It’s International Day of Peace today. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and people. So let us ask you a simple question. What does peace mean to you ? What according to you soothes your soul and brings your mind to peace ? A fresh cup of morning tea at your favorite tapri ? Or suddenly running into a familiar person at the market ? Peace means different things to different people in different nations, places and cities. Midst all the hustle bustle of life and a relentless race, there stands a city, a place that has seen its shades change in the last gazillion years and yet, it maintains its calm and renders peace to every restless soul that resides in its lap – the city of Jaipur.
And we ain’t saying this because we love Jaipur, but for the simple reason, that if any person on this planet will see this city with open eyes, they will fall in love with it at first sight. Let’s find out why 🙂
- Traffic woes ? What are they ?No, it’s not like we don’t know what traffic jams are. But we actually don’t know how to get stuck in them for more than half an hour and we owe this to Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, the man who planned the architecture of Jaipur in 1727 making the pink city one of the first planned cities of India 🙂
2. Locals of Jaipur
Wherever you go, whichever place you stay in or shift to, initially what you see and soak in to is the infrastructure, transportation, weather and all the things which strike you first about a place. But as soon as you take your eyes off the surface, you see what really matters – the people. It could be the guy who gives you newspaper everyday, the lady who comes to deliver milk at your place or a little boy gladly feeding pigeons in front of Albert Hall, you find yourself bonding with them, a beautiful and a peaceful bond.
3. The other side of Nightlife
To all the people who visit here for the first time and ask ‘Does Jaipur have night clubs ?’ Yes it does. Quite a lot of them. But let’s be honest, it’s not our strength. Because in the name of nightlife, we have some thing which barely any other metropolitan city can offer, and even if it does, it takes you so much time to reach there, that half the magic ends on the way itself. So in case you want to have a look at the other side of nightlife, where there isn’t a congested room but an open sky, no deafening music but the voices of your friends falling in your ears and no disco lights but a twinkling array of stars, throwing light on the well-lit pink city when you look at it from the top of Nahargarh fort 🙂
4. Festive Times
Jaipur is growing at a fast pace, is well established with malls, Metro, better infrastructure and other facilities, but in this fast paced life, there is one thing that people hold on to – religion. You will find people getting completely soaked in the spirit of the numerous festivals that the Jaipur culture blesses them with !
5. Distances
It’s funny how we think that anything beyond 10 km is actually far and causes a change in our plans while in Delhi/Bangalore, anything within the same distance witnesses a sigh of relief ! So distance – never a problem !
6. The rural lives
Yes there is a Metro up and running in the city, but the moment you go beyond that, you find a completely different shade of Jaipur – the rural side. Whenever you feel your life isn’t good enough, just look beyond it and go to the nearby villages of Jaipur. You will see how the turban clad men and some beautiful women dressed in neon colored sarees and lehengas lead a simple life filled with bare necessities, daily chores and a pure feeling of contentment.
7. Everyone knows Everyone
‘That guy used to come to my tuitions’, ‘ I have seen this woman in the wedding I went to last week’, are the common sentences you’d get to hear in Jaipur ! What we simply love about this city is that everyone knows everyone through someone or the other 😀 So whatever you do, wherever you go, someone must be surely watching you 😉 Jokes apart, it’s a feeling so warm and secure, that nothing can beat it 🙂
8. You can Stop… and Breathe
No traffic issues, no rushing hours and no deadlines can dampen the spirit of Jaipurites, and they always find time to stop and breathe, even if it’s just for a pyaaz ki kachori on their way to work, leisurely breakfast of Doddh Jalebi on Sunday or to spontaneously catch up with a friend in the evening over a mirchibada or golgappe 😉
Need we say more ?
Jaipur Beat 
lovely write up!