RAS question
Jodhpur city gets its 'Blue City' tag because:
Correct answer: (C) Brahmin houses painted blue (originally).
Jodhpur is called the Blue City because its old-city houses, originally associated with Brahmin residences, were painted blue.
Explanation
Jodhpur's Blue City tag comes from the blue-painted houses around the old city near Mehrangarh Fort. The original practice is associated with Brahmin houses, and 2WeekBackPack.com says the blue districts were generally where Brahmins lived. The tradition then spread beyond that initial association, which is why the exam answer is not merely "a colour used somewhere in Jodhpur" but specifically the practice of painting houses blue. The colour also had two practical reasons: it helped repel insects and kept houses cooler in Jodhpur's harsh summer conditions. So the label is rooted in urban settlement appearance and social tradition, not in a natural feature or a craft industry.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The tag is not about the colour of the sky; it refers to blue-painted houses in the old city.
- (B) Blue pottery does not explain Jodhpur's nickname; that association belongs to Jaipur.
- (D) The nickname is not derived from lake water, because it is connected to house exteriors rather than a water body.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's urban cultural geography: how a city's visual landscape, caste-linked tradition and local climate produce a regional nickname. Such identifiers recur in RAS because they connect places with heritage, settlement patterns and tourism geography.