This morning we had some sad news. Rajesh's mother died this morning, so he is driving to Delhi today to have her cremated. When possible, the Hindus cremate the deceased the same day they pass away.
Sanu's brother (from the textile shop) drove me to Jantar Mantar and the City Palace. I toured these sites while Lalit, my new driver, drove to Jaipur to meet me. He is from a small village in the Himalayas, near Ladakh. His wife and two children live there with his extended family. His father is a retired two star army general who now volunteers his time to help bring medical treatment to the local villages. I'll miss Rajesh, but I think I'll enjoy my time with Lalit. If you are traveling to India and need a driver, Rajesh's website is www.gauratravels.in. It is much cheaper to book a driver directly rather than use a travel agency.
Jantar Mantar is a unique and very interesting place. Maharaja Jai Singh II began constructing this observatory in 1728. The instruments are used to track the position of the moon, sun and stars to allow for astrological readings. It is now a world heritage site. I can't say that I am a big believer in astrology, but visiting this observatory certainly makes me want to learn more about the science.
View of the instruments from afar.
Jantar Mantar is home to the largest sundial in the world, Vrihat Samrat Yantra. It is within 2 seconds of the exact time. The wall is angled to 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. By looking at the line of the shadow on the ramp, which is calibrated with numbers, you can tell it is 12:30 p.m.
This was the model used to construct the sundial.
This is the other side of the sundial, which is used for determining the time in the morning.
Above is Nadivalaya, a equatorial instrument used to tell time. There are two plates, one facing north and one facing south. The angle of the plate is parallel to the earth's equator. It has a metal rod at the center and the shadow from this rod reveals the local time, which is accurate within one minute.
This half globe (the other half is behind it) is called Jaya Prakash Yantra. A small metal instrument suspended in the center of the globe casts a shadow onto the marble, which reveals zodiac information. The information is then used to give astrology readings. Based on the current zodiac, it is not a good time to get married, so weddings do not occur in India around this time.
The small diamond-shaped shadow along the white marble slab reveals the current zodiac. The small hand shadow is pointing to Virgo, my zodiac sign.
Rama Yantra was another neat instrument. It is used to calculate altitude.
The sun hits this metal bar in the center of the instrument and casts a shadow on one of the twelve horizontal slabs.
The slabs have numbered grids, which are used to determine altitude. I have no idea how this thing really works, but it is supposed to be very accurate. It seems that a very smart person figured this out.
This instrument is used to measure the position of celestial objects. The constellations are sketched on the metal. After the metal piece is properly aligned, a telescope is inserted into the hole in the center. Somehow this leads to measuring the position of the stars, which permits an astrological reading, which then provides insight into one's future. Lalit's grandfather taught him some astrology, so he said he would enlighten me as to how the positioning of the stars can be used to predict one's future.
This metal piece hanging nearby serves more or less as a chalkboard. Astrology students still come to this observatory to study and for testing. The students mark up this metal piece during their examination.
The observatory also has a structure for each astrological sign. This is the one for Virgo. I wasn't able to get a very good explanation about how these 12 tools work. I'm adding it to my list of things to look up later.
I did a whirlwind tour of the City Palace.
There was a textile museum inside the palace. Cameras are not allowed inside, but it has a garment worn by the Maharaja on his wedding day, among other ornate pieces.
I gulped down a sloppy but delicious mess of dal and roti, then headed to Bikaner for a one night stay. It is about a 5-6 hour drive to Bikaner. There isn't much to see in Bikaner, but it breaks up the 11 hour drive from Jaipur to Jaisalmer.
A little Indian humor. Most people honk their horn about every 2 seconds. I noticed there are two honk types--it is either the "watch out, I'm approaching close to you" or the "if you don't move right now I'm going to run you over." The latter seems to be much more popular.
Traffic was heavy today because it is the last day of Diwali. I arrived in Bikaner around 10 p.m. Two retired Australian men kept me company at dinner and told me about a temple nearby where they worship rats. The rats run around inside the temple and drink from a large bowl of milk. I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
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Location:Jaipur, India
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