Jaipur, the Pink City.

	Jaipur, the Pink City
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Jaipur's most famous monuments - the Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar Observatory - both lie within the City Palace Complex, at the heart of the Pink City. For anyone familiar with Indian cities, the grid-plan may come as a surprise. Instead of a maze of narrow winding alleys, the spacious streets of the quarter are completely straight and laid out at right angles in accordance with the Vastu Shastras , ancient Hindu architectural manuals, carefully adapted and applied by the local maraharaja in the eighteenth century. However, the city's single most striking feature, its pink color, did not form part of Jai Singh's original design. Although many people think the rosy hue is as old as the buildings themselves, they were in fact originally a sallow yellow.

Pink is traditionally the color of hospitality in Rajasthan, but the wash, now regularly reapplied, has only been compulsory since the city was spruced up in preparation for the visit of Prince Albert from England in 1856.

Another face-lift preceded the visit, in 2000, of Bill Clinton and daughter.

The chief minister of Rajasthan ordered that the colonnaded walkways lining the old city's main streets be cleared of hawkers, chai stalls and beggars.

No one believed he was serious until he sent in bulldozers to enforce the deadline, and the Pink City has looked a lot smarter (and pinker) since, with shop fronts now bearing the regulation black Hindi graphics on white backgrounds.

In addition, a couple of streets (notably Bapu Bazaar) were even permanently closed to traffic - unheard of in India.

In keeping with the prescriptions of the Shastras , each quarter in the Pink City is home to a particular centre of activity or commerce. Suraj Pole Bazaar in the southeast corner houses elephants and their owners; Nehru Bazaar (closed Tues) and Bapu Bazaar (closed Sun) are special centres for textiles, perfumes and locally styled camelskin shoes; shops in Tripolia Bazaar and Chaura Rasta sell textiles and household utensils.