Situated at the edge of Thar desert Jodhpur, is its second largest city of Rajasthan.Drenched in the color of blue, the city has encapsulated the world and even the sun in its charm.
The city of Jodhpur is known by a number of nicknames. To some, it is the Sun City, so-called for its overwhelming amount of bright and sunny days it experiences. Others it is the Gateway to the Thar desert, while for some it is the Blue city on account of the sea of boxy indigo houses stretches for more than 10 kilometers along the walls of the historic old city.
When Rao Jodha, laid the foundation for the Mehrangarh fort in 1459. At the feet rose a town which is now known as the blue city. Reason being that every house in the town is painted with the color blue.
There is no specific historical evidence to the origins of its name, “the blue cityâ€, but the locals of Jodhpur narrate different stories, some of which also have scientific and psychological reasons associated to them.
Some say that the sea of blue houses emerged as a result of the caste system.It is told that blue is closely associated with Lord Siva and hence considered sacred. In the past, There were many Brahmin followers of Shiva who first took to painting their houses blue, as a mark of proclaiming supremacy- a practice that was later followed by everyone else.
Another reason associated with the blue city is that Blue color has a soothing effect. Blue color reflects most of the heat.Thus keeping the home cooler in the city of Jodhpur which is one the cities of India receiving highest solar power per unit area.
The possible geographical reason for the color being blue is that blue color paint is a mixture of limestone and Copper Sulphate mixed with water. And limestone is easily available in the vicinity of Jodhpur making it the cheapest option. It’s also said to have insect-repelling abilities.
Jodhpur’s most notable attractions are Mehrangarh Fort, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jaswant Thada, and the Ghanta Ghar, or Clock Tower.
No visit to Jodhpur is complete without a visit to the majestic Mehrangarh Fort. This fort is one of the magnificent pieces of architecture in Rajasthan and offers a stunning view of the city from the top.
Jodhpur serves one of the most delicious cuisines with tempting flavors of the royal heritage it preserves. The scrumptious varieties of food include traditional dishes like dal bati churma served with lasun chutney, ker sangria, Panch Kuta, laal maas to mouth watering snacks like pyaaz ki kachori and mirchibada.
There is a fascinating story behind the origin of the delightful dish of Rajasthan Dal-bati -churma. Whenever Mewari soldiers go out for battle they’d make round dumplings of wheat(bati), and bury them under the hot sand. And when they come back they would be greeted with the delicious sun baked balls of flour, which is commonly known as bati and is eaten with dal…and the complete dish together is known as dal-bati-churma.
Stories of Jodhpur are never-ending and mesmerizing- colourful culture, desert life, festivals, brilliant costumes, exhilarating camel races, folk dances and so on…………..
