Jonas Spinoy, a professional photographer never thought that just a glimpse of the city would impress him so much that he would settle here for the rest of his life.

It's been seven years so far and I can't recall even a single moment when I had to think about the time that I spent in France or why did I actually decided to settle down in Jaipur. I think, it was the quietness and subtle beauty in everything that I saw here that fascinated me. I was staying in Delhi and was doing some commercial work in photography. I first drove to Jaipur seven years ago through Amber and it was a fantastic discovery. As a photographer I could not have dreamt of anything more exciting than Rajasthan. It gave me brilliant colours and incredible locations like Jaigarh, Nahragarh and Walled City to move around and shoot. I settled in Jaipur after a few months of living in Delhi and everything seemed so much more relaxed and pleasant over here.

Most of my commercial work happens in Delhi and in other big cities in India or abroad. I am happy travelling often from Jaipur and then returning to this place. Somehow, I love having this inspirational city as a base. After a shoot in some other city or country whenever I return here, I feel so much in peace and relaxed that I am all set and rejuvenated to take up the next assignment. I am so much in love with the place that ever since I have moved my base here I look for work just nearby the city so that I can complete it in just a day or two and return to the relaxed and laid back life here that I like.

Jaipur is also my wife's hometown, so deciding to settle here was really an easy decision. We both loved the city and wanted our kids to grow up and imbibe the culture of the place. I am proud that I am bringing up my son in this city. My family back home supported my decision and they love to come and visit us often.

Though, I love being in the city and enjoy every moment here, there are few things that I am sure I will never be able to do in any other city of India. Though they are really small things but the kind of happiness and satisfaction they bring to me is really amazing. I like cycling around Jaipur every early morning, and have the glimpse of the city when every one is just getting on to their daily activities. The place seems so peaceful and beautiful in the mornings that any one who would get to see a morning here would want to be here for forever. There is no traffic to bug you, silent roads, beautiful scenery, few men walking across the streets; the feeling really can't be put into words. Besides that, I love to cycle till MI Road to enjoy my glass of lassi often during the summer season. I love to walk in the Walled City, among the people of the city and have a glance of colourful shops in the bazaar that start looking the same if you keep walking looking at them. I love to drive up on the hills till Nahargarh to watch the sunset and have a view of the entire city from the hills. I am sure that there can't be any other city that could have offered me such a mix of modern and traditional lifestyle as I get to see in Jaipur.

However, in the last seven years I have seen a lot of changes happening around in the city. Now Jaipur has a lot more places to go out and hang around with friends and lots of activities to indulge in, like any other metro in India. The changes that I observe are both good and bad. On the one hand where I see a lot of development in the city over the years, on the other I see beautiful old houses being broken down to make place for apartments and shopping malls. The traffic in the city is also getting heavier now. But I think, these things are bound to happen with the growth and development of the city. I just wish the development should be more systematic so that the beauty and culture of the city could be retained. To talk about Rajasthan, I have been to more or less the entire state and I love it all. I have shot at places like Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Pushkar and Jaisalmer. I love to capture the deserts and mystic beauty.