Gardens are one of the most symbolic creations to exist.
Shakespeare often saw gardens as a place where romance, forbidden or not, flourished. Frances Burnett depicted gardens to be symbols of faith and good health. Agatha Christie, however, decided that a garden was the ideal spot to hide a dead body and cover up a murder.
hehe….
India has quite a treasury, when it comes to gardens. Back when monarchs were all the rage in the country, they made sure to build a garden for every occasion, be it war victories, birthdays, whims of their queens, birth of a child, foreign visits, weddings, memorials….
The list goes on.
In this blog, Imma tell ye about a garden called ‘Rani Sisodia ka Bagh’ (transl. Queen Sisodia’s Garden), located in the Pink City of Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan.
Leggo!
This is the view on entering the garden. Now, Rajasthan is an arid state, with a full blown desert in its geography and seeing a green spread here is quite refreshing. I love the patches of yellow sand, peeking through the shrubs of the hillock and the frangipani trees add a very Zen vibe to the place. The canopy in the middle is typical Rajasthani architecture, made with sandstone.
Rani Sisodia ka Bagh, was built in 1710 by a king called Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. He had it built for his wife, Rani Sisodia, who was his chief queen consort. At that time, kings had multiple wives, and one of the wives, often the oldest, was the chief queen consort, whose son would be the heir to the throne.
The whole concept might have been rather entertaining to the public. Perhaps it was a medieval Indian reality show called ‘Real Housewives of Rajasthan’.
And then, the next generation would star in an episode of ‘The Crown’.
Kingflix and chill….
hehe:)
This, is a beautifully carved clubhouse, overlooking the garden. It’s made in marble and offers a refreshing shade, from the scorching Rajasthan heat. This was probably used by the royals to lounge about and watch dance and music performances.
I love the nature-centric designs and the fact that the prints look like an embroidered pattern. The red and white band on the top is a nice, mild contrast. The line art in the blocks gives the whole thing a nice minimalistic touch, which really shows how skilled the architects are.
This is a picture of the Queen herself. Clad in pink robes, posing against a refreshing background of frangipani. The portrait is a contrast of cool and warm colours and the artist has done a great job in bringing out each and every hue, aptly depicting the sun’s rays falling on the skin. The Queen’s jewels date back to June 2023, pure imitation beads, with a Mickey Mouse purse which clearly depicts the modernity displayed by the medieval Rajasthani monarchs.
hehe….
That is me, btw. Not another AI deepfake.
No garden is complete without its bugs, so here is a pretty little caterpillar on a sun and shade background. I love the transition between the sun and shade, and it brings out the caterpillar’s patterns so well. I spent half an hour following this worm around, like some sort of crazed paparazzi.
It was the highlight of my trip here.
This is a still from the time when human evolution began. As you can see, we’ve got a hominid, looking into the horizon, yearning, to learn the secrets of the world, accompanied only by a beating heart and his faithful comrade, the dog. This, mi amigos, is the first instance of the domestication of dogs, from wild, feral canines, to an adorable household pooch.
Rajasthan sure takes one back in time, hehe….
And that is a wrap.
Until Next Time,
Ciao!