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South of the Pink
City, on the road leading out of New Gate, lie 36 acres of lush gardens
named Ram Niwas Public Gardens after the planner, Ram Singh, who ruled Jaipur
from 1835 to 1880. The gardens represent but a small fraction of Ram Singh's
successful efforts to improve public services, and originally covered 76 acres.
As well as providing green space for the citizens, the gardens now house a
number of institutions, the most notable being the Albert Hall , in which you'll
find the Central Museum (daily except Fri 9.30am-4.30pm; Rs5, free on Mon),
designed by the British architect Sir Samuel Jacob. This remarkable stately
construction, built over several years from 1867, drew heavily on contemporary
British models, but its arched verandas and rooftop domed pavilions hint at the
Moghul background of its artisans.
The exhibits within, which include miniature paintings, rocks, clothes and
ornamental wooden boxes, may not be quite as inspiring as the building itself,
but it's worth seeking out the highly original display of yoga postures
demonstrated by tiny clay sadhus .
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Also within the
gardens is a zoo (daily except Tues: summer 8am-6pm; winter 8am-5.30pm), with an
aviary on one side, an animal section on the other, and a small
crocodile-breeding farm. The beasts are kept in the usual grim conditions.
To the south of these, off Jawaharlal Nehru Road, the Museum of Indology (daily
10am-5pm; Rs40 including guided tour) holds an outrageous collection of assorted
curiosities maintained by writer and painter Acharya Vyakul, including a map of
India painted on a grain of rice, letters written on a hair, a glass bed and the
largest collection of Tantric art in the world, as well as a gallery of modern
art. A larger premises is planned 7km out on the road to Amber.
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