First Planned City of India - Jaipur

The capital city of Rajasthan, Jaipur, is considered as the first planned city of India. It is located in the desert land of Rajasthan. Jaipur was built in the year 1727 A.D. when Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh decided to shift the capital from Amber to Jaipur. To design the city he appointed a brilliant Brahmin scholar from Bengal named Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya. He set down the planned of the city according to the principles of Shilpashastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture. The structure of the city shows the resemblance to the choice of Rajputs and the Royal family. The city was designed in a rectangular shape and divided into nine blocks that were separated by wide roads. High walls with eight magnificent gateways surrounded the city. The bazaars were built with remarkable uniformity along the main streets. The city dwellers were used to live above the bazaars, who entered their home through bylances that branched off the main roads. Rugged hills surmounted with forts provided natural defences in the North and the East, while strong defensive wall protected the city from the south and the west.

The City Palace (Shahi Mahal) and its gardens were built in the center of the city. Seven years were consumed to build Jaipur and became one of the best-planned city in India. Although the city has spread far beyond its original limits, the grid pattern of modern cities in the West.