Radiance
The People and Colours of Jaipur
"Johdpur is blue. Jaisalmer is yellow. And Jaipur is pink."
From the front seat of our cab, Sijo Joy turned and told me this.
As it goes, colours in Jaipur are all significant.
"The city is pink because of the King - the Maharajah. It is an interesting story," Joy said.
The story, as it were, goes like this:
The Maharajah loved the colour pink. He loved it so much that he wanted to see it everywhere. So he demanded that the whole of Jaipur be painted pink. And, as it generally goes with King's demands, that is what happened.
Jaipur became the pink city.
When asked about colour, Devender Singh - a tour guide - said that colour, originally, was worn to give life to the dry country.
"We will go for some time without rain," Mr Singh said.
"The land, it becomes quite dry and boring."
Mr Singh spoke about vibrant, mirror-covered saris. He told me that they bring colour to an otherwise dull landscape.
A woman in a colourful sari looks out to Jal Mahal on an overcast day.
A woman in a colourful sari looks out to Jal Mahal on an overcast day.
"Colours and mirrors," he said, "they sparkle."
But the value of colours extends beyond their simple aesthetic appeal.
In India, colour is intrinsically connected to religion and spirituality.
Similarly, the Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day festival that worships the elephant God.
In both festivals, Indians throw coloured powder known asgulal; they throw it into the air and onto each other.
"At these festivals, colours represent love and happiness," said Chesta Marthuria.
"There is colour for everything."
A colourful mural of Vishnu on the Jaipur city streets.
A colourful mural of Vishnu on the Jaipur city streets.
"India is colourful, yes."
Sijo Joy said this, and our driver swerved and honked.
Ahead of us, a woman wearing blues and reds and mirrors walked through traffic.
The road was a sea of cars and trucks and tuk tuks. But the woman with her colours and her mirrors, she sparkled.
Despite our sudden movement, Joy was laughing. He laughed often; and he smiled always. Joy was aptly named. He was colourful, too, in his own right.
I asked Chesta why Joy smiled, and she told me this:
"There is an ancient Hindu proverb that says 'the guest is equivalent to God'."
"It is our job to make you people feel welcome."
The Atithi devo Bhava Program operates under a specific mantra:
"Our guest is blessed; our tourist is God."
See, colour in India is more than reds and blues. It is people too.
And with their smiles and their waves, the people of Jaipur do all they can to bring colour to their country.
