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A procession of decorated elephants snake through the winding stone path to the Amber Fort. Rajasthani men in their traditional dress and flashy turbans ride their big pets on a neat line. Amused foreign tourists, playing to the mood with hired headgear, silver ornaments and tilak, fight their fears atop the animals’ spines. The scene looks a straight lift from David Lean's A Passage to India.

The fort that never fell

Don Sebastian
2007-03-08 19:39:57

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A procession of decorated elephants snake through the winding stone path to the Amber Fort. Rajasthani men in their traditional dress and flashy turbans ride their big pets on a neat line. Amused foreign tourists, playing to the mood with hired headgear, silver ornaments and tilak, fight their fears atop the animals' spines. The scene looks a straight lift from David Lean's A Passage to India.

All it takes to end the romance is a shower of snort from the beast.

Located 11 kilometres east of Jaipur on the road to New Delhi, Amber was the ancient capital of the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs, who founded Jaipur. The formidable fort, protected by a vast lake and steep walkway, overlooks the pass on the Aravalli mountain range. The Kachwahas presided over their fiefdom from the strategic citadel from 1592 to 1728, when they shifted their capital to Jaipur.

Our plan is to cover at least three palaces/forts in a day in Jaipur. On the list are Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Jal Mahal and Hawa Mahal. On a bus from the busy junction near Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, we see the water-guarded Jal Mahal along National Highway 8. Our first stop would be Amber Palace. There are no buses to Jaigarh Fort, a few kilometers away.

Beyond a vast moat and long ramparts stand the imposing sandstone structure. Three generations of kings have left their mark on the fort, where Rajput and Mughal styles converge. Walking past beautiful gardens and the elephant riders, we enter the fort. As at all Indian tourist sites, there are special counters for foreigners to buy entry tickets. They pay dollars and we rupees.

Perhaps the only time when the foreign exchange-challenged native traveller is favoured in Rajasthan. Elsewhere in the state, shop owners refuse to accept coins lesser than Re 1. Even two coins of 50 paise won't do. It's obsolete here, they say. After all, this is a land where riches and splendour were as vast as the desert.

Amber ...