Tripolia Bazaar

The shops on Tripolia Bazaar sell kitchen utensils, metal trunks, hardware, and goods made of copper and brass. The street was not named after its merchandise. The bazaar takes its name from the palace gate: “Tripolia” means “three gates.” Its facade does indeed have three arched openings, and beyond them begins a sequence of palace courtyards.

Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur and prince of the Kachwahas, wanted the residents of the new capital to see their sovereign during temple outings and festivals. In court tradition, the very sight of the ruler was considered auspicious. For such outings, Jai Singh ordered the main streets to be made wide enough for six elephants to move abreast, and the facades of the shops to be level and uniform. The prince and his heirs passed here on elephant back or in a chariot. Galleries were built above the commercial rows, from which townspeople watched the procession.

Tripolia Bazaar held a special place in this arrangement. The street runs along the boundary of the City Palace, and the gate served as the private exit for the ruling family and its guests. A merchant could open a shop opposite the palace, but could not enter through Tripolia. Other entrances were intended for ordinary visitors. Through the three arches appeared those for whom a wide strip in the middle of the commercial rows was cleared.

The street’s purpose is especially clear during Teej, the festival of the goddess Parvati. By palace tradition, the women of the ruling family dress the image of Teej Mata in the women’s quarter of the palace. The men then place it in a palanquin and carry it out through Tripolia Gate. Horses, camels, old chariots, and bearers follow it; the procession passes along all of Tripolia Bazaar and heads to Chhoti Chaupar.

After princely rule ended, palace staff and municipal institutions preserved the procession. On an ordinary day, a closed palace passage remains behind the three arches. During Teej, the goddess is again carried out from it, and for several hours the commercial street takes on the traffic order for which Jai Singh made it six elephants wide.