World AIDS Day 2011

On the first of December, World AIDS Day is celebrated. This day is an opportunity for people to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS, to remember those who have died of the disease and to celebrate accomplishments, such as increased access to treatment and prevention services.

Today, despite advances in HIV treatment and in laws designed to protect those living with HIV; many people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV or about the stigma and discrimination that remain a reality for many people living with HIV. World AIDS Day is an important reminder to individuals and governments that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

Half of HIV patients in Asia live in India

India houses half of Asia's HIV patients and is way ahead of China in disease burden. It also finds a place in the list of 22 countries prioritised for preventing mother to child transmission infection, according to the latest UNAIDS report, drafted jointly with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

About 48 lakh people were living with HIV in Asia in 2010 and nearly half of them – 49 per cent to be precise – are in India, says the report released on the eve of World AIDS Day. The percentage of pregnant women who tested positive for HIV infection in India also rose from 2 per cent in 2005 t0 23 per cent in 2010.

Seven Asian countries report an estimated 100,000 or more people living with HIV in 2009, collectively accounting for more than 90 per cent of people with HIV in the region. India tops the list followed by China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, though the highest prevalence rate, one per cent, was observed only in Thailand. In Asia, the rate of HIV transmission appears to be slowing down. The estimated 360,000 people who were newly infected with HIV in Asia in 2010 were considerably fewer than the 450,000 estimated for 2001.

Traditional risk groups

Notwithstanding regional variations, the HIV epidemic is being stabilised among female sex workers and traditional risk groups in the six high-prevalence States including Karnataka. But epidemics among men who have sex with men are growing across the region including India.

High prevalence

High prevalence — between 8 and 32 per cent — has been found among surveyed men who have sex with men in many Asian cities. The UNAIDS report quotes one study, which shows that the prevalence is 18 per cent in South India. The report also says that 35 per cent of children with HIV infection were receiving anti-retroviral therapy treatment.
Variation exists among commercial sex workers, with a 2009 survey showing HIV prevalence of 4.6 per cent among female sex workers in Mumbai and Thane and 24 per cent among street-based sex workers. The prevalence could be as high as 29 per cent among their brothel-based counterparts in some districts of Maharashtra.

Yielding results

There is also evidence that prevention programmes are working in India. One such programme in Karnataka was associated with a drop in HIV prevalence from 25 per cent to 13 per cent among female sex workers in three selected districts between 2004 and 2009.
A similar programme brought down the prevalence from 1.4 per cent to 0.8 per cent among young antenatal clinic attendees between 2004 and2008 in 18 districts.
And yet another intervention programme in Mumbai and Thane led to a decline from 45 per cent HIV prevalence in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2010 among brothel-based sex workers.

DO READ IT..

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’11
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…
I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Is India capital of child labour In world?

After independence Child labour is a major problem in India. The major determinate child labour is Poverty. Even though children are paid less then adults, what ever income they earn is of benefit to poor families.
India has the largest number of children employed than any other country in the world. According to the statistics provided by the Govt. of India around 90 million out of 179 million children in the six to 14 age groups do not go to school and are engaged in some occupation or other works. This means 50% of children are deprived of their right to a free and happy childhood.
Unofficially, this figure exceeds 100 million but the fact that a large number of children are works without wages in field or in cottage alongside their parents, unreported by census, makes it very difficult to estimate accurately.A large number of children work in a cottage industries, matches, firecrackers, bidis, brassware, diamond, aluminum industries, glass, hosiery, hand loomed cloth, embroidery, leather goods, plastic bangles, mica mines, coal mines, hotels, rickshaw puller, local liquor industry, auto shop, vegetable shop Brick in and sporting goods. The highest numbers of children are found in agricultural sector.
Poverty has often been cited as the reason for child labour problem in India while it is true that the poorest, most disadvantaged sector of Indian Society supply the vast majority of child labourers, child labour actually creates an perpetuates poverty as it displaces adults from their jobs and also condemns the child to a life of unskilled badly paid work.

Child Labour and India Law

Passing laws is obviously not the solution, as they need to be enforced, in which our country has a poor track record. Multiple factors of child labour like i.e. Unemployment Low wages, Poor living standard, illiteracy and social attitudes.
Poor would rather have children who work to supplement the income. There are many cases where the parents (mother or father) sell their children as bonded labour for a petty sum of money.
Banning the child labour is not solution. 80 % of Indian child labours are working in hazardous condition or Industries. According to Articles 24 of The Indian Constitution and section 67 of Factories Act explicitly direct that children below the age 14 years are not to work in factories. Multiple Law and act forbid the employment of children in specified hazardous industries. They are as follows.
o Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933
o Employment of Children Act, 1938
o Child Labour-Prohibition and Regulation Act
o The Indian factories Act, 1948
o Plantations Labour Act, 1951
o The Mines Act, 1952
o Merchant Shipping Act, 1958
o The Apprentice Act, 1961
o The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961
o The Atomic Energy Act, 1962
o Bidi and Cigar workers (condition of Employment) Act, 1966
o States Shop and Establishments Act

Problem Identification and Solution

The annual World Day Against Child Labour will be marked by events in scores of countries around the world on 12 June amid growing concerns over the impact of the economic crisis on child labour, and in particular girls.
For the World Day, the ILO will release a new report entitled “Give Girls a Chance: Tackling child labour, a key to the future,” highlighting the exploitation of girls in child labour and warning that the crisis could force more girls out of education and into child labour.
The report by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the International Labour Office (ILO) will provide latest estimates on the number of girls in child labour and detail the exploitative forms of child labour facing them.
Yuva Koshish have a program for over all development of child labour with our effort at grassroots or cluster level. Our main activity would be -

1. Identification of child labour,
2. Registered their Name and address,
3. Awareness and counseling among the guardians of target group.
4. Group Discussion with targeted group
5. Admitted in our training Program

What is Web Journalism.?

With the decline of newspapers there's been a lot of talk about web journalism being the future of the news business. But what exactly do we mean by web journalism?

Web journalism actually encompasses a whole range of different kinds of sites, including:

Newspaper Websites

Websites run by newspapers are basically extensions of the papers themselves. As such they can provide a wide range of articles in a variety of areas - news, sports, business, the arts, etc. - written by their staff of professional reporters.
In some cases, newspapers shut down their printing presses but continue to operate their websites (the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is one example.) Often, however, when the presses stop running the news staff is gutted, leaving only a bare-bones newsroom behind.

Independent News Websites

These sites, often found in larger cities, tend to specialize in hard-news coverage of municipal government, city agencies, law enforcement and schools. Some of them are known for their hard-hitting investigative reporting. Their content is typically produced by small staffs of full-time reporters and freelancers.
Many of these independent news sites are nonprofits funded by a mix of ad revenue and contributions from donors and foundations.

Hyper-Local News Sites

These sites specialize in coverage of small, specific communities, right down to the individual neighborhood. As the name implies, the coverage tends to focus on extremely localized events: the police blotter, the agenda of the town board meeting, the performance of a school play.
Hyper-local sites can be independent or run by newspapers as extensions of their websites. Their content is typically produced by local freelance writers and bloggers.

Citizen Journalism Sites

Citizen journalism sites run a wide gamut. Some are basically just online platforms where people can post video reports or pictures on virtually any subject. Others focus on a specific geographic area and provide more targeted, specific coverage.
Content for citizen journalism sites is usually provided by a loose affiliation of writers, bloggers and video reporters with varying degrees of journalism experience. Some citizen journalism sites are edited; others are not.

Blogs

Blogs are known primarily for being platforms for delivering opinion and commentary, but many actually do real reporting as well. Bloggers have varying degrees of journalism experience.

India International Trade Fair concludes

Now, buy masterpieces online

The country's first online art fair, the India Art Collective, begins.

Now, art lovers can just log on to the net and browse through a collection of 900 artworks showcased by 41 leading galleries across the country, from the comfort of your home or office. The online art fair will be on for one week. Handpicked works of over 200 artists, including masters like SH Raza, Souza, MF Husain, and contemporary artists like Subodh Gupta , Jitesh Kallat and Anish Kapoor, will be on display and sale.
Legendary artist SH Raza, who launched India's virtual hub for the best of Indian art, said, '' This endeavour to increase awareness and access to Indian art within the country and across the world is well timed and much needed. I wish it all the success.'' Sapna Kar, Fair director, said , '' Galleries have showcased some great inventory at attractive prices. I hope art lovers avail this unique opportunity. The 'first come first sold' model makes it simpler than auction. '' Browse the fair at www.indiaartcollective.com . It is open till November 26.

Fashion and Social Media.

Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion refers to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person. An important part of fashion is Fashion Journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines and commentary can be found in magazines, newspapers, on television, fashion websites, social networks and in fashion blogs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and became even more influential on people than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public clothing taste. Talented illustrators drew exquisite fashion plates for the publications which covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty.

People who were keen to know about fashion trends always picked up the latest glossy to know about the ever-changing trends in the fashion industry. However, social media has changed this totally. When we talk about social media, the general reference is to websites or online platforms that enable the fashion industry to connect with their customers using the latest social networking technology.

Through social media, it becomes possible for a fashion designer or a fashion company to generate publicity across online communities and websites. Social media makes it possible for fashion designers and fashion boutiques to generate interest about a brand. It finds ways in which a brand can be promoted more effectively to customers at a global level, that too with minimal cost.

Raped, Filmed and Committed Suicide.

a 21-year-old final year student of DU was allegedly raped and filmed by her friend, a BPO employee, who had promised to marry her . The incident was reported from Sultanpuri police station from Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital where the victim was admitted after she attempted suicide.
According to the police, the accused was sexually harassing the victim for over a month by threatening her to circulate the MMS in public. The police have arrested the accused. According to the victim she met accused at a mobile repair shop and soon they became friends. Accused asked her to meet at a shopping complex and from there he took her to his place and offered her a soft drink laced with sedatives. He raped her and filmed the assault after the victim fell unconscious.

Does Surname matter?

The practice of dropping your maiden surname and taking on your husband's last name has been around since 1920s. We have come a long way since whether women should change their last names to add their husband's surname rages on. While feminists see it as to dissolve a woman's past and her identity, romantics fail to understand what the fuss is all about; as for them it's just symbolises an acceptance of being part of being part of their partner's life and family.

What's in a Last Name.?
Some women says that They chose to take their husband's last name as it is a traditional thing to do. Besides, if they do decide to have kids in the future, it will eliinate unnecessary confusion about which name to opt for on his/her birth certificate. While some women choose their husband's last name as it is quite onvenient, others prefer to stick with their maiden name. Other says that Their maiden name is their identity and even if they tie the knot in future, they dont plan to drop it. They may just add their husband's last name and separate the two with a hyphen, or maybe they continue with their maiden last name, It's their prerogative and they they expect their partner toi respet andsupport their decision.

What the Figures say.
A 2009 survey by researchers at an international university shows that 71% of respondents beleived a woman should change her name, and half of those respondents went so far as to say, the practice should belegaly required. These numbers may help to say explain why those who keep their namesare sometimes criticised for their choice.

It's No Big Deal
With relationship dynamics changing, men too seem to be open to the idea of leeting their partner's decideif they want to add on their family's name or drop their maiden last name.

Trade fair open to Public from Yesterday

According to an India Trade Promotion Organisation senior official, all precautions have been taken to ensure that no untoward incident occurs. “We are already using x-ray baggage scanners at all entry points. Scanning of bags is mandatory irrespective of the crowd. On Friday, we received 28,500 footfalls and we expect one lakh visitors on weekends. Despite the big turn-out of visitors, we will continue to scan bags at all entry points.”

Explosive detectors for anti-sabotage check, emergency lights in case of sudden power failure and CCTV cameras connected with the Central Control Room are other safety measures that ITPO has taken.

To ensure that 22 food stalls are serving hygienic cuisines, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has done a series of food tasting sessions. “The civic body has issued them licenses and the food stalls have to strictly adhere to those rules.”

Since the trade fair is held in a sprawling exhibition ground, adequate vending points for tea, coffee and ice-cream have been set up.

Park and Ride facility of buses will be operative from Ash pond (behind Raj Ghat) and Sunhari Pulia ( Dyal Singh College) to Pragati Maidan and back. Parking facilities are available at Ash pond, Delhi Zoo, Bhairon Road, Pragati Metro Station and Purana Quila. Paid parking facilities will also be available near Bhairon Mandir behind Purana Quila.

Besides, round robin buses on hop-on-hop-off service will operate from Pragati Maidan Metro Station to the exhibition ground.

Ticket sale counters have been set up at Metro Stations and Gate No.1 and 2 on Bhairon Road. They will remain open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Tickets would also be available at Metro Rail Stations.

Ambulances have beenstationed and First Aid Booths have been set up at different locations inside Pragati Maidan with the support of various hospitals and agencies.

For the fortnight-long fair, that would conclude on November 27, an adult ticket on weekends will cost Rs.60 and the price will be half for a child. But from Monday to Friday, an adult ticket will be for Rs.40 and Rs.20 for a child. Senior citizens and differently-abled will be allowed free entry. However, those accompanying them will have to purchase their tickets.

Beti Srishti Hai , Beti ko Janam Lene Do.!

On the Birth Anniversary
of
Late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi

Let us all take a Pledge to save and value Girl Child
* Let her be born
* Register her birth and give her an identity
* Assure her equal status and not discriminate
* Ensure good health; fully immunize her
* Protect her from abuse, neglect and exploitation
* Give her a life of dignity
* Marry her when she is physically and emotionally ready
# Resist early marriage
# Refuse to give or receive dowry

Class Report

Our class was taken by Dr. Jaswinder Singh on 16 november '11 . He taught us about the following topics :
Sports Management -
1. Sports Directors
2. Stadia (stadium) which requires general management
3. Sports Industry
4. Sports Marketing Agency
5. Sports Broadcasting (t.v. & radio)
6. Recreation Management

Resources of Sports Manager :
1. Human Resources
2. Financial Resources
3. Informational Resources

AFSPA- Needs a Review?

Armed Forces Special Powers Act[AFSPA] is in the center stage of controversies once again.Omar Abdullah- Honourable Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir- has advocated for the revocation of this act from the three districts of the state.His proposal has got the mixed reactions from all the strata of the society.The Indian Army has strongly rejected this idea while many other sections of society have voiced positively.Those opposing it says that if this act is removed then it would act as a catalyst for the separatist forces present in Kashmir and aided by foreign powers and they can intensify their freedom propaganda.Those who want to see the end of this much debated act want to eliminate it on the grounds of Human Rights violation.
It is very important to know therefore the whereabouts of this controversial act.AFSPA was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1958.It was first applied to the North Eastern state of Assam and Manipur and was amended in 1972 to extend it to all the seven states of North East.In 1990 it was extended to Kashmir also.The Government has legitimized this act on the plea that it is required to stop the North East states from seceding from the Indian Union.The enactment of AFSPA has seen the innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention,torture,rape and looting by the security personnel.
AFSPA gives the armed forces wide powers to shoot,arrest and search all in the name of 'aiding civil power'. Under it,an army officer is entitled to fire upon or use force,even to the causing of the death, against any individual who is acting in contravention of the law in a 'disturbed area'. It is an absolute privilege of Central and State Government to declare an area "disturbed" which cant be challenged in a court.This provision has been widely criticized as it does not describe the circumstances under which an authority would be justified in making such a declaration.AFSPA also states that millitary must take an arrested person to the nearest police station with the least possible delay.But it is not clear that what time frame has been set in this 'least possible delay". This act also establishes that no legal action can be initiated against any army official acting under this act without the permission of the Central Government.All these sections have been widely condemned by the Human Rights Organizations who have been accusing the armed forces for the violation of human rights on a large scale in the name of establishing security.
AFSPA has been thrashed by the various sections of the society and they are demanding that this act be made unconstitutional.Various cases are pending before the Supereme Court of India which challenge the constitutionality of AFSPA.Various studies and researches say that AFSPA violates the Article 21-Right to Life and Article 22- Prevention against arbitrary arrest and detention.These articles are the Fundamental Rights given to every citizen of India by the Indian Constitution.
After facing the anger and resentment of the masses on a large scale the Union Home Ministry had formed the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committe in 2004 which recommended the complete repeal of AFSPA from the North East.The situation in Kashmir is on the boiling point since June,2010.Over 100 civilian deaths have been reported from their since then.The Iron Lady of Manipur- Irom Sharmila- has also been fasting since last 11 years in the protest.She is attracting the worldwide media attention now.
Situation is very sensitive now and the Central Government will have to take a very crucial decision keeping in view all the interests of all the concerned stakeholders.Peace and prosperity establishment should be the principle agenda of the authorities whatsoever decision the Government will take.

Time Management.

Hello friends, today I will talk to you about time. Firstly what is time? When we ask this question we get a lot of definitions about time.

‘Time is sought of resource’

‘Time is a scares resource that can be managed’

‘Time is free, but it’s priceless, you can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it but you can spend it, once you have lost it, you can never get it back’

‘Time is money’ etc etc.

In our day to day lives we are used to a very common phrase ‘don’t have time’. When we meet anyone and ask how are you? We get this frequently used reply ‘bohat busy hai, bas time nahi hai’. But do we ask this question to ourselves where are we busy? Or are we really managing our time? The answer to this question is a big NO.

Time Management is:

• doing the right thing, at right place and in right manner.

• working smarter is better than working harder.

• Self management and Self management is Life management.

• implementing management in your lives.

To know how you can manage your time you should first know about your time wasters. Time wasted should be time utilized.

Time waster identification can be done by following the given table

S. No.	Activity	Time Taken

• You should not merely be activity oriented, you should always be result oriented.

• Watch only those dreams that won’t let you sleep.

• Make your dreams your destination.

• Set your priorities in life.

1. Basement part: Neither urgent nor important. Eg. Excess T.V. viewing, more than 7hr of sleep.
2. Ground floor: urgent but not important.
3. First floor: urgent and important.
4. Top floor: important but not urgent.
   

So on this note I would like to say Organize yourself, have that Do it TODAY Do it NOW factor, Don’t postpone your activities, Be Punctual.

Waqt aayega, Waqt jaayega,
is Waqt ko sambhal ker rakhna, ye Waqt bewaqt yaad aayega.

Raj Mandir

Raj Mandir Cinema is a famous movie theater in Jaipur in Rajasthan . Situated on the Bhagwan Das Road, near M.I. Road, the meringue-shaped auditorium opened in 1976, and over the years has seen many movie premieres of Hindi films, and has become a popular symbol of Jaipur, it is often referred as the Pride of Asia..
It opened on 1 June 1976 with the film "Charas". It was designed by architect W.M. Namjoshi in Art Moderne style (Streamline Moderne or late Art Deco). Known for its large size as well as opulent and meringue interiors, Raj Mandir remains an important part of the tourist circuit, and thus usually remains full despite its size.
It was GREAT experince of watching Movie "ROCKSTAR" in RAJ MANDIR.

Birla Temple Jaipur

Birla Temple forms one of the major attractions of Jaipur. Birla Temple of Jaipur looks stunning, when it is brightly lit in the night. Birla Mandir, in pure white marble, dominates the skyline of southern part of Jaipur. The enormous temple was built during the year 1988, by Birla Group of Industries, one of the business tycoons of India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Narayan), the preserver and his consort Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Due to this reason, Birla Temple is also known as Laxmi Narayan Temple.
The Birla Mandir is situated just below the renowned Moti Dungri Fort. Built in a contemporary manner, Laxmi Narayan Mandir covers the vast lands of the city of Jaipur. The temple stands erect on a raised platform, at the footsteps of the Moti Dungri Hill. Birla Mandir is constructed in the finest quality of white marble. The three huge domes of the temple represent three different approaches to the religion. The beautiful white marble temple mesmerizes the onlookers, when it glows at night.
The attractive stained windows glass windows of the temple depict scenes from Hindu Mythology. The idols of the temple look so real as if, they would utter a word just now. Amongst all the idols, the marble idol of Ganesha is a masterpiece which looks almost-transparent. The idols of Lord Vishnu and his consort, Lakshmi attract the attention, being made out from one piece of marble. The temple also portrays great historical achievers, philosophers and religious saints such as Socrates, Zarathustra, Christ, Buddha, and Confucius.
The Laxmi Narayan Mandir is a modern architectural marvel, surrounded by lush green gardens. The fascinating exteriors of the temple are carved splendidly with beautiful sculptures based of mythological themes, while the interiors have a large marble panel portraying mythological events. The Birla Temple has a museum too, which showcases the ancestral valuables of the Birla family. Birla Mandir / Laxmi Narayan Temple is a masterpiece of art and tourists should not miss this architectural spiritual heritage on their trip to Jaipur.

City Palace Jaipur

City Palace of Jaipur is a brilliant work of Rajput Architecture.The beautiful palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh during his reign. Among the various forts and palaces of Jaipur, City Palace stands apart, with its outstanding art and architecture. City Palace complex covers a huge area, which is divided into a series of gardens, courtyards and buildings. Initially, Raja Jai Singh built the outer wall occupying a huge area. The additional grand buildings were constructed later by the succeeding rulers.
A part of the exquisite Palace still makes home for the former Maharaja/ King. The premises consists several buildings like Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Mukut Mahal, Maharani's Palace, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum. One would come across the Mubarak Mahal, as one enters the first square. Mubarak Mahal was built by Sawai Madho Singh in the 19th century to entertain his guests. Today, it has converted into a costume gallery, which displays royal attires of the Kings.
After crossing the first square, a beautiful gateway welcomes to Diwan-I-Khas, a hall meant for private audience. It has two sterling silver vessels on display and they are acclaimed to be the world's largest silver vessel. These vessels were made for Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II to carry water from River Ganga to drink on his trip to England. Diwan-I-Aam, which was meant for public audience, forms the other attraction of this courtyard. At present, it makes an art gallery showcasing enthralling painted ceilings and rare ancient handwritten original manuscripts of Hindu scriptures.
In the series, Maharani's Palace, which was meant for royal queens, has been converted into a museum, showcasing weapons dated back to 15th century. Chandra Mahal is essentially regarded as the best part, out of the whole tour to City Palace. It has seven stories and each story is known by a different name. The topmost story is known as Mukut Mahal. The wonderful architecture of this Palace with delicate paintings, mirror work on walls and floral decorations, makes it a "must-see" for every visitor. In the present day, this palace serves as the residence of ex-ruler.
Badal Mahal stands opposite to Chandra Mahal and while crossing the path, one would find Govind Dev Ji Temple between them. Above all these, the Palace also offers delicacies in its multi cuisine restaurant. To sum up, the City Palace is a structure of historical importance and a souvenir of the regal past. The palace, with its royal grace stands as a symbol of magnificence. All these features of City Palace leave the tourists with no other option, but to visit it.