Japiur : A point of view

A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. - Marcus Garvey

During my holi vacations I decided I want to revisit Jaipur, the city where i lived for one year. I was about eight or nine when I was there. As a child of that age I hated the place. After all I was ‘forcefully’ separated from my best friend and the environment which I was so used to while growing up was taken away from me. 

But one thing that enthralled me even at that age was – history. I have some beautiful memories of the fact how the essence of history present there has made me smile when I did not ever feel like. Somehow since childhood, I was already a historian in making.

I distinctively remember how I badly wanted to visit the Amer Fort and no one was able to take me because something or the other just seems to happen. An uncle who was visiting from the US, as our guest, decided to take me. Such was my enthusiasm that even when he got tired, I still had the energy to explore 2 more forts in the complex almost of the same size.

But back then I did not do justice to my love and passion for history. For me the marvel was just visiting the forts and not actually appreciating how beautiful, something that we take for granted, that is our culture can be so beautiful and mesmerizing. 

This time when I went to Jaipur, even if it was just for a day, I noticed and observed. Apart from the fact that I was high on a nostalgic adrenaline, wherever I looked I could notice only one thing, how the people of the pink city were so fond of their culture and identity and history exactly in the same way people of Delhi are fond of their drinks and money.

Even in the scorching heat we decided to travel by Autos. We were basically going towards the Bapu bazaar area or the main ‘pink city’ or towards the old city. We passed through landmarks such as Albert’s museum, Hawa Mahal, City palace etc. I remembered how I had been on an excursion to each and every landscape in Jaipur.

The amazing thing was even with globalization and an amalgamation of modern culture and ideology trickling in, nothing much had changed. The walls of the bridges were still covered with the paintings recounting stories of valor kings who helped to shape the history of that place. All the official buildings were still there with the traditional arches and gateways. Even some of the houses of common people had those traditional gates and entrances with the typical design of Rajasthan. Altogether I could see Jaipur with a completely changed perspective and identify its hidden beauty.

It’s a sad state of affairs and a totally opposite point of view of people of Delhi.   Everywhere you see the culture of over a thousand years is slowly disintegrating into nothingness. It’s no longer a place where once history blossomed. It has become a place for the big shots that have money which can be spent on the preservation of the forts and palaces and other structures but is rather spent on going to clubs, having hookah, buying more cars than the number of people in the family. Basically their so called idea of having fun.

Delhi used to be such a favorite of kings and royals who decided to create a history. No one really cares about it now. I feel sad and heartbroken when I look at the city and then I wonder to myself – “How can two cities, both having a long history be so different in their approach of conservation or destruction of their pasts and roots?”