Day Six: The Stars, A Snake, A Palace

In the morning, we went to Pantar Mantar; the astronomical observatory built by a genius, Jai Singh II in the early 1700s. Designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, the site—which looks like a modern sculpture garden--embodies several architectural and instrumental innovations. I can’t express how amazing these structures are, carefully built to observe the time, seasons, movement of planets and stars—all still accurate today. Pantar Mantar was used not only for scientific observation, but also for prediction of astrological events. Many contemporary Indian marriages and other major life transitions are planned according to astrological birth signs, and millions closely follow astrology every day in India.Outside on the sidewalk, there was an actual snake charmer with a basket full of cobras. For 10Rp, you could take his picture—I realize it was totally touristy, but I had to do it.

City Palace courtyard

Nearby, the City Palace gave us another opportunity to delve into India’s rich past. One small museum displayed textiles: jackets, dresses, and saris heavy with gold- and silver-thread embroidery and block-printed fabrics. Another, the weapons gallery, showed a very different side of India; for most of its history, vast tracks of land in India were worked by serfs and peasants under the rule of incredibly wealthy rajas and maharajas (sound familiar?). 

They were nearly always at war with one another. The artfully displayed weapons in the gallery, everything from carved jade-handled daggers to worked-iron chest protectors to massive scimitars weighing 20 or more pounds (it could slice a horse and man in half with one blow) are testimonials. To witness why so much wealth was worth fighting for one need only look up; the ceilings in the gallery are painted to resemble ornate Persian rugs, or inset with hundreds of tiny mirrors to reflect evening lamplight.