The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-07-17
MAGIC CITY OF INDIA
THE PEOPLE AND THE PALACES OF
JAlPUR THE WONDERFUL.

: Compared with Ajmere, and indeed I
with many OF the cities Of India, Jaipur
Is a mere infant, having been in exist
ence scarcely 200 years. The absolute
uniformity of its buildings, both in de-
sign and material, n lovely rose colored
sandstone having been used, makes one
feel as If they must have been construct
ed by the "genii Of the lamp" in response
to the hasty summons of an imperious
master. And this impression of hurried
magic is only increased when one finds
that the upper stories are more often
than not merely decorative shell, with
in which is space and nothing more.
Yet Jaipur Is n town of considerable
modern Importance, and its wide streets
are daily filled with a motley throng Of
native buyers and sellers, with sprin-
king of curiosity stricken tourists. Here,
pacing softly on his padded feet, may be
seen a hooded cheetah, submissive in his
blindness to his leaders. But let the hood
slip, and "Ware the tigerw Here a
naked, ash covered fakir strides proudly
through the crowds, his long, matted hair
hanging down his back, his red lidded
eyes taking apparent cognizance of no
one, at his heels one or two disciples Of
either sex. And here, serenely conscious
of his importance as he swings majes-
ticaly from side to side in the wide path
which every one hastcns to clear for him,
comes one of the maharajahs elephants,
bearing on his broad forehead the paint
ed insignia of his royal master.
1t is in Japur that the traveller Is first
subjected to the overpowering temptation
of Indian brasswork-I use the adjective
"overpowering" advsedly. Here, too,
the artful "hawker man" bangles before
the helpless femininity native necklaces
of amethyst, garnet, turquoise and amber,
and if one escapes from this ordeal with
a single "pie" there is always another to
undergo when the lovely saris-long cot
ton cloths worn by both men and women
are brought out to dazzle the eye and
open the pocketbook. These cloths are
from five to nine yards long and are dyed
in the softest and most beautiful colors
that eastern taste can suggest, and so
long as two threads hang together those
colors seem to endure.
The process Of laundering these saris is,
like most processes in this land where
taking things easy has been reduced to a
fine art, very simple one. The precept5
of their native religions however they
may differ in other respects, are alike in
compelling many additions. SO Hindoo,
AOudUllueuuu, lDlhu anu IuuiulSl, MlGn
about to take bath, will strip down to
the lon cloth and give their other gar
ment the same treatment given to their
bodies after which they drape it around
their legs and shoulders, wet or dry, as it
may be, assured that the kindly sun of
India will do the rest
The ancient city Of Amber and Jaipur's
former capital lies about five miles to the
aoct oPt ha rOval rasi1aDPQ II ia
reached by n long avenue lined by tall
hedge of cacti, behind which are scat
tered venerable tombs, ruined temples
and deserted villas. The famous palace
of Amber, second in renown to only one
other in all this great land of palaces, lies
on the rocky side Of range of hills, up
whose rugged slopes climbs the but
tressed wall of the old city, and high
above all stands the guardian fort, its
ramparts unnamed, its watch towers
forsaken its very existence an anomaly,
where there is nothing left to guard but
empty walls. In a hollow below the
palace a tiny lake ruffles it bravely in
the passing breeze; on its bosom the
creamy lotus blooms, and in its depths
the palace sees the constant reflection of
her forsaken charms. IT'S very Vashti
among palaces, and the preferred Esther
at Jaipur is not to be compared to her.
Without were jutting balconies. with
screens of cunningly carved alabaster,
atticed windows behind which dark eyes
had flashed and soft voices murmured,
and broad marble steps that had echoed
to the tread of many a princely warrior.
Within were rows upon rows of huted
columns, miles of marble halls, stately
payilions where the "lord of lords" had
dispensed justice and injustice to his
waiting vassals and vaulted rooms whose
ceilings and walls were curiously inlaid
with the mirrored and spanged work for
which Japur has long been famous. The
mirrors used in the decorations are not
more than an inch square, and the eff
feet of the innumerable reflections as one
stands in an alcove and moves the hands
and head is both bewildering and beau
tiful.
Simple prose fails to give any adequate
Idea of the beauty and wealth which the
oriental potentates lavished and lavish
upon the magnificent buildings which
they erect today, occupy tomorrow and
desert in twelvemonth. They are scat
tered from one end of India to the other,
abandoned to the birds, the bats and the
tourist. Amber, however Is not entirely
given over to these three. At the head
of one fight of steps stands a grimy,
smoky temple to Kali the Terrible, and
daily kid is sacrificed here to propitiate
or appease this dreadful goddess.
The morning we were there a little
bleating creature was Juggling at its rope
as il aware OF the impending fate, and al
tar, floor and steps were stained with the
blood of many previous sacrifice. The
attendant priests showed us the heavy
sacriicial knives and offered for a small
monetary consideration to let us see the
ceremony. Looking backward, | almost
wish had seen it, but at the moment,
and face to face with the trembling VIC
tim. which tried to climb into my arms,
nothing could have induced me to give it
the Indifferent sanction of my presence.
It was midnight when we reached jail
pur aud the whole countryside lay ST.
lent and shadowess under the white light
Of the full moon. As we passed from
the station to the neighboring hotel we
stopped short in the road beside some
shrouded figures prone by the highway
and from which came a continuous low