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History of Jaipur, Jaipur Then and Now

Galtaji Temples | Jaipur Then & Now

The following Galtaji Temple photo was shot by Lala Deen Dayal in 1886 AD. He was one of the first Indian photographers to click pictures of the royalty, street life, and popular monuments. Lala Deen Dayal set up photo studios in 3 Indian cities. He became the photographer of the Viceroy of India during the colonial days.

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It captures Shri Sitaramji temple in Galtaji with a few make-shift shelters of the poor people. The upkeep of the temple is disappointing.

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Galta Temples at Galtaji, Jaipur

One can see many changes taking place during the period of 130 years. The tree seen in the previous picture outside Shri Gyan Gopalji Temple is missing. In place of a raised floor surface near the temple entrance is a staircase. There is a major structural change in the façade of the temple with the wall on the second floor giving way to the stone railing. Open chhatri (dome) replaces the covered chhatri seen in the previous photo.

If you have followed my earlier posts on Galta Gate and Galta Temples, you must have read about the history of Galtaji. If you have not read a complete post on Galta Temples, it is good time to it check out: 5 Things You Need To Know About Captivating Galta Temples

This set of pictures overlooks the Galta Kund as well as a pathway which leads to the Sun Temple & Jaipur city through Galta Gate. The photographer of this vintage picture of Galtaji from 1886 AD is Lala Deen Dayal.

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It is not possible to capture this view from the same spot as it has been cordoned off by Galtaji management. So this is all I could manage.

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Holy Galta Kund at Galtaji, Jaipur

On comparing old & new photos of Galtaji, the upkeep is better now than a century ago. Until the turn of the 20th-century area around Galtaji was a forest. Tigers, leopards, hyenas, black bears were in abundance. People avoided traversing through this region after sunset for the fear of wild animals. All that has changed now!

The human race is selfish & doesn’t like to share natural resources with the other species. It did everything that led to the wiping out of wild animals from the Galta hills. The population of wild animals in the forest around Galtaji Jaipur dwindled at a very fast pace between the 1930s & 1970s. The only fierce and dangerous species that one finds in Galta hills now are Humans!

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Jaipur Then and Now Galta Temples

Old picture courtesy artnet.de

 

 

 

 

44 thoughts on “Galtaji Temples | Jaipur Then & Now”

  1. This is hands down one of the best series I have come across in recent times! I know how difficult it is to recreate a frame from a century ago, especially when the surroundings have changed so drastically!
    Please keep adding to it!
    Cheers!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you for appreciating. 🙂
      Creating same frame has many issues. I’m glad you can understand this. Is there any specific post that you liked the most out of four that I have posted?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      4. It is long overdue considering the fact that it’s been around 6 months. Very soon! Thanks for reminding me. BTW, how did you dig up this old post & comment? 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  4. You have a great eye for these things. I love the way you show the old and new pictures so that we can see how things have progressed or deteriorated. Such attention to detail you have. I really enjoyed this Blog. Thank you again

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jackie for all those words of appreciation. There are many more pictures but I think I’ll be limiting myself to a few. I know you like vintage pictures. 😊👍

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    1. Thanks, Peter. Despite all that it’s not possible to get exact frame because the old camera had different focal length, I’m not sure what that was. Thanks for appreciating. Good wishes to you too 😃

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Lalitha, I don’t have specific figures since these are not released. Figures are not made public from the annual census being conducted by the forest dept. But wild animals are hardly seen in these hills. There’s increased human footprints in this area.

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    1. I know how much Galta is associated with monkey. To be honest, even I hated it at some point of time. But I always take a stick with me these days. They surely know what a stick means so prefer to maintain some distance. Thanks Divsi for the encouragement. I have some more posts lined up 🙂

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    1. Thank You Sharmistha! I’m not the first one to do so. I have some more pictures but the place from where these pictures were shot by Lala Deen Dayal requires me to seek permission. Well, with limited time it is not easy 🙂
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  17. Pingback: Jaipur Then & Now- Tripolia Gate – Jaipur Thru My Lens !!

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