ABOUT JAIPUR CITY

Jaipur lies at a distance of about 320 kms from

Delhi, 240 kms from Agra and 135 kms from
Ajmer.
located amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an
altitude of about 430 m above sea level.
Latitude 26 55 ; Longitude 75 50
The current district of Jaipur lies in Eastern
Rajasthan, in the Banas River basin and forms a
part of Eastern Plain of Rajasthan.
The eastern Rajasthan, lying to the east and
south east of the Aravali divide includes the
modern administrative districts of Udaipur,
Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Banswara, Durgapur,
Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Ajmer,
Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Bharatpur
and Alwar.

The walled city of Jaipur

REASONS FOR MAHARAJA SAWAI JAI SINGH TO CHANGE HIS
CAPITAL FROM AMBER TO JAIPUR (1727)
MILITARY REASONS
Defence
A site at the South of Amber ensured greater
distance from Delhi.
the out skirting hill ranges (Nahargarh hills)
shaped as a horseshoe would allow the new
city to expand only in the South.
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.
TWO SIGNIFICANT FACTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORIGIN OF
THE CITY AND ITS SUBSEQUENT LAYOUT

The need of a new capital for 18th century Dhoondhar as the

earlier one of Amber built on a hill was getting congested.
Sawai Raja Jai Singhs vision of the new capital as a strong
political statement at par with Mughal cities and as a thriving
trade and commerce hub for the region.
SITE : a valley located south of Amber and the plains beyond, a
terrain that was the bed of a dried lake ; dense forest cover to the
north and the east of the site.
PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS : hills on the north that housed the
fort of Jaigarh and the Amber palace beyond, and the hills on the
east, which contained the sacred spot of Galtaji.
WATER SUPPLY: the Darbhavati river in the north was dammed
to create the Jai Sagar and Man Sagar (that later housed the Jal
Mahal) lakes. Later the Jhotwara River in the north west was
diverted through the Amani Shah Nallah and a number of canals
were channelized through Brahmapuri and Jai Niwas to supply
water to the city.
 PLANNING OF THE CITY
Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two previous capital cities
of the Dhoondhar region established on hill-top, whose
planning was guided by topographical structure of the
areas, Jaipur city was revolutionary both in terms of its
grid-iron pattern planning and its location at the base
of the hills.
There was also a significant economic shift from an
agricultural base in Dausa and Amber to trading in the
capital of Jaipur.
The layout of the city of Jaipur wonderfully links the
concept of a Shastric city with the practicalities of the
chosen site.
First, the straight line of the ridge suggested itself as
the route for one of the main east-west thorough fares
and building a road along its crest makes best possible
use of the topography for the purpose of drainage.
What followed then was to regularize the Amber-
Sanganer road as a north-south route at right angles to
it.
The point of intersection would be one of the citys The intersection of the axes to define the Badi
main cross-roads (chaupar) Chaupar (City Square).
 PLANNING OF THE CITY

A road cutting the plain from N to S linking Amber,

the capital to Sanganer, the principal trading town.
This road had to be preserved and controlled and
therefore had to fall within the citys boundaries
A second road ran E to W between the Mughal cities
of Agra and Ajmer and placing the new city on this
already established communication line would help
secure its economic success. However since this
was an imperial road that could not be encroached
on, thus the city had to be contained to the north of
this line.
Also, a natural ridge runs across the plain, N of the
road and parallel to it, in a roughly EW alignment
(with a slight deviation of15 deg. from the cardinal
axes). The area to its S is flat while that to its N
slopes down gently. In Shastric terms, this is an ideal
arrangement as declivity towards the north-east Is
considered the best site. In practical terms, the
ridge too had to be accommodated
Ends of the roads marked by Gates in the City Wall
 CONCEPTUAL PLANNING

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 ranging from
2x 2 to 10 x 10.
Planned according to the Prastara
type of layout, which gives
prominence to the cardinal
directions.
Thus plan of Jaipur is a grid of 3x3
with gridlines being the citys main
streets.
 CONCEPTUAL PLANNIG
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.
By building the western boundary of the city right up to the hills southern apex, it provided a
continuous line of defence.
The mandala could not be complete in the NW due to the presence of the hills.
On the other hand in the SE an extra square has been added that plugged the gap between the city
and the eastern hills.
 PLANNIG PROCEDURE
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.

1. RAMCHANDRASI
2. GANGAPOI CHAUKRI
3. TALKATORA
4. TOPKHANA HAZURI
5. PURANI BASTI
6. TOPKHANA DESH
7. MODI KHANA
8. GHAT DARWAZA
9. PALACE
 PLANNIG PROCEDURE

The palace building covered two blocks, the town

six and the remaining ninth block was not usable
on account of steep 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 citys 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,
Thakaron 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.
The map of early planned city of Jaipur
 ROAD NETWORK
Jaipurs 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.
An orthogonal grid of 8.25mx4.00m roads in
the prastara-chessboard pattern further divide
sectors into Mohallas.

PUBLIC SPACES

Chaupars
Bazaars
Mohallas
Streets
Temples
 CONCEPTUAL PLAN - CHAUPAR

a square that occurs at the

intersection of east west roads with
three north south roads.
100m x 100m
used for public gathering on festive
occasions
The distance between two chaupars
is about 700m which is ideal for
pedestrian movement.
It has controlled faade treatment
enveloping it.
 STREETSCAPES AND CHOWKS
The main markets, havelis and temples on the main
streets in Jaipur were constructed by the state in the
18th century, thus ensuring that a uniform street
facade is maintained. The widths of roads were
predetermined.
Junctions of the main axial streets formed the two
square civic open spaces called chaupars (Badi chaupar
and Chhoti chaupar). The width of the square chaupars
was three times that of the main street.
Historically, the chaupars were outlets for intense
social use with water structures connected by View of a main bazaar street
underground aqueducts, supplying numerous sources
of drinking water at street level. Presently, the centre
of each chaupar has square enclosures with
ornamental fountains.
The streets and chowks (central open squares in a
town) of the internal chowkries (sectors) with
numerous clusters or mohallas were not
predetermined; hence show a mix of grid iron and
organic pattern, with the basic unit of built form being
the rectangular haveli. View of a chaupar today
 VIEWS

SANGANERI GATE

THE VIEW WESTWARDS ACROSS THE CITY

FROM THE DIRECTION OF GALTAJI.
PANKAJ
SHARMA