Tickled pink in Jaipur

Arriving into Jaipur after our unlovely drive from (let's be honest). somewhat unlovely Delhi we have basically an afternoon and evening free to explore before our full day guided tour the next day filling the rest of our stay. So we do what seems obvious - have a beer and a snack (fresh-cooked vegetable pakora, delicious) and then head to where the action is - take the metro into town, or rather, to the edge of it - the line is still under construction, and stops just short of the walls of the old city. Perhaps for this reason it is still relatively lightly used, but on the evidence of our one, very brief ride,  clean, efficient and mainly due to its light usage an oasis of tranquility in what again proves to be a fairly lively city. We enter through the nearest gate, past the throng of people and traffic, goats and cattle wandering the streets, munching on a running buffet of discarded garbage, into the interior of what has become known as the "Pink City", not for any social or cultural reasons but because said walls and much of the architecture within were first painted the distinctive salmon-pink under instruction from the then Maharajah in honour of the visit from the then Prince of Wales in 1876 (some debate among us historically challenged about who this might have been, current money riding on it being he who later became Edward VII on ascending the throne in 1901...)
Anyway, we digress. Hungry to get a slice of real Jaipur life we head to the renowned (world-renowned if you believe the hype) Rajmandir Cinema to join the crowds flocking to catch Tanaji the latest Bollywood blockbuster to wow (allegedly) the country. Of the film itself, more later - just the experience of getting in itself is worth spending a few words upon. Basically you have two queues for tickets, one for gentlemen and one for ladies - each policed by a stern guardian of the appropriate gender, and woe betide any man (me for example) to attempts to join his beloved in the ladies line. The reason for the segregation is never quite clear - once inside there is no restriction on who sits with who - but India has a well-documented problem with harassment and violence against women, so it may well be for this reason. Anyway, the point is that, for obvious reasons the ticket office cannot possibly open to sell tickets until 45 (in reality, nearer 20) minutes before the show is to begin. Until that point, the respective queues are bollocked and chivvied by their minders, being constantly urged to budge up and queue tighter even though this achieves nothing because the queue itself is not actually moving. Then, at some pre-ordained signal the ticket window opens and we are in business. At this point, kerfuffle moves up a gear into pandemonium. Basically what you have is two lines of (by now quite impatient) people converging on a single, barred, window about the size of a cat-flap behind which sits one bespectacled gentleman attempting to satisfy all interests. Its a neat encapsulation of the delicate balance between regimentation and anarchy that describes much of everyday life in India. Tickets are limited, the atmosphere is tense, but eventually we claim our prize - two seats in diamond class (not quite the best but nearly) and we are in.
Films in India have a much higher degree of audience participation than their equivalent in the UK and it is this that we've really come for. Even the adverts are met by excited barrages of whooping, clapping and hollering, and when the credits start to roll for the main attraction, things really kick off.   The movie - a historical romp about an 18th century Hindu warrior, bristling with moustachioed villains (and, come to think of it, heroes too), swashbuckling sword-fights and some of the dodgiest CGI this side of very early Pixar goes down a storm with the punters, but for us the interval after an hour is a blessed opportunity to seek some (permanent) respite from it all. Leave the cinema behind and begin the perilous journey home through the traffic-choked streets of old and new Jaipur, washing up purely by chance at what we later learn one of the towns best eateries - a take-away with a small family restaurant tucked away at the back, the Talk of the Town, serving truly excellent indo-chinese fusion food.
The next day we have our tour, with guide and driver, so a chance to relax, sit back, and be told what  to look at. First up is a must-do photo (see below) stop at "The Palace of the Winds" - actually not a palace at all, rather only a facade behind which is these days not very much. But it has history, dating back to the nineteenth century as a hideaway for ladies of a royal persuasion from the wanton (and unwanted) eyes of men. The main attraction of the day is a visit to the Amber Fort (this time so-named not for its colour but apparently its location), a seventeenth century fortification straddling the hills above Jaipur, its various palaces and chambers left largely intact and in some places unrestored for visitors to walk around. Impressive and definitely worth the trip, although we could have done without one of the more obvious tourist attractions, such as the elephants carrying visitors up the steep hill to the fort entrance. Sure it probably does them (the elephants) no real harm, but its still seems a sad and rather unnecessary abuse of this magnificent animal. Maybe better still for us was the visit later to the Astronomical Observatory back in the city. This - dating again originally from the seventeenth century - houses a collection of astronomical instruments including what is claimed to be the world's largest sundial (that's big, if you're asking), capable of measuring time to a (at that time, astonishing) accuracy of within two seconds. Though - just thinking about this now - how - at that time - would you have known that? You'd have needed to have an even more accurate measurement of time at your disposal in order to check that the worlds most accurate sundial was actually - oh, never mind. The point is, we enjoyed our stay in Jaipur, and tomorrow move on. Next stop, Agra, and some place they call the Taj Mahal...