Saturday, March 26, 2011

Povestiri din Rajahstan 39. Jantar Mantar / Stories of Rajahsthan 39. Jantar Mantar

Do you remember my post about the Antique Observatory in Beijing (11 December 2010)? It seems that the emperors too have been interested in stars and our human destiny connected with them. Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is an expression of this interest.


Jai Singh, after studying and comparing different medieval instruments, constructed his own, and Jantar Mantar is the biggest collection out of five similar ones.

As I am not a specialist in the field, I photographed the explanations and put the photo near the objective for you, to have a better sense of them.

As I follow the popular TV materials presented by Urania (aka Simona Varzaru, a very intelligent woman, with vast studies in civilization history) and I like them very much, I photographed also the zodiacal signs. The last photo is my sign: the Capricorn. Unfortunately, the signs are made of glass and the sun reflected all kind of shadows but you may have an idea...

Va amintiti ca in relatarile despre calatoria la Beijing vi-am povestit despre Observatorul antic (episodul 16, 11 decembrie 2010) ? Se pare ca imparatii lumii au avut preocupari legate de cer, stele si destinul terestru legate de acestea. Acesta este si cazul lui Jai Singh, pasionat de instrumentele de masurat pentru obiectele celeste. El a construit cinci seturi de asemenea instrumente, dupa ce le-a studiat pe toate cele existente in momentul respectiv. Instrumentele expuse la Jantar Mantar sunt cele mai impresionante.

Jantar Mantar se afla in imediata apropiere a City Palace. Cand am intrat in spatiul destinat expozitiei (dupa ce am platit taxa de 100 Rp de persoana, care include si dreptul de a fotografia), m-am bucurat ca voi avea o perspectiva aeriana a sa.
M-am inselat insa, fiindca urcatul in turnul de observatii este interzis. Ar fi si cam greu, cu multimea de oameni de acolo si treptele inguste, cat pentru un singur om...

Nu sunt un specialist in aceasta problema si nu as stii sa va explic, singura, ce am vazut aici. In consecinta, am fotografiat explicatiile de langa instrumente si va veti lamuri singuri, dupa ce faceti click pe explicatii.

Am lasat pentru la urma platforma cu semnele zodiacale.
Aici era multa lume, fiecare incercand sa isi faca o fotografie cu semnul sau. De aceea a fost si greu sa le fotografiez. In plus, erau realizate pe sticla si soarele reflecta in ele tot felul de umbre.

Nu stiu cati dintre voi cunoasteti sau urmariti emisiunile Uraniei de pe B1TV. Eu am o admiratie deosebita pentru cultura doamnei Simona Varzaru si modul profesionist, serios, in care isi realizeaza toate prezentarile. Incercati sa vizionati emisiunile "Lumea in 10000 minute" si "Pasul Fortunei" si va veti convinge. In aceasta din urma emisiune, imi place sa urmaresc modul in care sunt desenate semnele zodiacale in diverse culturi sau surse. De aceea am fotografiat si eu cateva, aici, in India. Nu prea au reusit pozele, din cauza celor explicate mai sus dar va puteti face, totusi, o idee. Am lasat la urma zodia mea, Capricornul.
 Pesti/Pisces
 Berbec/Aries
 Sagetator/Sagittarius
 Varsator/Aquarius
 Cumpana/Libra
 Scorpion/Scorpio
 Capricorn

22 comments:

joo said...

Looks like a must to visit place!
Have a nice Sunday:)

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Joo!

Teri said...

Incredible instruments. The world holds so many interesting things, doesn't it? Thanks to your photos, I get to see them! Thanks!

Traveling Hawk said...

You are welcome, Teri! Thanks for the visit!

magda said...

Beautiful photos and interesting report !!!
Have a nice week
Greetings

Doug Hickok said...

Wow, this is an incredibly fascinating place. I'd loved to see it someday. Wonderful post!

VP said...

Absolutely great! I love this place...

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Magda!

Traveling Hawk said...

Hi, Doug! It was interesting but we had not time enough to study the instruments.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, VP!

Hanjié said...

Cool!! Very interesting trip from the others you posted before. I love science, thank you for sharing.

Traveling Hawk said...

I am glad this post was interesting for you, Hanjie!

RIZALENIO said...

Jantar Mantar looks very interesting. It's also inspiring seeing the Zodiac signs illustrations with the touch of their culture. First time for me to see this.

Thanks for bringing me here, my friend. Wonderful trip once again.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Rizalenio, for the comment. There are still two beautiful places I will show you in Jaipur :)

Have a nice week!

Unknown said...

uimitoare lucruri.de acestea chiar nu stiam. .
iar poza de la capricorn chiar imi place - cu aceea reflexie a unei persoane. atributul in pripla, si subiectul in reflexie + privitorul -capata aspecte interesante.

LifeRamblings said...

such amazing instruments. the interpretation of each zodiac signs look intriguing.

Traveling Hawk said...

Si mie imi place sa descopar mereu ceva interesant si nou cand merg undeva. Nu intotdeauna ai asemenea prilej. Ma bucur ca ti-a placut postarea, pharaonx!

Traveling Hawk said...

The zodiac signs are interesting in Indian perspective and the instruments, even if I am not a specialist, could be seen as proof of antique or medieval technique.

Have a nice week, Life Ramblings!

cartim said...

Foarte interesant. Mie imi place desenul Berbecului Indian , iar pozele nu mi se par nereusite.

Mi-ar fi placut sa aus explicatiile date de ghid despre acest obiectib, m-ai facut curios, asa ca cred ca voi hoinari pe net in cautarea acestui loc si a mai multor informatii.

Traveling Hawk said...

N-am avut ghid, Cartim. In general am mers pe documentarea mea facuta pe net, cu Lonely Planet si ghidul de la Adevarul. Nu toti ghizii care se ofera sunt autentici sau licentiati de stat si nu faci decat sa dai bani unora care stiu mai putin ca tine...I-am acceptat doar pe cei doi, de la Mandawa si Jaisalmer, oferiti de agentia cu care am facut toata excursia.

De pozele alea ziceam ca sunt nereusite in masura in care se reflecta in sticla tot felul de figuri, inclusiv a fotografului :) dar poate fi si asta interesant.

J_on_tour said...

One of the most unusual museums I have ever seen.

Traveling Hawk said...

It is an interesting place, indeed, J_on_tour! Thank you for the visit!