initiated under the reign of the enigmatic Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh
II. There was also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers,
particularly the Jains and the Marwaris.
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