The Myth of the Pink City

A story about how fiction becomes fact involving scheming poets, an enterprising beauty queen, and a Guinness World Record. Plus, a conspiracy theory about a powerful dynasty!

 

VISUALS

• Definitive proof that the city was pink long before British arrival, i.e., a painting from the 18th century
• A painting depicting a procession with the Maharaja of Jaipur and Prince of Wales in 1876
• A clip of Gayatri Devi sharing her sharp opinions on Indira Gandhi during her 1967 campaign.

GLOSSARY

• Prince of Wales: A title usually granted to the heir apparent of the British throne. During Queen Victoria’s reign, the Prince of Wales was Albert Edward—the future Edward VII— who visited India in 1875-76.
• Treaty of Alliance (Subsidiary Alliance): An agreement undertaken between native India states and the East India Company/British Government. The alliance would usually entail surrendering the control of their defence and foreign policy to the British in return for protection...and their guaranteed existence.
• Sepoy: A term used for native soldiers serving in the British East India Company (and then British Empire). The term is Persian in origin, and it was initially used by the Mughal Empire to refer to all infantry soldiers.

ANNOTATED TRANSCRIPT

Visit www.kahaani.io/pink-city to get an annotated transcript with citations and timestamps. 

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Download a free teacher’s guide with activities and rubrics designed for high school history classes at

DIG DEEPER

Still reeling from the rich, colorful, and controversial history of Jaipur and its royals? Here are a few sources to pull you further down the Jaipur rabbit hole:

• Giles Tilotson’s Jaipur Nama weaves a deft narrative about the city’s history, culture, and the quirky characters that have populated its many periods.
• Gayatri Devi’s autobiography “A Princess Remembers” to get a first-person account of the transition from a princely India to a republic. This is where we found all of her juicy quotes about the private plane and such.
• John Zubrzykcki’s book The House of Jaipur to dive deeper into the modern history of the Jaipur Royals.

MUSIC CREDITS

• MALFNKTN | Roaches
• Yasuke Mazda | Tabla With 8-Bit
• Nickodemus & Maharaj Trio | Southern Magnolia
• Rajastani Jagalbandi | https://www.natyasutraonline.com/music/folk/invis/rajasthani-jugalbandhi
• Victor Orchestra | Hearts and Flowers 
• Mausam Poorvanuman |  Bardte Kram Mein and Jal Prapaa