Jodhpur: Marwar, Mehrangarh and the Blue City

A capital of Marwar

Jodhpur was founded in the fifteenth century by Rao Jodha and became the principal city of the Rathore-ruled kingdom of Marwar. Mehrangarh Fort, rising above the old city, expresses the political importance of the court while the streets below record a separate history of commerce, craft and residence.

A city connected to trade

Its position near routes crossing western Rajasthan helped Jodhpur develop as a commercial centre. Markets, textiles, metalwork, leather and other crafts became part of the urban economy, linking courtly patronage with everyday production.

Why “Blue City” needs explanation

Blue-painted houses are a conspicuous feature of parts of the old city, but explanations for the practice are varied and often simplified in tourism. Some accounts connect blue with particular social groups, cooling properties or insect deterrence; the archive should not repeat any single explanation as settled fact without stronger local evidence.

Fort and neighbourhood

Documentary work in Jodhpur should move between monumental and domestic scales. The visual drama of Mehrangarh makes sense partly because it remains in constant relationship with the dense inhabited city below.