It was quite incongruous at times trying to reconcile the mad turmoil that is present day Jaipur with what it must have been in the time of the Maharajas. The Hawa Mahal (Wind Palace) was lovely, I could almost imagine the lovelies in the Maharajas harem, peeping through the lattice stone work and peepholes at the city below, because they were in strict purdah.
At the Amber Palace, I think I fell in love! The opulence, which is evident even today, must have been truly astounding. I've read a few trashy novels set in harems in my time and I must say very few of them do portray them accurately, however when they talk about lover trysts holding in the palaces, I've always snorted yeah right. But those palaces are massive, with a gazillion alcoves, and courtyards. I could envisage them being used for trysts after all.
As I blog this, I'm in the Agra Fort seated in the courtyard opposite the public Diwani'am (sp?). Despite the milling tourists, it's so peaceful here. I can understand just why so many Mughal Emperors chose to base their capital here. Noteworthy of these emperors is Shah Jehan - that old romantic who gave us the Taj Mahal.
The guy loved marble, an inverterate builder, he had so many marble buildings constructed in the fort. And in places where he left the original sand stone, he sometimes had them whitewashed to give a marble effect. In his time he had over a 1000 women in his harem, so I imagine when he was imprisoned by his son at the fort, he must have at least had lots of comforting from his women. His bed chamber and the harem faced each other across a garden with fountains. On the other side, his rooms looked across the river to the Taj Mahal.
I'm off to the Taj now, but I know now that if I get caught in a time warp and travel back in time, I know who and where I want to be - the favourite concubine in an emperor's harem!
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