From hipster festivals to chic cafes, how Jaipur became India's 'it' city

Hipster festivals, contemporary art spaces, chic boutiques and cafes have aided Jaipur's transformation

"Lagta hai kachori talenge iss mein (It looks like they will fry kachoris in this),” a woman with an infant in her arms tells her husband. They are staring at a large pot filled with dark liquid at the Sculpture Park at Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur. The object in focus is an art installation called Transience by Mark Prime, which has one droplet falling into the pot at a time, depicting the “kinetic” relationship between sound and time. The helpful descriptor on the wall besides the installation, in English and Hindi, seems to be an irrelevancy.
 

In elite art circles, the couple’s reaction may have led to sniggers. But in Jaipur, it is a significant symptom of the capital of Rajasthan becoming the cultural capital of the country — and an egalitarian one. Contemporary art, typically the preserve of the educated elite, is both inviting and engaging in this recreation of Jaipur. "These are not expensive, exclusive places. They are meant for everyone. If tribal art sells well abroad, that shouldn’t make it elite or inaccessible at its place of birth,” says Rajasthan’s former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

The frame of a wrought iron gate as part of artist Ayesha Singh’s Hybrid Drawings exhibit is an excellent spot for a touristy photo. Richard Long’s River of Stones is a good candidate for children to jump over and run around. 

L N Tallur’s Chromatophobia has just the right lighting for a selfie.

The Sculpture Park, which opened barely a year ago, came into existence under Raje’s committee for arts, culture and tourism, as part of the Chief Minister’s Advisory Council. When she took office in 2014, Raje instituted the arts, culture and tourism committee with a clear mandate: to create platforms for public-private partnerships in an effort to revive and restore the domains for cultural expressions. "We need to remember that Rajasthan is not just about the forts and palaces. 

Culture is a way of life here,” says Raje.

The Bar Palladio in the Narain Niwas Hotel compound. Courtesy: Bar Palladio 

Malvika Singh, publisher of Seminar, and Mira Mehrishi, a retired Indian Administrative Services officer, were appointed as advisors under this committee. Since then, dying cultural institutions in Rajasthan have seen a rapid infusion of life, while newer ones have sprung up across the state.

The Sculpture Park, for instance, came up when gallerist Peter Nagy told Singh that he had always dreamt of a space like this, perhaps inside a palace or fort. Quite swiftly, he was granted space and basic infrastructure inside the Madhavendra Palace at Nahargarh Fort. But there was the small matter of funds — the government of Rajasthan had none to spare for this initiative.

“In India, the government is constantly under pressure to pay attention to more pressing issues and the arts take a back seat. I think the public-private partnership model really helped the arts find new meaning and significance in Rajasthan,” says Noelle Kadar, director of the Sculpture Park. So every “apartment” — the palace was built as a pleasure retreat with seven apartments for Sawai Madho Singh and his six concubines — is called a “chowk”, preceded by the name of its corporate sponsor. These include Inox, Zee, JSW and Borosil. Thankfully, the branding is discreet enough to not interfere with the art experience. “I saw a mother and son walk through the park and the son asked his mother what that artwork was. She asked him what he thought, and I think that’s the beauty of this space. As one spends more time here, it becomes less alien and you find your own interpretations,” says Kadar.

‘These are not expensive, exclusive places. They are meant for everyone’, says Vasundhara Raje, Former chief minister of Rajasthan

This was precisely what the committee sought to achieve, says Singh: “Raje wanted Rajasthan to be an open-air, living arts space. The idea was to revert the ownership of these public spaces to the people, allowing them to celebrate the sensibilities and ethos of their region.” The committee helped revitalise 18 state museums to match international standards; 12 railways stations were painted by local artists; Bikaner House in New Delhi was given a new lease of life, as was the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK). “It was a task to convince young artists and experts to come on board because no one wants to go through the debilitating process of applying for a tender,” says Singh. Eventually, the projects took off because the committee was given single-window clearances.

The JKK in Jaipur was a rotting public institution, with bathroom tiles falling off walls and carpets smelling of mould. In 2014, when Charles Correa, JKK’s architect, visited the building, he was heartbroken. “Correa met us, and Raje decided to visit JKK to see its condition for herself. She then allocated a corpus for the infrastructure renewal of JKK,” recalls Singh. But JKK didn’t truly become a phenomenon until relevant experts and top practitioners were brought in. The committee appointed Pooja Sood, founding member and director of Delhi’s Khoj International Artists’ Association, as director of JKK and tasked her with its transformation. “We brought in experts not because I knew them personally, but because they were the leaders in their respective fields,” adds Raje.

As one walks through the gates of JKK on a winter afternoon, countless college students are sunning themselves on its lawns. Given that the gallery does not have an ongoing exhibition, its public spaces are unusually peopled. Some young people walk in to grab a bite at the in-house café, Quaint, or sip a cup of coffee at the vintage India Coffee House. A bookstore stocks Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle — children’s classics, but equally a delight for Jaipur’s millennials. “I think Raje, because she herself is culturally inclined, really understood the pulse of the city. Tourists, too, no longer just want to get on a bus and see the palaces and forts,” says Anuradha Singh, additional director-general, JKK.

‘I think the public-private partnership model helped the arts find new meaning in Rajasthan’, says Noelle Kadar, Director of Sculpture Park, Jaipur

The biggest project was refurbishing JKK’s galleries and transforming them from static rooms to contemporary, functional spaces. The lights, for instance, were made adjustable and the galleries were given a makeover to receive more natural light. There is now 25,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art gallery space, two auditoriums, an amphitheatre, two cafés and plenty of open space for visitors. Since its renovation, JKK has hosted major events: the first-ever Indian Ceramics Triennale, a film and video exhibition of works by filmmaker Mani Kaul and artist Ranbir Singh Kaleka, a textiles exhibition curated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul, and Bookaroo, a children’s literary festival.

“When I wanted to present ‘New Traditions: Influences & Inspirations in Indian Textiles, 1947-2017’, JKK was almost an obvious choice. Not only was dealing with them a breeze, they also enabled me to hire some of the best art professionals to set up the show,” says Kaul. “Jaipur’s cultural institutions are today what the National Museum or the National Gallery of Modern Art were about a decade ago. There’s vibrant, young entrepreneurial talent here,” he says.  A host of other museums have found life in Jaipur. A former art school, the Museum of Legacies showcases private collections of everything from saris to pottery. The Gyan Museum is a private, appointment-only jewellery museum. The Amrapali Museum, affiliated with the Amrapali jewellery store, is also now open to the public.

Jaipur’s currently vibrant festival culture can reasonably be dated to the Jaipur Virasat Foundation’s Jaipur Heritage International Festival, which began in 2006 and later became the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) “Just 12 years ago if we were to do a dipstick survey for hosting a literature festival in Jaipur, it would have been laughed off as a ridiculous thought,” says Sanjoy Roy, managing director, Teamwork Arts, which organises JLF. “Look at how the entire ecosystem has evolved. Jaipur is today synonymous with culture across fields,” he says. The most striking aspect of this change is the young demographic. “Our latest survey suggests that 80 per cent of those who have registered for the JLF this year are below the age of 30,” he adds.

And where there are millennials, there is Instagram-friendly food. Gone are the days when Lakshmi Mishthan Bhandar or Rawat Sweets were the town’s culinary hotspots. Now, there’s Masala Chowk for trendy street food. Tapri, a tea house on a terrace in central Jaipur, is abuzz with people on a weekday. Jaipur Modern Kitchen serves Italian, Mediterranean and Japanese cuisines. Curious Life is a cute little café with a delicious breakfast menu. And then there’s Bar Palladio in the Narain Niwas Palace Hotel compound. The handiwork of Dutch designer Marie-Anne Oudejans, a drink at this cocktail bar is de rigueur after a shopping spree at Jaipur’s chic boutiques. 

The revamped Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur. Courtesy: Jawahar Kala Kendra

In the Kanota Bagh complex — a small shopping arcade next door to Narain Niwas — 12 boutique stores offer everything from home décor and jewellery to designer apparel. Inside Gitanjali and Ayush Kasliwal’s Anantaya store, restaurateur and gin-maker Anand Virmani is discussing their next collaboration with the couple. “That is the beauty of this energy in Jaipur. Even though this is really the tip of the iceberg, we are part of the slow movements,” says Gitanjali. A hidden gem that operated out of a basement till about a year ago, the Kasliwal’s home, apparel and wellness store has been a leader in Kanota Courtyard, drawing other designers into a community of artistic energy. “What Faith and John Singh of Anokhi started over two decades ago is what we’re all a part of today,” says Gitanjali. Right next door, Andraab sells some exquisite Pashmina stoles and shawls. Understated interiors make the colours of the apparel pop. All stores share a common aesthetic language.

The irony of the fact that this design language — a typically “left-liberal” preoccupation — prospered under a right-wing government escapes no one. But fear is beginning to loom larger than irony because of the recent change of government. Raje was in halfway through instituting an autonomous body to oversee the working of the arts and culture committee. If cleared, it would have meant that cultural institutions would flourish irrespective of the political regime. “Revival and preservation of culture should not be for any one government to do or undo, or be driven by personal differences in politics. I am, of course, worried about the course this initiative will take now,” says Raje.

Today, clearances are pending for some shows. Tenures of some key appointees at museums and galleries have not yet been extended. Will the new government take note and take action? We are all waiting to know.