In 1727, when the region"s king, Sawai Jai Singh, conceived Jaipur as his capital and as the country"s first planned city, he wanted to design it based on the principles of Vastu Shastra, which draw on nature, astronomy and astrology to inform architecture and placement. He realised that to perfectly align Jaipur with the stars, aid in astrological practices and predict key weather events for crops, he would need instruments that were accurate and accessible.