ARCHITECTURE AND

PLANNING OF JAIPUR
INTRODUCTION
• Jaipur lies at a distance of about 200 miles from Delhi, 150 miles from Agra and
84 miles from Ajmer.
• Located amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an altitude of about 430 m above sea
level.
• 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 Aravalli divide
includes the modern administrative districts of – Udaipur, Chittorgarh,
Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Aj mer,
Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Bharatpur and Alwar.
• 10th century onwards : the district Dhoondhar formed one of the four distinguishable
politicocultural regions of Eastern Rajasthan, in addition to Mewat, Hadauti and Mewar.
• Dhoondhar region was roughly comprised of current districts of Jaipur, Dausa and Tonk,
with Jaipur and Amber further constituting Dhoondhar subzone within the larger tract of
Dhoondhar region.
• 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.
• Sawai Jai Singh II (1700 – 1743) from the Kachchwaha dynasty established the city of
Jaipur and strengthened the boundaries of Dhoondhar.
• Raja Sawai Jai Singh The three main capitals of the Dhoondhar Region under the
Kachchwahas – Dausa, Amber and 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 northwest 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 Singh’s 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
• PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS
• WATER SUPPLY
The site with the natural east west ridge and the
surrounding forts as defense feature
• 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 channelised through Brahmapuri and Jai Niwas to supply
water to the city. The site with the natural east west ridge and the surrounding
forts as defense feature
PLANNING OF THE CITY
• Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two previous capital cities of the Dhoondhar region
established on hilltop, 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
The generic plan of a medieval Rajasthani hill
town- as in Dausa and Amber
The hill town of Dausa with an organic layout Amber Town with the Fort on top of the hill and
guided by the topography the walled town down the slopes
• The medieval towns of Rajasthan were of military, agrarian, mercantile or religious nature.
• The presence of a deity marked the reference point for the ruler’s abode and the rest of the
city.
• The name of the town was usually associated with the political or religious centre (with the
Ambikeshwar temple in the case of Amber and with Sawai Jai Singh in the case of Jaipur).
• 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 AmberSanganer road as a north-south
route at right angles to it.
• The point of intersection would be one of the city’s main cross-roads (chaupar)
• The intersection of the axes to define the Badi Chaupar (City Square).
• 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
city’s boundaries
The intersection of the axes to define the Badi Chaupar Division in to eight portions, ends of the roads marked by
Gates in the City Wall
• 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
• 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 city’s main streets.
CONCEPTUAL PRASTARA PLAN
• 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 hill’s southern apex,
it provided a continuous line of defense.
• 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.
• 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 plan of jaipur is a grid of 3x3 with 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.
• But by building the western boundary of the city right up to the hill’s southern
apex, it provided a continuous line of defense.
• 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.
The town has around it a masonry wall,
25ft. high & 9ft. thick, with eight gates.

The gates are:

•
Chandpole Gate,

•Ghat Gate,
•
Ajmeri Gate,

•Sanganeri Gate,
•
Surajpole Gate,

•Gangapole Gate,
•
Zorawar Singh Gate,
•and
New Gate.
• 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 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.
• To the NW of this lay the Jai Niwas. Given that its royal association meant that it
had to be within the palace compound, the site of the palace was established.
Indeed, given the wish to locate the palace centrally, the position of the
brahmasthana was also established. A wall surrounds the palace buildings.
• The serving class occupied the peripheral areas.
• Another constraint was the position of the lake, which formed a part of the
pleasure garden around which the city was built. This lake lay close to the hillside.
In the original design it fell outside the main block of the city; but due to Jai
Singh’s wish to include the old garden in the city, the lake was made the tank of
palace garden.
WHY PINK?
• Jaipur is known as the Pink City, a rather idealized description of the terra-cotta-
colored lime plaster that coats the old part of the city's walls, buildings, and
temples.

• the reasons for painting the town pink are unknown, but various theories have
been tossed about, from
• using pink to cut down glare, to Jai Singh II's apparent devotion to Lord Shiva
(whose favorite color is reputedly terra cotta).
• Others believe Singh wanted to imitate the color of the sandstone used in the
forts and palaces of his Mughal emperor-friends.
• The most popular reason (spread no doubt by "Britishers" during the Raj era) is
that 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.
• An orthogonal grid of 8.25mx4.00m roads in the prastara-chessboard pattern further divide sectors into
mohallas
• Public spaces can be divided into:
• Chaupars
• Bazaars
• Mohallas
• Streets
• Temples
CONCEPTUAL PLAN – CHAUPAR
• 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.
BAZAAR
• 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

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.
• Typical architectural features of the bazaar streets are - use of chhajjas
(sunshades) resulting in strong horizontal lines, projecting vertical blocks on
brackets, a modular system of arches filled with delicate latticed screens to cut
direct sun and glare of reflected sun in the street.
• 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
Uniform planned shop fronts on bazaar streets with upper floors in interesting juxtaposition.

Defined street façade at a chaupar with sunshades and latticed

colonnades at upper floors and shop fronts on the ground floor.
STREETSCAPES AND CHOWKS

View of a main bazaar street - the width of the main roads was
kept 39 1/4 gaz - 108 feet, secondary roads are half this size -
54 feet, the tertiary roads are 27 feet and the inner mohalla
streets are 13 feet wide.
• 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.
• According to a popular belief, the city was painted pink to celebrate the visit of the Prince of
Wales in 1876, during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II, lending the city the name of ‘Pink
City’.
• 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
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.
Aswathy s lal
Gopika remanan
Lekshmi mj
Thayyiba s