FOR VARIOUS REASONS, we hired an autorickshaw to give us a first glimpse of Rajasthan’s Pink City: Jaipur. Although the Pink City is the oldest part of Jaipur, its main thoroughfares were laid out centuries ago in a grid pattern typical of modern cities. A complex warren of narrow streets and courtyards lead off from the main roads. We have yet to explore these byways.

The city is so-named because its buildings are all painted with various shades of pink paint. Apparently, this has been done since the structures were first built in order to hide the inferior quality of the stones used in their construction.

After our elderly Bihari driver, Ganesh, had driven us along the straight main roads of the Pink City as well as some of the twisty, narrow lanes leading off them, he took us to see two factories. At one, we were shown men at work making the silver settings for precious stones. At the other, we were shown the way block printing on fabrics is carried out by hand.

At both factories, after we had been shown how the goods were prepared, we were (not surprisingly) invited to make purchases. We bought a few small objects. After leaving each factory, Ganesh asked us how much we had spent. This was not idle curiosity. He told us that he received 1% of whatever his passengers had spent. He told us that the factories, which sell their goods at wholesale prices, give him a much smaller commission than retail outlets.

I am glad that Ganesh took us to the factories rather than the retailers because it was interesting to watch the manufacturers at work.