Jaipuri Safa: A Symbol of Rajasthan Royalty

442

My introduction to Jaipuri Safa has remained one of the most memorable memories of my visit to Jaipur. In December of 2021, I and Sarah decided to head to Jaipur to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. To be honest, we had no plans for it until the last moment. However, we chose Jaipur, made our plans and went off.

Being a travel blogger, I decided to research about Jaipur before the trip. I sat for hours at night skimming through various travel blogs, comments, forums, discussion boards, YouTube videos and even Instagram reels finding every minute detail that could help me make our Jaipur trip special. I made my custom itinerary to ensure we covered most local attractions and markets in the limited window we had.

Note: This post is a part of Wednesday Writing challenge by Teagan Riordain Geneviene. She is a great storyteller and author and writes stories that range from paranormal to high fantasy and urban fantasy with historic settings. You can visit her blog site to read her stories, blogs and even information on entering this writing challenge.

A Little Bit About Jaipur

Founded in 1727, Jaipur derives its name from its founder Sawai Jai Singh. The city is one of the oldest planned cities in India and was designed by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. Known as The Pink City, Jaipur is famous for its iconic ancient forts, the Hawa Mahal, Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar and various temples. It is a paradise for shopaholics and foodies. Even if you skip all the local attractions you can just eat and shop and shop and eat for weeks and still have more to cover. And oh yeah, it is the largest and the capital city of the state of Rajasthan – the Land of the Royals.

Back to the Story

In one of the videos, I discovered about Jaipuri Safa and I instantly knew this was something I would love to do. So, on day two of our Jaipur trip, I and Sarah went about hunting Jitendra and his shop located on one corner of the crossroads of Johari Bazaar.  The only challenge was that his shop was on the first-floor terrace area. However, with my photographic memory, I was able to locate him quickly.

When I met Jitendar for the first time (and probably the only time so far) he was super busy making more pink-coloured wedding pagdis (turbans). He had an order to deliver to a wedding party. However, I will always be grateful to him for not driving me away and letting me talk to him as he was finishing his order. In the image below, he is working besides his brother Dharmendra (in the checkered shirt).

Both pagdis and safas are traditional headwear which signifies honour, respect, and prestige. They are generally worn on special occasions like religious ceremonies, weddings and festivals. However, how they are wrapped varies from region to region. Also, the way of styling and the colour is an indicator of social status and community.

FYI, the pink-coloured wedding turbans are generally ordered by the bride’s side. Similarly, the groom’s side generally orders saffron colour turbans. However, I have seen grooms wear pink turban on their wedding day, so there is no fix rule per se.

As we continued our conversation, I politely requested him to tie me a Jaipuri Safa. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he would agree considering the work he was doing. However, he happily agreed and took me to his father’s shop to let me choose the cloth colour and design of my choice. I enjoyed a small conversation with his father who owns the shop.

I bought the most colourful fabric with dye print on it rather than going for a single-coloured fabric. The experience of getting the Jaipuri Safa tied for the first time was unique. Initially, I felt the heaviness as he started wrapping, but by the time it was done, I was feeling good.

Multiple pins and newspapers are added in those pink wedding turbans which give it shape and crispness. However, the Jaipuri Safa on my head has none of it. It is just a single piece of long cloth wrapped intricately and tucked nicely.

Jitendra has been in this business for 30 years now. This reflects in how he can tie a Jaipuri Safa so neatly in less than ten minutes. Since it was December 2021, we also talked about how the COVID-19 pandemic hit his business when social gatherings were not permitted. Subsequently we also talked about how things have improved as the wedding season was at its peak.

Overall, this brief interaction with Jitendra and his father was quite a memorable experience. It remains one of the highlights of our tenth wedding anniversary. For me, it was the easiest way to feel like a royal as I walked through the streets of Jaipur with Jaipuri Safa on my head. Maybe, I was looking a bit out-of-place because my clothes weren’t matching traditionally. However, I wore it with pride.

Apart from the Jaipuri Safa, they also take orders for all kinds of Rajasthani-style pagdis and safas. So, you can choose from at least 15 different types of styles. Also, you can choose whatever single-colour or dye print cloth to make your turban stand apart from the rest. Each pagdi or safa can cost you from Rs. 250 (3 USD) to Rs 1000 (12 USD) depending on how intricate and decorated you want it.

Once back at my Airbnb room, I packed it in a box as it is. The Jaipuri safa still lies in that box safely as I do not want to undo the knots accidentally. It remains as one of the souvenirs of my Jaipur trip.

Contact Information

If you’re in Jaipur make sure you visit his shop and get yourself a fitting pagdi or Jaipuri Safa.

Shop Name: Vishvanath Agarwal Saafewale

Address: Badi Chaupar, Right Above Metro Gate No 3.

Contact Person: Jitendra Agarwal / Dharmendra Agarwal

Mobile Number: 9828072121