The observatories built in the eighteenth century by the Indian Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur (1686-1743) are little understood wonders of architecture and science. Occasionally discovered by tourists the observatories are monuments to an extraordinary man whose passion for mapping the skies was unique in India. Situated in Delhi, Jaipur, Benares, Ujjain and Mathura, these buildings show no similarities with contemporary Mogul architecture – indeed their ...
