Student guide: Discover major hubs in Jaipur

CITY FACTS
State: Rajasthan 
Distance: 260 Kms from Delhi 
Foundation Year: 1727 
Population: 3 million-plus 
Languages: Hindi, Rajasthani, Punjabi, English 
Telephone Code: 0141 
Airport: Sawai Man Singh Airport

Photos: Anchit Natha

Recreation Tapri, the tea lounge. There are many such options in the city

Education city is an appropriate now for Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, as far as the opportunities for higher education are concerned. Apart from educational institutes, there is a sound support system, which is essential for education to prosper. The Pink City’s environment is very conducive for the students, particularly for those coming from other cities and states.

Geographically, Jaipur is merely 260 kilometers from Delhi, the capital of India. It is situated in the heart of North India and is well-connected with major cities of the neighbouring states by road or rail routes and airways as well.

Apart from hosting one of the oldest and renowned varsities of the country, the University of Rajasthan, this city, also has numerous basic graduation/postgraduation colleges. Equal number of engineering, management and other technical institutes impart skills of life learning to students. Jaipur leads the country  in the number of private universities with more than 20 of them. This is the highest for a single city in the country. Institutes for education and research, medical, computer science, bio-technology and media are also situated here.

A feather in Jaipur’s cap, Mansarovar, the biggest housing locality of Asia, is an education hub. It comprises all kinds of general and professional institutes and training centres and also provides supportive infrastructure. Similar centres of educational activities are Sitapura in Sanganer, Kukas and Kant Kalwar on the Delhi Road, Vidhyadhar Nagar, Jagatpura and the Gandhi Nagar-Bajaj Nagar-Gopalpura tri-junction.

Medicine Mahatma Gandhi Medical college is one of the most renowned institutes in Jaipur

Infrastructure
With basic infrastructure rapidly expanding, metro train and BRTS routes for city transportation; trains and bus operations to connect with other locations, expansion of Jaipur Airport for extra air-travel services; almost 24-hours power supply; world-class healthcare facilities in both public and private hospitals; expansion of service sector such as BPOs, Banks etc, which would eventually offer employment post education, everything seems to be in place for a student to study  in Jaipur.

The dwellers of this metropolitan city offer a unique cultural-mix that would help any visitor to adapt himself easily, resulting in a long-lasting personal bond with this culturally rich city. Thus, all young men and women are welcome here to equip themselves with the professional skills and train themselves for career development.

Engineering
The demand of graduate-level engineering programmes of the young generation has been well answered in Jaipur. There are about four-dozen colleges offering B.Tech/BE courses in different subjects. All engineering colleges are affiliated to the state-run Rajasthan Technical University, Kota. Admission to these is done through AIEEE and the state-level Rajasthan Pre-engineering Test. Also, during past few years about 20 engineering colleges, like Jaipur National University, Jodhpur National University  have turned themselves into full-fledged private universities by getting their respective Acts passed in the State Assembly. Thus, admission to these institutes is now done through a separate mechanism. After attaining university status, these institutes offer courses other than B.Tech as well.

Medicine
At least four universities have been established in the city, including the state-run Rajasthan University for Health Sciences (RUHS), through separate Acts passed in the State Assembly. Medical colleges and hospitals are situated at different locations in the city including renowned Sawai Man Singh Medical College and Hospital in the heart of the city.

Diploma courses for nursing, lab technician, pharmaceuticals and others providing training in patient care, medical practices and allied  jobs, are also offered by several institutes in Jaipur.

Laxmi Mishtan bhandar known for ghewar sweets

Management
Primarily, management courses are offered by colleges that also have engineering faculty. But, in Jaipur a good number of institutes offer management courses alone. The city hosts at least 90 colleges which provide MBA or other PG diploma courses in management. Out of these about 50% are exclusively management training institutes. Some more specialised courses are also available in Rural, Health, Community or NGO management. Management courses at Bachelor’s level like BBA are available in most of the colleges and universities. Management education is well established in Jaipur.

Hospitality
As Jaipur is a business hub and an important tourist destination, the training institutes tie-up with the tour-travel agencies, corporates houses and event management organisations to offer real-time training opportunities for hospitality practices to their trainees. Such tie-ups also help the candidates find jobs in their respective fields of specialisation such as tour guide, office or event manager, sales executives, etc.

The Centre for Tourism Studies, Jaipur run by the Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, leads this sector by offering diplomas in tourism and travel management. The PG diploma of this centre has earned an exclusive recognition from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. A good number of institutes are offering hospitality training courses for aviation industry like those for air hostess, flight stewardship etc.

Fashion and design
Run in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD) at Jhalana Dungri Institutional Area, Jaipur leads this category of institutions in the city. Others include Pearl Academy of Fashion, Arch Academy of Design, Jaipur, INIFD and IIFA India. These institutes offer recognised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes along with diploma courses. Even the basic educational institutes also offer certificate courses in fashion and designing.

The fashion institutes in Jaipur are highly reputed because they provide practical training in collaboration with the fashion houses so as to prepare the candidates to meet requirements of the industry. It is believed that Pearl Academy is likely to gain the status of a private university soon.

Art and Culture
Rajasthan is also famous, among other things, for its cultural heritage and performing arts. Its capital, the Pink City, is an important gateway to showcase this heritage for the world. Thus, Jaipur is a centre for study of different forms of art and provide training to the young blood on how to conserve this heritage of the human race and hand it over to the generations to come.

Climate
Jaipur has a hot semi-arid climate receiving only 650 millimetres (26 inches) of rainfall annually with most rains occurring in the monsoon months of June to September. Weather is generally hot with temperatures remaining relatively high throughout the year, with the summer months of June and July seeing the average maximum temperature of 45°C. In summer the students are advised to include sufficient fluids intake in their diets for protection from local hot wind ‘Loo’. The winter months between November to February are mild and pleasant, with average temperatures range of 15–18 °C and with little or no humidity. However, occasional cold waves lead to temperatures reaching near freezing point. So it’s advisable to carry sufficient woollen clothes to keep oneself warm.

Hospitals and well being
The city has several renowned hospitals in private and government sector. All emergency, trauma and specialised treatments are available in these hospitals. Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital (SDMHP), Jay Kay Lon Child Care Hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Medical Hospitals and Fortis Hospital are popular hospitals having multi-speciality centres and experienced doctors for taking care of patients.

Transportation
Within the city, local bus services are operated by the private mini-bus operators and state corporation, Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL). More than 300 city buses and double the number of mini-buses connect the entire city. JCTSL buses include low-floor and AC buses. This apart, for traveling within the city and through its outskirts, about half-a-dozen on-call cab services are also available. For connectivity between different parts of Jaipur, a Bus Rapid Transit Service (BRTS) corridor has also been proposed, approved and initiated.
A rapid transit rail project, Jaipur Metro, is under progress to provide means of faster commutation for the city dwellers. It is expected to be operational by 2014.

Pre-paid, meter-on auto-rickshaws are available all across the city for 24 hours a day. But, Jaipur being a tourist destination, this service is a bit costlier in comparison to many other cities.

Part-time work opportunities
As the economy of Jaipur is dependent upon tourism, gems-jewellery or craft export and big business activities, part-time job options are easily available for the new generation. Those studying or attending coaching/training classes can even manage full-time employment. In certain cases, the educational institutes allow students to go ahead for part-time job opportunities. But these are not  available in plenty, and even when they are available may not pay very much.

Particularly, the management or IT students have field marketing options open to them. Survey work is the most frequently available. Engineering and management students can also teach   their juniors  for payment. Thus, academic and research-oriented students can easily avail of teaching assignments at these educational institutes.

Above all, the city hosts BPO giant GenPact and several other call centre firms where students can easily get good jobs. Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Ajmer Road is another sound option for part-time or full-time employment along with studies. A good number of multinational corporate firms, banks, financial institutions, insurance or travel agencies, book, business fairs are here to provide work opportunities to students of almost all disciplines like engineering, management, computer applications, software, media, accountancy, hospitality, tourism and for science graduates. Jewellery, craft or textile businesses can also offer an earning platform to the marketing and management students as well as those who have completed graduation in general subjects.

Students of art, culture and fashion can also get many causal assignments, internships or regular jobs with the business houses. Guiding tourists is yet another option.Hospitality, housekeeping, nursing jobs can easily be availed at big hospital chains like ESCORT, Fortis, Soni, Narayan Hridyalaya as well. So even if the cost of living is not that cheap, students will not feel the pinch on their pockets when living here.
 

Unique food habits and local celebrity foods
Jaipur is known for its rich food culture. Most of the specialities are vegetarian. List of special sweets is long. The most famous local dish is Dal-Bati-Churma. Bajre ki roti is another famous food item. Locals generally have this with jaggery and buttermilk.

The city has varieties of traditional sweets. Mishri mawa, Gulab Sakri, Gilebdar Petha are some of the sweets prepared with mawa and sugar as main ingredients. Fried variety of sweets include delicious Phini, Ghewar, Choguni ka Laddu and Mohan Thal. Regular sweets likes Rasogolla, Gulab Jamun, Badam ki Barfi, Mawe ki Kachoudi, etc are also available here.

Kadhi, gatte ki sabji, tinde ki sabji, matar paneer, mirchi ki tipori etc are some of the famous vegetarian curries of Jaipur. It is advisable to stick to traditional food in Jaipur because not only are they healthy and tasty but also comparatively cheaper.

Social Life
As a cosmopolitan city with a rich culture, the social life in Jaipur is very active. The city does have a night life but not as happening as those in cities like Delhi, Mumbai or Banglore. There are a number of food joints, pubs and restaurants for the young crowd to enjoy the evenings. But most popular centres of socializing through the day are the “thadis” or the tea shops. Jaipur has limitless thadis and one can sip tea at any nook or corner of the city. For those having higher budgets, there are food-chains like Café-Coffee-Day, Pizza Hut etc. For discussions over tea, there are canteens of Indian Coffee House at MI Road and Jawahar Kala Kendra near the University of Rajasthan.

Jawahar Kala Kendra is in itself a popular place for socialising. As the name suggests, cultural events like music, dance, theatre performances or art, painting, photo exhibitions and training classes for honing skills in these are also held here. Craft, textile or book fairs too are arranged frequently at the bustling Jawahar Kala Kendra.

Multiplexes and shopping malls are the frequently visited places by youngsters for shopping, entertainment and spending free time. The important ones include Gaurav Towers in Malvila Nagar, Crystal Palm and MGF Mall at Bais Godown Cirle, Hyper City on Jhotwara Road and Saurabh Tower in Vaishali Nagar. There are many public parks and green areas such as the Central Park, Kulish Smriri Van and Jawahar Circle.

The city, is hot, humid and at times messy. But it is warm, welcoming and still retains  a small time feel. And education here is  not a costly proposition too. So welcome to Jaipur!