FORT OF AMBER A LABOUR OF LOVE

The fort of Amber The kingdom of Jaipur was originally known as Amber, which was also the name of its ancient capital. Amber lies about seven miles northeast of Jaipur. Soon after Amber had been founded by Meena tribesmen early in the tenth century, the Kachwaha Rajputs (who had previously ruled in Gwalior) established themselves in an adjacent region, founding Dhundar as their capital in 967 AD. Two centuries latter, about 1150, they took Amber from Meenas and it remained the Kachwaha capital until they moved to Jaipur in 1527. Amber suddenly came to the fore when the Mughal Emperor Akber married one of its princesses, the daughter of Bhar Mal in one of the first of several shrewd matrimonial alliances between Mughal rulers and a Rajput princess. The Kingdom of Amber had one of the most brilliant of the Rajput rulers as Raja Sawai Jai Singh II, who built the world famous pink city of Jaipur. Amber Fort was built and embellished by two 16th century rulers Man Singh I, and Jai Singh I. They built this magnificent fort-palace, filling it with elegant court life, gardens and the song and laughter of ladies. The picturesque setting of this fort, the stern, rambling exterior belying the well organized, bejeweled interior whose richness and intricacy increases as the rooms go higher, opening on to striking views of the gorge makes it one of the most beautiful and impressive fort-palace. There are two beautiful gardens, the Dilaram and Mohanbari showing the Persian impact on the architecture. Inside the fort there is Shilla Devi temple its pillars carved in the form of banana trees in delicate green marble. The image of the goddess Kali was brought back from Bengal by Raja Man Singh I in 1580. Opposite Kali Temple lies the diwane-am (the hall of public audience) built by Mirza Raja Jai Singh I. On the southern side of Diwane-Am lies the magnificent gate the Ganesh-Pol which is described as the one of the finest gateways in the world. Its fine fresco work is just out of this world. Two other marvelous portions of the palace are Jai Mandir and Jas Mandir. Jai Mandir was used as hall of private audience or Diwane-Khas, is made of white marble. The walls are decorated with fine murals. Its floral ceiling is inlaid with intricate mirror work. The magnificent Sheesh-Mahal (hall of mirrors) has walls and ceiling covered with intricate inlay –work of mirror and colored glass. Jas-Mandir lies just above Jai-Mandir. It has a roof ablaze with spangled mirrors and beautiful mosaic. Its entire eastern face is a filigreed marble screen, which gives a stunning view of the Maota Lake and the hills below, specially designed to catch the summer breezes and draw them in to cool the hall. The sukh-Mandir and the zenana are also worth a visit.