Cover Jan-Feb final001.qxd 1/19/2009 7:09 PM Page 1 GET MORE OUT OF JAIPUR JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009 COMPLIMENTARY COPY NOT FOR SALE Ranthambhore The cat got away Bundi Out of the ordinary Paan Betel bites In Association with Rajasthan Tourism Nights come alive The Pink City has a different hue after sundown Contents.qxd 1/19/2009 5:37 PM Page 1 Contents January - February 2009 AMIT CHAKRAVARTY Night Vision 8 Luxury unlimited 29 The tourism department’s Pink City by Cover story night bus tour is a great way to Consume No small feat 32 experience Jaipur in a new light Offtrack 20 Features The cat that got away. Tandoori nights 35 Travel 24 But it’s together! 36 The buck stops here. Food & Drink Fairs 40 Paan intended 38 Notes from a fort. Welcome to Jaipur 6 Discovery 45 Regulars Jaipur info 49 Out of the ordinary. Parting shot 50 Rajasthan: a great state to be in Cover Photography:Amit Chakravarty January - February 2009 Time Out Jaipur 3 Editorial.qxd 1/19/2009 7:00 PM Page 5 APaprika Media presentation Editorial Dear Reader, PAPRIKA MEDIA PVT LTD Essar House, 11 KK Marg, It is an entirely new experience. When you’re through with that been-there- PO Box 7945, Mahalaxmi, done-that-routine in Jaipur, there’s still a whole new world waiting for you. Only Mumbai 400 034 this time, you need to take off those sunshades and view the city’s attractions In association with Rajasthan Tourism in a new light. Monuments, forts, crowded roads, busy markets and yes, a hip January- February 2009 and happening nightlife… Jaipur, it seems, has a totally new face after sun- General Enquiries and Listings (91 11) 46565758 down. Drive down to the Amber Fort on the outskirts of the city to chance upon a [email protected] vision unlike anything you have ever seen before. Muted lighting along the bas- Editorial Editor: Mitali Kar tion’s ramparts casts a stupendous reflection on the Maota Lake below. Deputy Editor: Margot Bigg Sr. Assistant Editor: Alpana Singh “Amber Fort is almost like the stuff of dreams,” exults Minal Puri, the author of Trainee Sub Editor: Akriti Arora the cover story. And when you see the image of the fort in our issue, I am sure Art you will agree. Sr. Designer: Partha Pratim Sharma Designers: Asha Rajput, Manoj Bhardwaj, Ritesh Kumar Digital Imaging: Sanjay Rawat The play of light on the honeycomb exterior of Hawa Mahal, the glittering bed Deputy Photo Editor: Cherian Thomas of crystals on Amar Jawan Jyoti, the illuminations at Trimurti Circle, and the Photography: Anshika Varma, Amit Chakravarty eerie, lengthening shadows of Nahargarh Fort… these are only some of Business Sales: Vishal Pai, Nishit Kumar Jaipur’s wonders that are best experienced after dusk. Add to it the brightly-dec- ([email protected]) Project Coordinator: Rupal Soneta orated shops at Johari Bazaar, or the spectacular strobe lights and pulsating Production: Harish Suvarna, Mangesh Salvi, Sandeep Borkar music at popular discotheques and you have a city that is alive with light and Circulation: Kumar Mohanani Accounts: Ravi Desai, James D’Souza sound when the sun has set. Night tourism, something that was not heard of in HR & Administration: Abha Nair Jaipur, is here to stay and how! ([email protected]) Head Office Editor in chief Also in this issue, you will find Alpana Singh’s story on her tryst with the Naresh Fernandes Publisher & General Manager tiger… well, actually, she was chasing the tiger but it managed to elude her Neelam Kapoor Chairperson every time. The biting cold, the dramatic chases, wireless messages, fright- Smiti Ruia ([email protected]) ened cheetals, screeching peacocks, Alpana’s story has all the ingredients of a Printed and published by Neelam Kapoor on behalf of Paprika Media Pvt Ltd at Essar House, 11 KK Marg, PO racy thriller. As for the tiger, it had the last laugh, after all. Akriti Arora visits the Box No.7945,Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400 034. blackbuck sanctuary at Tal Chappar and is convinced that man and animal can Printed at Everest Photo Offset Ltd, 361, A-2, Shah & Nahar Ind. Estate, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for co-exist happily ever after. errors and omissions contained in this publication, how- ever caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before act- Here’s wishing you a fun-filled 2009. Take care and be safe. ing on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readersin particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the pur- pose of fair review. Published by the permission of Time Out Group, London UK. Special thanks to : Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan,and everyone who has advised and mentored us. January - February 2009 Time Out Jaipur 5 opener.qxd 1/19/2009 5:40 PM Page 6 Welcome Around the city The City Palace Jantar Mantar Hawa Mahal Amber Fort The Anokhi Museum Jaigarh Nahargarh Albert Hall The Sisodia Rani Palace The Central Museum The SRC Museum of Indology The Philatelic Museum Rambagh Palace Jawahar Kala Kendra Modern Art Gallery Dolls Museum Jai Niwas Gardens Jal Mahal Excursions Gaitor Galtaji Samode Sanganer Bagru Abhaneri opener.qxd 1/19/2009 5:40 PM Page 7 A window to Rajasthan to JaipurPhotograph by Amit Chakravarty Cover story 001.qxd 1/19/2009 5:41 PM Page 8 8 Time Out Jaipur January - February 2009 Cover story 001.qxd 1/19/2009 5:42 PM Page 9 Night Vision Think you’ve already seen the attractions of Rajasthan’s historic capital? The tourism department’s Pink City by Night bus tour is a great way to experience Jaipur in a new light, finds Minal Puri. Photography Amit Chakravarty. Splendorous sight The illuminated Amber Fort January - February 2009 Time Out Jaipur 9 Cover story 001.qxd 1/19/2009 5:42 PM Page 10 Cover story Starlight, star bright The brilliance of Raj Mandir Cinema There's no shortage of tourist attractions in ourselves and were pleasantly surprised at embellishments of stars and fleurs-de lis, the Jaipur. From the frequently-photographed how enjoyable it was. An officer from the whitewashed structure is often likened to a Hawa Mahal in the Old City to the stoic fort in tourism department met us at our hotel at giant cream cake. It is especially spectacular Amber, Rajasthan's capital and its environs around 6.30pm and escorted us to a mini-bus at night when coloured lights give it a fairy- keep sightseers coming back year after year. with an open seating area that afforded us tale-like appearance. Although most visitors While the salmon-coloured walls that give the good views of the city's sights (just remember come to watch a film in the cinema's lavish Pink City its nickname shine brilliantly under to bring a shawl or sweater as Jaipur gets interiors, complete with elaborate chandeliers the bright desert sun, the city takes on a new quite chilly during winter). and plush velvet upholstery, the fast-pace of feeling as night falls and the shopkeepers The tour started at a fast pace, not pausing our tour only allowed us to marvel at the archi- start to head home for the day. Things quieten at the first sight, Raj Mandir, on Bhagwan Das tectural peculiarity of the building's façade down and monuments around Jaipur light up, Marg, at the intersection with MI Road. This before moving on to our next attraction, the giving a magical element to an already famous cinema hall, which refers to itself as Statue Circle. enchanting city. And there's no better way to the "show place of the nation", has only been Statue Circle, commonly referred to as the experience this magic than by going on one of open since the 1970s, but is nevertheless as Jai Singh Circle, is a popular evening hangout the night-time bus tours organised by much of an attraction as Jaipur's older build- spot for Jaipur's residents, a little surprising Rajasthan Tourism Development ings. It was designed by architect W.M. considering the monument is smack in the Corporation (RTDC). Namjoshi in the Art Moderne style. With its middle of one of the city's busiest intersec- We recently decided to try out the tour for array of curlicues, jagged lines along with tions. We saw families picnicking here, street 10 Time Out Jaipur January - February 2009 Cover story 001.qxd 1/19/2009 5:43 PM Page 11 Cover story vendors selling roasted nuts and children street, we did spot a sign advertis- playing in the monument's grassy lawns. The ing the planetarium's evening centrepiece of the large circle is an ornately- celestial shows, which take place embellished gazebo surrounded by a foun- at 6pm and 7pm. tain. Inside the structure is a life-sized statue Our next stop was the Amar of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1688-1743), Jawan Jyoti (eternal flame), in who founded Jaipur in 1727. The statue front of the Sawai Mansingh depicts the king with an astrological tool in Cricket Stadium.