PIX: Chronicling the pink city's timeless beauty

Swati Vashishtha chronicles the history and beauty of the pink city. Shahnawaz Akhtar reports

Jaipur is a beautiful city. And what makes it beautiful is its building and locations.

Not many would dispute that, but, was it prettier when it was formed or is it at its best now?

Swati Vashishtha, a journalist by profession and a photographer by passion, took up a daunting task of chronicling the history and the beauty of the PinkCity.

The results of her hard work are exhibited at the Char Bagh section of the literary mahakumb -- Jaipur Literature Festival. 

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Comprising 40 photographs, Jaipur then and now has 19 photographs depicting Jaipur back in time, while 20 reflect Jaipur in recent times.

“People know the present Jaipur but not many are aware of how it looked 300 years ago. We wanted people to travel to that time,” Swati told Rediff.com.

When asked how the idea came to her, she said, “I was talking with my author friend Dharmendar Kanwar when we came up with this idea. Since then, my journey of going back in time began.”

“Since 1998, I have been involved in restoration work of Jaipur’s historic monuments. The old pictures of the city remained in my mind and when I saw the enthusiasm of Swati, I gave her the idea of bringing the city from different times together,” said Kanwar.

"Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II was the ruler of Jaipur who was a great photographer himself. Some old photos are by him and some by Gobind Ram, Oodey Ram and Raja Deen Dayal. All were taken from late 1800s' onwards." 

While photographing the present day Jaipur, she clicked every important location -- right from the landmark Hawa Mahal, the iconic Albert Hall, the historic city and Amber Fort, secretariat to the Jaipur railway station.

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The daunting task took her eight months to complete.

Among all, the photograph she found most interesting was the Jaipur railway station, as it has completely changed with times. The Johari Bazar has undergone a mammoth of a change too. It now looks a different place,” she mentions.

Needless to say, her effort is being appreciated by all. “It was a treat to watch those rare pictures along with the present ones as then,” said Sunita Sharma, one of the visitors to the exhibitions. 

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