Juntar Muntar -

No visit to Jaipur would be complete without stopping off to take in the perplexing, the impressive and almost surreal array of astronomical instruments that is Juntar Mantar!

Feel like a tiny Polly Pocket as you wind your way between towering walls of mathematical precision, silent discs of yellow stain and pink hued ramps stretching up to the heavens, akin to some kind of megalithic metropolis. Watch shadows gracefully progress around the markings etched on the world’s largest gnomon sundial, the Vrihat Samat Yantra, meaning ‘King of All Instruments,’ as the passage of the sun is measured in time. Stelae-like slabs of marble, hovering circles of bronze and inverted cupolas in the ground further the ethereal, prehistoric feel of the site.

Gaze in wonder at lofty edges of parabolas arcing upwards towards the celestial plains. Ponder at the staircase to nowhere, stretching upwards for a rendezvous with the cow that jumped over the moon . . .

The 19 instruments of Juntar Muntar mark the passage of the constellations in the dreamy night sky; the occurrence of eclipses and zeniths; the speed, motion and passing of time of the firmament’s astral beings.

Almost like the preserved remains of an ancient civilisation, it’s magical and intimidating all at the same time. A little like finding yourself in a Giant’s tool kit (if Giants do DIY that is?) or stumbling onto the film set of some sort of inter-galactic sci-fi blockbuster. . .

Despite this otherworldly appeal, Juntar Mantar was built between 1724 and 1734. Commissioned by Jai Singh II (r. 1699 – 1727) the instruments were used up until the 1940s to track Jaipur’s solar time and to calculate the passage of the solar system’s planets. During the British Raj the observatory fell into a state of decay until it was restored by Maharaja Madho Singh II in 1901.

Jaipur’s Juntar Muntar is the largest and best kept of Jai Singh II’s five observatories. The oldest one is in Delhi, (built between 1724 and 1727) with its impressive symmetrical Misra Yantra, shaped rather like a colossal fruit-bearing flower. The other observatories are located in Varanasi, Mathura and Ujjan, where the special instruments of bone white sit on the Tropic of Cancer, governing India’s time meridian.

Jaipur’s instruments are accurate to the naked eye to within three seconds, the colossal scale also serving as a reminder of the endless expanse of the heavens and the perplexing divinations used to record and measure something as transient as time. Be prepared to be amazed by the human vision and ingenuity of Rajasthan!

Although you may imagine running up a curving beam, climbing up the steep staircase or sliding down a pitched slope, (a playground for adults) the instruments make for better photo opportunities! Go at sunrise or sunset for spectacular Instagram pics with dynamic angles and light and shadow effects. Just don’t feel tempted to actually clamber over this magnificent UNESCO world heritage site!