Royal Rajasthan

The traditional greeting of Padharo Mhare Desh or Welcome to my Land exemplifies the warmth and hospitality of India’s largest state Rajasthan, meaning the Land of the Kings. A perfect dream destination famous for its melange of culture, heritage, tradition and undoubtedly valour.

The historical grandiose forts done in different shades of lime and sandstone with its fortified walls running into kms and so intricately done up inside with its amazing carvings, opulent havelis and palaces so very reflective of the royal lifestyle of the Rajputana kings makes for some fantastic viewing.

For the devoted persona, there are these amazing sculpted temples dedicated to Hindu and Jain gods. Interestingly and also unbelievably, 20,000 rats have been reincarnated as sacred heirs of a goddess in one of the temples while Ripley’s Believe It or Not would qualify a Folk Deity temple on the Jodhpur Pali highway dedicated to a Bullet motorcycle.

The delectable cuisine across different cities are something which one should definitely not miss. And for the adventurous kind you could embark on sighting tigers in the wildlife parks or simply chill out doing some bird watching.

The vast stretches of the Thar desert are where you could enjoy a desert safari and also go riding on camels. And how could one miss out the placid blue waters of the artificial lakes in the City of Lakes which gives one such a serene feeling.

All summed up for a great experience in Rajasthan.

How does a visit to Rajasthan get planned

There is so much to see in the vast state of Rajasthan that one would have to set aside a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks to do justice to this state. One could perhaps plan his or her holiday in 2 to 3 tranches so that you do not get stretched for time and also get to see the right mix of Forts, Palaces, Wildlife Parks, Temples, Deserts or even experience a Hill Station. Apart from the famous tiger reserves and bird sanctuary, there are over 100 medieval forts built across the Aravalli mountain ranges and hilly terrain spread across various cities of Rajasthan, out of which 6 of them stand out for their sheer opulence and architectural excellence.

These notably are the Amer Fort in Jaipur, the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur, the Kumbalgarh Fort at Rajasmand and the second longest in the world after The Great Wall of China, the Chittorgarh fort at Chittor, the Ranthambore fort at Sawai Madhopur and the Jaisalmer Fort at Jaisalmer.

Some of these forts have fortification walls running to over 20 kms. These forts, built between the 7th Century CE and the 15th century have undergone lot of modifications and attained UNESCO’s World Heritage status in 2013

Each of these forts speak volumes of the valour of the Rajput Kings and the sacrifices made by the queens and the people and when one gets to hear about the various battles fought by these rulers from the ramparts of these very forts in not only protecting their kingdom but also the people against the invading Mughals and Britishers, it does touch an emotional chord on hearing these very poignant tales of the guts and glory of these famed warriors.

One leg could perhaps cover Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar and the wildlife parks of Ranthambore and Sariska and perhaps Bharatpur’s bird sanctuary in one go while the other could be around Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kumbalgarh, Chittorgarh and Jaisalmer.

That would still leave you out with Bikaner and its famous Junagarh fort which you could plan separately. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer have their own airports but are best connected through the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai while access from cities would mostly be through a single hop flight. .

For the cultural aficionados, the state has so much to offer in terms of its fairs and festivals held at different times of the year and which so very reflects the diversity in traditions, customs, folk music and dance

One could also explore flying into any of these cities through direct/one hop flights and/or undertaking train journeys from the major metros.

While there is no hard and fast rule on how you need to plan your trip, I chose to do Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kumbalgarh and Chittorgarh together. I had done Jaipur earlier as part of covering the Golden Triangle including Delhi and Agra. Check it out on my website using this link The Golden Triangle

Here is some Trivia on Rajasthan

While most of the Palaces across the state have been converted to Heritage hotels and serve as ideal picks for the big fat Indian Weddings or the so called Destination Weddings, they also reflect on the ostentatious wealth on display and as amassed by these rulers.

Timing one's visit to Rajasthan

The Summer months between April till June end for a visit to Rajasthan could be terrible given the state’s vast expanse of deserts. Winters again can become quite severe. Though October to March are rated as the ideal months to be visiting Rajasthan, would suggest dropping the month of December as it becomes pretty crowded and one literally would have to jostle one’s way through most of the tourist attractions. While you would experience less humid, cooler and sunny mornings during these months, July to September could also be looked at though you run the risk of the rains being a dampener.

The visit started with Jodhpur

It had been a little close to 10 years since our 25^th college reunion and save for the occasional official trips made by folks across the country where we got to see each other a bit, there emerged a cohesive cry to get a meet / get-together organized around a year back.

After floating choices of cities traversing the length and breadth of the country, we zeroed down on Udaipur for our Mini Re-union in December 2022. Dates were cast in stone and rooms booked at a lovely resort The Royal Retreat, with over 100 very well done rooms.

The very fact that there were no direct flights to Udaipur from Chennai made me think of a way out in reaching somewhere closer to Udaipur where I could get a direct connectivity and also reach a destination, hitherto unexplored.

My friend and college mate suggested adding Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh to my itinerary, a day before we were to congregate for our reunion and I had decided to do Chittorgarh on the day of our checkout as I had a late evening flight to catch back to Chennai.

As luck would have it, found a direct flight from Chennai to Jodhpur and wove my plan to add a couple of days extra in going around a few places in and around Udaipur apart from Jodhpur.

By providence, on the day of my departure, my flight to Jodhpur got preponed by roughly 2 hours which gave me the added time to explore the city in more detail.

Landed on the 15th of December at the Defence Airport of Jodhpur.

Fearing that the weather would be nippy given the proximity of Jodhpur to the desert I was carrying my set of winter clothes but pretty hot weather greeted me when I stepped out of the Airport at 10.15 AM.

The 2nd largest city in the state of Rajasthan, the blue city of Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Marwar Kingdom.

A very popular tourist destination, given its proximity to the Thar Desert, Jodhpur could be covered in a day but in case you want to experience a desert safari in the neighboring town of Osian, around 70 kms away, one would need 2 days.

Had my cab booked for the day through Jodhpur Taxi Service who gave me a very reasonable deal for a Sedan for Rs.2,000/- .

The deal included a pick up from the airport, sightseeing based on the itinerary I had laid out and a drop back at the bus station from where I was to make my way to Udaipur.

In case you want to avail their services, speak to Pappu Singh at +91 9784840053 or the driver Kanwaraj at +91 78518 18881. The cab arrived sharp at the duly appointed time and we drove onto Umaid Bhawan Palace, located atop the Chittar Hill. Located within a distance of 3 kms from the Airport, this is believed to be one of the largest private residences in the world with around 347 rooms.

The Umaid Bhawan Palace

Spread over a sprawling area of 26 acres of which 15 acres comprise of lush green gardens, the entry to the museum in the Palace costs Rs.60/- per head including the camera.

While a portion of the Palace built by Maharaja Umaid Singh is open for public viewing with a museum detailing the 20^th century history of the Jodhpur Royal family, the Taj group run a well appointed Art deco styled 70 room hotel at the rear end of the palace while a third portion is used by his grandson Gaj Singh.

Built out of golden sandstone over a period of 14 years between 1929 to 1943, this palace was built to help provide employment to the farmers who were affected by famine, said to have been caused by a statement made by a saint that the good rule of the Rathore dynasty would be followed by a drought.

The front façade of the Palace looks very impressive and is a perfect melange of Rajput and Indo Sarcenic architecture and so does the 31 metre high dome shaped hall it opens out into.

There is a lovely fresco adorning the wall depicting the war waged by the Rajputs against the Mughal emperors with the Mehrangarh fort in the backdrop. The museum houses a unique set of clock collections, murals, firearms, paintings, porcelain and glassware, china vases, lamps, curios and many more.

The wedding of Bollywood fame actress Priyanka Chopra with Nic Jonas took place at this very palace and it is believed that their 3 day wedding affair made up for 3 months of the hotel’s revenues.

Was out of Umaid Bhawan in around 45 minutes time and a short drive motoring up the Bhakurcheeria (meaning mountain of birds) hill took me to the ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest forts in Rajasthan. Built around 400 metres above the skyline of the Blue city Jodhpur, this imposing and colossal edifice built with burnished red sandstone stands perpendicular and 100 feet tall above a cliff.

The Mehrangarh Fort

The historical fort of Mehrangarh known for its intricate carvings and expansive courtyards stands tall atop a hillock and is a magnificent structure. It also houses a beautiful museum inside the fort. Legend has it that the fort was built under a curse of a saintly person Cheeria Nath ji (watcher of birds) who was the last standing amongst the people dwelling on the hill who had to forcibly evicted to fulfil the king’s dreams of building the fort on the hill. The King came under a curse that the fort and its surroundings would always suffer from an acute scarcity of water and in a bid to appease the saint, he was asked to bury a person alive while laying the foundation. A person by the name Raja Ram Meghwal volunteered to help out the king in an effort to nullify the curse while the king promised to take care of his family throughout their life. The fort got built over a 5 km area by King Jodha Rao, ruler of Mandore and of the Rathore dynasty in 1459 with an intent of keeping him, his loved ones and the people of the kingdom safe from invaders.

Jodha Rao is also credited to be the founder of the city of Jodhpur. Quite a few of the current existing structures got made in the 17^th century only during the regime of different rulers to commemorate their victories over the Bikaner and Jaipur armies.

The entire structure of the fort was built by walls which were roughly 120 feet long and 70 feet wide and the entrance to the fort had 7 gates starting with the Jai Pol or the Victory Gate which was built by Maharaja Man Singh to celebrate his victory over the Bikaner and Jaipur armies.

The Fateh Pol was built to commemorate the victory over the Mughals in 1707 followed by the Gopal Pol and the Dodh Kangra Pol which still bears the scars of shelling by cannon balls.

The inside of the Fort has some lovely palaces, all done with intricate carvings and ornate designs. Before one reaches the upper level of the fort where one gets to see the palaces, there is the Mehrangarh Museum where one gets to walk through different chambers which have on display, a rich collection of different types of palanquins, 18^th and 19^th century Howdahs (wooden seats placed atop an elephant), arms, Marwar paintings, royal cradles, costumes, Tent Walls and artefacts.

One can see ancient canons atop the fort which were used to guard the fort from enemies.

The top ramparts of the fort offer some breath-taking views of the Blue City. Multiple theories abound about why the buildings are painted blue.

One school of thought states that copper sulphate was added to the lime mixture for painting the houses and under certain conditions, it turns blue. Apart from the blue color being a good reflector the sun’s rays in rendering the houses to be cool, it also more effectively doubles up as a termite repellent. Another school of thought states that the blue pigment used on houses primarily indicated that Brahmins resided there and they were the only people who could afford the copper sulphate lime washes. The blue colour also denoted their proximity to the royal families.

The second theory sounds more wishy washy but nevertheless, gives a great backdrop of a sky blue pattern emerging over a vast expanse of arid area.

A further climb up takes one to the palaces. Once a part of the private apartment of Maharajah Ajit Singh of Marwar, the Sheesh Mahal or the Palace of Mirrors has painted gesso panels depicting Indian Gods and Goddesses.

While the original 18^th century is displayed on the floor, towards the 19^th century, the wooden ceiling and European Glass Chandelier got added.

Next on was the Phool Mahal or the Palace of Flowers which was a magnificent 18^th century chamber and the grandest period room built by Maharajah Abhay Singh and used as a hall of private audience.

The walls are adorned with paintings of the royal kings besides Indian gods. One gets to see stained glass windows and screens and an intricately designed ceiling with a golden sheen.

Adjacent to this place is the bed chamber of Maharaja Takhat Singh which has a lot of lacquer based paintings on the wooden ceiling.

The King being a great patron of arts, the carpet on the floor was also painted and the ceiling to the floor were decorated with a paintings on a wide variety of subjects. The last of the palaces of interest was the Dipak Mahal which served more as an administrative centre.

Apart from a high raise seat where the king sat, there were multiple other seats around where the Diwans or the officials sat. The Fort also houses the Chamunda Devi Temple where the first king Rao Jodha brought the idol of his favorite goddess Chamunda from the original capital Mandore to this fort and built a temple for her.

Huge crowds gather here for worship during the festive Dusshera time.

It is said that in September 2008, a massive stampede occurred at this temple resulting in the loss of lives of over 240 people and injuring over 400.

One can view the Desert Park right from the top of the fort. A trail path through the desert and in the midst of nature is what I could visualize from top but had not energy for a trek of sorts. A fee of Rs.200/- is levied for entry to the Museum.

The fort has also played host as a filming location for many Hollywood and Bollywood movies.

Notable among them being Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and the Thugs of Hindostan starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amir Khan.

It would easily take a couple of hours to go around the fort and soak in the splendour all around.

As one comes out of the fort via the garden area, you would not miss the white robed musicians seated below the trees and mellifluously playing the single stringed folk instrument also known as the Ravan Hatta and a precursor to the violin.

Unmute the video alongside to hear this mellifluous song being played. Remains an all time favorite song of mine from the movie Shor.

From the top of the fort, the cenotaph built in 1899 in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II by his son Maharaja Sardar singh and also known as the Jaswant Thada can be seen.

The Jaswant Thada

It was around 1.30 in the afternoon and the sun was beating down inspite of it being December and I was starved. We still had the Jaswant Thada to cover before we could settle for lunch and we made a quick dash for it. Thankfully it was located very close to the fort. Popularly known as the Taj Mahal of Mewar, this white memorial has a commemorative tomb built in memory of Jaswant Singh and has exquisite carvings in marble. It stands close to a small lake.

This memorial also serves as a cremation ground for the Royal family of Marwar. The cenotaph is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. These sheets are extremely thin and polished which enable them emit a warm glow when lit by the sun. Apart from 3 other cenotaphs, there are a few gazebos to be seen around the complex. Tickets are priced at Rs.30/- apiece. Was out of this complex in around 45 minutes.

Savouring a Jodhpuri Thaali

Lunch was definitely next on the cards the Wanted to try out a Jodhpuri Thali and asked my cab driver to take me around to a good restaurant where I could savour an authentic Rajasthani Thali. We drove down to Baari which was a 5 minute drive from Jaswant Thada. A decent thali with limited portions but quite filling and pretty tasty. It costed me around Rs.299/- .

The Mandore Gardens

Lunch done, we drove down to the Mandore Gardens. Located around 9 KMs from the city of Jodhpur, this place was once the ruling seat of the Pratihara Dynasty of Mandavyapura in the 6^th century AD. Mandore served as the capital of several Jodhpur kings and has also survived multiple invasions from different dynasties including Muslim rulers from the Malwa region and Gujarat.

The Mandore fort with its thick walls stood at one time at this very place and is now in complete ruins. A huge temple now remains as the only remaining highlight of the fort. The Pratiharas formed an alliance with the Rathore Chief Rao Chunda to help defend their chiefdom from the Tughlaq dynasty from Delhi. He was gifted the Mandore fort as dowry for marrying the princess from the Pratihara clan. While he was assassinated in Chittor on account of the power games played by Rana Kumbha, the Mewar chief.

The Rana’s son Rao Jodha managed to flee Mandore with 700 horsemen but suffered huge losses to his small army when purused by the Rana’s men. He had just 7 men left by the time he reached Mandore but sensing that he could be attacked, he hid himself for 15 years and used an opportune moment to recapture Mandore when the Rana was under pressure of attacks from all sides by the Sultans of Gujarat and Malwa. Rao Jodha finally decided to move the capital to Jodhpur where he built the Mehrangarh fort. One cannot miss the army of Langurs roaming around the gardens.

Beautiful Dewals (Chatri shaped Cenotaphs) of different rulers of Jodhpur adorn the gardens. These are built out of red sandstone and are 4 stories tall with an elegantly built spire and fine columns. The most impressive being that of Maharaja Ajit Singh which was built in 1758. These Dewals have been highly influenced by the Hindu temple architecture.

The Garden complex also comprises a Hall of Heroes which has around 15 images of Hindu deities and Rajput heroes carved out on a rock wall. Mandore is believed to be the native place of King Ravan’s wife Mandodari and there is temple within the gardens built for Ravan. Also housed is a temple for 33 crore gods with images of various Hindu deities.

Came out of the Garden complex by around 3.30 and headed for the old city where the Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) and the Toorji Stepwell are located. These were to be my last pit stops.

Had about an hour roughly to complete all this and got dropped by the cab guy near a place called Nai Sarak ( or New Road).

Try out the kachoris at Janta Sweet Home next time you are around in Jodhpur and you would not to stop with just one.

The access to the Nai Sarak and Sardar Markets which are prime shopping areas in Jodhpur and famous for Spices, dresses, tye and dye fabric materials including the famous Bandhini or Banhej is from here. Had to give the shopping a miss cause of paucity of time.

If you want to loosen your purse strings, do take some time out to visit the Tripolia and Sarafa Bazaar where you get to choose from wooden handicrafts, brass items, colourful apparels, metal furniture, marble statues, silver jewellery, and traditional artifacts besides fabrics and antiques.

You also have the Mochi Bazaar for a wide variety of jutis (also known as mojaris) in myriad hues, patterns and range, the Sojati Gate Market and the Kapra Bazaar for traditional fabrics and should you be wanting to buy items for gifting, there are classic antiques available at the Umaid Bhawan Palace Market.

Toorji Ka Jhalra

A 10 minute walk from the Nai Sarak round tana where I had promised my cab guy to meet at sharp 5 PM since I had the 5.30 PM bus to catch, took me past the 4 storey Ghanta Ghar and the well Ornated Sardar Market gates to Toorji ka Jhalra (Step Well). This stepwell was built in 1740 and has since then been restored and intricate red sandstone carvings. A relic of Jodhpur’s architectural history, this stepwell was built by Raani Tawarji, Maharajah Abhay Singh’s Consort and Queen, continuing the age old tradition that Royal women would build public water works. The diamond shaped steps lead one right to the well where the water is believed to be 300 feet deep.

Was not sure of which boarding point to choose when booking my bus tickets to Udaipur and chose the one which was the last exit from the city and which suited me in terms of time.

It turned out to be a god forsaken place near the outskirts of the city on the highway and the cab guy was courteous enough to drop me right at the point from where I was to catch my bus, What followed was an uneventful journey in an air conditioned seater bus which was quite comfortable however. Tickets for the bus journey were Rs.500/- per head and it took us almost 5 hours to reach Udaipur.

Reached Udaipur around 10.30 PM. It was a pleasant wintry night and just as the bus was turning into RK Circle at Udaipur, I could spot my dear friend and college mate, waiting out there with his Innova car. All excited as we were to meet after a 5 year gap. He had insisted that I stay with him since he was all alone at home.

A long lasting legacy of friendship that we treasure besides being co-authors of our college’s Silver Jubilee Yearbook. We were incidentally branch mates also and it was he who goaded me into getting to write about my travel exploits and finally helped design www.jewelsofasia.in.

The customary bear hugs done, got onto his car and headed straight for an outlet of Kabab Mistry located in Hotel Vajru Villa. They were almost on the verge of shutting shop but some gentle persuasion, dropping of some names helped our cause with some decent food and starved indeed we both were. The next day was to be a drive to the Kumbalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Jain temple and we were to have one more of our college mates join us for the journey.

The excitement of meeting up in person after 5 years and so many things to catch up on saw us yapping away into the wee hours of the night before we realized that it was to be an 8 am start the next day and finally crashed at around 1 AM.

Udaipur

We were up and ready by around 7.30 AM and after a couple of rounds of piping hot strong South Indian Filter coffee made at my friend’s house, we headed for breakfast to R.K.Restaurant at R.K.Circle. A very non descript place but some amazing stuff we had.

Between the 3 of us, we helped ourselves to a funny combo of Dhokla + Jalebis + Misal Pav which was a mix of sweet, spicy, bland stuff all rolled into one, piping hot aloo parathas with curd, pickles, sweet and tangy chutneys and Chole and Dahi Sev puri, finally washed down with some excellent ginger tea.

The Kumbalgarh Fort

Finally we hit the roads by around 8.45 AM for Kumbalgarh fort. A solid 2 hour drive for a 85 km distance thanks to the bad stretches of roads besides driving through narrow winding streets through some villages for quite some distance.

The fort at Kumbalgarh is one of the most formidable and scenic forts in India. It is remembered in history as the second largest wall after the Great Wall of China.nAlso known as the Great Wall of India, the fort holds a lot of sentimental significance for the people of Rajasthan as the legendary Mewar King Maharana Pratap was born here. No wonder, this fort is remembered in history as the second largest wall after the Great Wall of China

We reached the entrance of the fort by around 10.45 am. The first views of the fort atop the Western Aravalli hill range as our car turned onto the last bend was breathtaking and majestic.

Built by Rana Kumbha in the 15^th century, this fort is 3,600 feet tall and around 35+ kms long encompassing areas of Udaipur too. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this fort has been witness to many a battle and has 7 fortified gateways.

A number of Jain and Hindu temples are located inside the fort premises symbolizing the religious tolerance displayed by the various Rajput rulers.

The first entry gate of the fort is known as Aaret Pol while Ram Pol forms the main entrance of the fort. Between Ram Pol and Badal Mahal or the Palace of Clouds which can be found right at the top most part of the fort, a few other gates like the Bhairon Pol, Nimboo Pol. Chaugan Pol, Pagda Pol and Ganesh Pol have to be crossed. The Badal Mahal is located at the highest point of the fort and was built by Rana Fateh Singh, the ruler of Mewar in the 19^th century.

The Pols or the Gates

This 2 storeyed palace has separate divisions for the males (Mardana Mahal) and females (Zanana Mahal). It also has some lovely wall frescoes and lattice work windows from where the queens used to watch the proceedings of the court. Tickets are priced at Rs.10/- per head.

A Panoramic view of the fort and its surroundings

We were out of the fort in around 2 hours and headed for Ranakpur where there is an amazing 15th Century Svetambara Jain temple, built out of white marble. This is located around 30 odd kms from the fort. Acclaimed worldwide for its intricate and superb architectural style, these temples designed in the form of a Flying Chariot (Vimana) form one of the 5 major pilgrimage centres for Jains.

This temple was also nominated amongst the top 77 wonders while deciding for the top new 7 wonders of the world. Intricate carvings on the pillars and walls stand out in terms of the exquisiteness of this beautiful temple

The Ranakpur Jain Temple

A 3 storey marvel made completely out of light coloured marble, the temple has 4 different doorways to get into the chambers. While the temple complex is spread across 48,000 square feet, there are 1,444 beautifully carved pillars and it believed that no 2 pillars are identical. The temple has 29 halls and eighty domes. It is said that the temple does not have any artificial lighting system and is completely illuminated by the light of the sun and takes on different shades during different times of the day.

Its also understood that the temple has 84 underground chambers constructed to protect the Jain idols from the Mughals. Carved out of a single marble slab, an idol of Parshvanatha stands out for its beauty.

There are also the distinctive domes, the shikhara, the turrets, cupolas, the pillars and the ceilings which have been so very beautifully designed that one can stand for hours admiring this wonderful work of architecture.

Built by a local Jain businessman Dharana Shah after being donated land by the Rajput King Rana Kumbha, this temple dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabhanatha and honours Adinath who was the first Tirthankar. The Chaumakha or the 4 faced temple houses Adinath and besides this and the Parsavanatha temple, there are shrines for the Sun god and the 22^nd saint Neminath. While the entry is free and only if one carries a camera is a fee of Rs100/- levied, one can photograph almost every minute detail of the carvings of the temple except the idols.

The Fateh Bagh Restaurant

It was around 2 by the time we completed the tour of this temple and hunger pangs had begun to set in. A 4 km drive took us to the Fateh Bagh restaurant, run by the HRH group of hotels.

As one enters the hotel, you get a feeling of being transported back to the 18^th century.

The period furniture, ethnic décor and the imposing square shaped walls and majestic arches open out through a nice courtyard into the restaurant.

The property has some nice orchards and a lovely swimming pool and could be explored for a quick getaway if one wanted to see the Kumbalgarh fort and wildlife sanctuary besides the Ranakpur temple.

The restaurant served some finger licking food.

By around 3.15 PM, we started our drive back to Udaipur. The roads were pretty good and we were in Udaipur by around 6 PM, stopping by for a few customary tea breaks.

Udaipur

Udaipur also known as the City of Lakes is an incredibly beautiful city, dotted with palaces, havelis (mansions), gardens and some ancient temples. Formerly serving as the capital of the Kingdom of Mewar, the Venice of the East as what Udaipur is popularly known as has much to offer for the discerning tourist. The placid blue waters of the lakes against the stunning green backdrop of the Aravalli mountain ranges, a boat ride on a lake which takes one to a historical palace located right in the midst of the lake, beautifully architected temples with so much of history written all over, a majestic City palace with some beautiful collections of artefacts, paintings, armoury and collectibles all make for a truly memorable experience.

We had our tickets booked for the Dharohar Dance show held at the 18^th century Bagore Ki Haveli. Considering that parking would be a serious challenge in the vicinity of the place, we headed for the show a little early and got into a parking slot, not very far off from the Haveli.

Bagore Ki Haveli

This place is located on the banks of the Pichola Lake in Gangori Ghat in the old city area and was built by the Prime Minister of Mewar, Amar Chand Badwa.

The Bagore ki Haveli has around 138 rooms, an expansive courtyard, numerous corridors, balconies and terraces.

The terrace which offers some spectacular views of the lake and the surrounding city. A nice museum also exists within the complex where one gets to walk through the entire Haveli, see the recreation and bed rooms, private chambers of the ladies, the guest rooms, the lobbies and the terrace which offers some spectacular views of the lake and the surrounding city.

The walls of these rooms carry murals and ancient paintings while the rooms are done up to represent olden day beds with royal looking curtains.

There are also sections within the Haveli for puppets, a huge collection of turbans, weapons and armoury and a wedding section, replete with all stages of the wedding depicted through dolls and puppets.

The Dharohar Dance show starts sharp at 7 pm and depending on the crowd influx, the organizers do a second show at 8 PM also.

A native woman attired in the traditional Rajasthani costumes does the compering, explaining each of the dances while traditional folk artistes and dancers regale the crowd with a wide variety of folk dances. The program starts off with live tunes being played by musicians and the performers dance to these tunes while balancing pots on their bare heads. This is known as the Chari Dance.

This is then followed by the Tehra Taal Dance which brings out the concentration and co-ordination of the dancers as they are required to play the 13 bells tied to their hands, legs and waist in accordance to the music while also holding a sharp knife in their mouth and balancing the brass pots on their head as one of the steps in the dance.

A routine break from the dance programs takes one through an interesting Rajasthani Puppet Show, done more to enthral the kids who are also invited on stage.

The person pulling the strings is so very adept in channelising the movements of these puppets including their dancing, sitting down, standing up and running around that it easily accounts for being one of the crowd pullers.

The Gorbandh Dance which follows has these performers dancing in gay abandon, reminiscent of their carefree childhood while adorned with heavy ornaments and jewellery which are used to bedeck camels.

The Bhavani dance requires a real level of skilling from the dancer since it is absolutely not easy to dance on shards of glass pieces.

Check the dance in this Youtube link created : https://youtu.be/5WSEDGMbZrM

The Tehri Taal dance requires the dancers to be in perfect unison with the movement of their hands, legs and wait to the accompaniment of the 13 bells tied on to them, besides balancing pots on their head. Check the dance in this Youtube link created :

https://youtu.be/wt4LfDCpBco. Next on show is the famous Ghoomar Dance, more popularised in the movie Padmavat where we have some very skilled women, dancing in circles with each other and done very gracefully. The program concludes with the Bhavani Dance where the dancers perform on broken glass pieces while also balancing earthen pots on their heads and which they do with increasing difficulty by starting off with 3 pots and slowly increasing the count up to 13. A trip to Udaipur would remain incomplete if not witnessing this spectacular show, so very vibrant and true to the culture of Rajasthan. While the tickets are priced at Rs.100/- per head, it definitely gives its money’s worth.

The Fateh Sagar Lake

The next day was to mark our College Mini Re-union post noon onwards and another hectic day of squeezing in some more sights of Udaipur awaited me. Post the Dharohar program, we had a couple more of our college mates who had just flown into Udaipur that evening, join us for dinner. Was up early the next day and and cycled along with my friend to the Fateh Sagar Lake. An artificial lake named after Maharana Fateh Singh of Mewar and Udaipur, this is one among the 4 major lakes of the city, the others being Pichola, Udai Sagar and Jaisamand Lakes. The backdrop of the green Moti Magri hill and the Aravalli Hills on the other side coupled with the blue waters of the Fateh Sagar lake has given Udaipur the sobriquet of The Second Kashmir. The confines of the lake host 3 small islands. The largest of this houses the Nehru Park while the second island has a public park with an impressive water jet fountain. The Udaipur Solar Observatory is housed within the 3^rd island and is supposedly inspired by the Big Lake Observatory in California. There are options of enjoying a boat ride here at Fateh Sagar Lake. A couple of rounds around the lake and we were back to his house by around 7.

The Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace

After a quick freshening up and some home made breakfast, we started off for the Sajjangarh Hilltop Monsoon Palace. Built in the year 1884 by Maharana Sajjan Singh to serve as his palatial residence, the views from the top of the city, the lakes and the surroundings are amazing. Since it was built to also see and track the Monsoon clouds, it derives its title from this as being known as the Monsoon Palace. Originally, envisaged to be a 5 storey Astronomical centre, the Maharana’s premature death at a very young age of 26, brought about a change in plans and this was converted into a hunting lodge and palace.

Quite a few portions of the James Bond movie Octopussy made in 1983 was shot in Udaipur and the Sajjangarh Palace was used in the film as the residence of an Afghan exiled prince Kamal Khan (played by louis Jourdan). The scenes of a tiger hunt, mounted on elephants and Roger Moore escaping from the palace and being pursued into the jungle were all shot here.

Built with white marble, the palace is located on the Bansdara peak of the Aravalli mountains which is around 3000 feet above mean sea level. The Palace overlooks Lake Pichola on the Western side while one gets to see some breath taking views of the city from atop the hill. While there is a grand central court with a staircase inside the palace, the entire structure is built on marble pillars, carved with lovely motifs of flowers and leaves. Each of the towers have high turrets and the palace comes aglow in the night with the palace being illuminated. There is an entry fee of Rs.10/- per head levied.

We came out of the palace in around 30 minutes time and I got dropped at the City Palace by around 9.45 AM while my friend left to get his things packed for the stay at the resort where we had planned our reunion and also pick up a few friends who were landing a little later. I was soon joined by a couple of my college mates who were also keen on seeing the City Palace and since we had done the booking of the entrance tickets online at Rs.300/- each, we headed straightaway for the entrance, thereby avoiding the serpentine queues which were beginning to form. We hired a guide at the entrance for Rs.500/- for the 3 of us as that would have been the only appropriate way to understand the history of the palace.

The City Palace

Located on the banks of Lake Pichola, the construction of this palace started in 1553 under the reign of Maharana Udai Singh II when they decided to shift the capital from Chittor to Udaipur.

The Palace underwent lot of enhancements over a period of 400 years and by over 22 rulers. Since it served as the Administrative complex of the Maharanas of Mewar, it assumed great historical importance.

Since the Palace underwent lot of changes over a 400 year period, it perfectly blended Medieval, European and Chinese architecture.

There are over 11 smaller palaces and other structures homogeneously built in this complex which stand behind a 100 feet high wall and 800 feet façade built all along the ridge of Lake Pichola.

The Royal Courtyard or the Rai Angan was the first royal structure built at the beginning of the City Palace Complex building. After Udai Singh’s death in 1572, his son Maharana Pratap Singh took over Udaipur. He however lost the battle of Haldighati to the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1576 and the Mughals wrested the control of Udaipur.

After Akbar’s death, his son Jahangir handed over Mewar to Maharana Pratap Singh’s son Amar Singh I but Udaipur fell once again to the Maratha kings in the year 1761. The then king Bhim Singh finally sought help from the British and signed a treaty with him for protection as a result of which the Mewar Kingdom and other princely states of Rajasthan got merged with democratic India while the Mewar kings lost their Royal privileges in the bargain. The successive Maharanas however retained ownership of these palaces and quite a few parts of the palace complex got converted to Heritage Hotels.

While the entire palace is built out of Marble and Granite, what is noteworthy is that the interiors of the complex are as beautiful as the exterior. The intricate mirror work, murals, wall paintings, stained coloured glasses adorning the balconies, the Silver and inlay work, the cupolas and towers are definitely worth a mention. The terraces which open out in the upper part of the Palace complex offer a lovely view of the Pichola lake and the city. An interesting aspect of the construction of the chowks and corridors within the palace is that they are built in zig zag fashion to evade any surprise attacks from enemies including some parts of the complex where false doors have been erected.

The entry to the City Palace Complex is through the main Tripolia or the Triple Gate via the Badi Pol or the Great Gate,

There are however quite a few noteworthy structures inside the complex such as the Suraj Gokhda or the public address façade, the Mor Chowk or the peacock courtyard, the Dilkhush Mahal, the Surya Chopar, the Sheesh Mahal, the Moti Mahal, the Krishna Vilas, the Shambu Niwas, the Bhim Vilas, Amar Vilas, the Badi Mahal, the Fateh Prakash Palace and the Shiv Niwas Palace.

The 2 gates, the Badi Pol and the Tripola are beautifully aligned with 8 marble arches or Toranas and legend has it that the Maharanas used to weigh themselves against gold and silver here and later distribute it amongst the local people.

The entry through the Toran Pol leads one to an arena where elephant fights used to be held in the past. Across the Triploa, there is another gate known as the Hathi Pol or the Elephant Gate.

The wall murals, paintings and especially those of the Haldighati battle, the armoury worn by the Mewar kings and their weapons, the palace built with mirrors and glasses in different hues better known as the Sheesh Mahal stand and a raised alcove with mirror glass work with a Sun Face emblem on the façade of Manak Chowk, representing the Sun God worshipped by the Maharanas stand out. There is also a cage on display which was used to house carrier pigeons.

The Peacock square or the Mor Chowk built during Maharaja Sajjan Singh’s rule and has three peacocks depicting the three seasons – summer, winter and monsoon.

These are crafted with around 5000 glass pieces glowing brightly in green, blue and gold colours and magnificently adorn the courtyard walls.

The Main palace in the complex, also known as the Great Palace (Badi Mahal) or the Garden Palace its on a 89 feet high rock formation and houses a swimming pool which was used for Holi celebrations in the past.

It also has a hall which exhibits miniature paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Parts of the James Bond movie Octopussy and the Ranveer Singh Starrer Bollywood movie Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela were shot in the City Palace.

If the palace were to be seen leisurely, it would definitely take one 3 to 4 hours at least as there is so much to read and learn about but thankfully with our guide in hand, we were able to fast track the same and complete the tour of the palace in a little over an hour.

The Jagdish Temple

Adjacent to the Palace was the Jagdish temple which was our next pit stop. A 3 storey iconic Hindu temple hand crafted in Indo Aryan style with stone and with a steeple 79 feet high, this is supposedly Udaipur’s largest temple.

Originally called the temple of Jagannath Rai and currently known as Jagdish ji, this temple was completed in 1651 at a cost of 15 lakh rupees by Maharana Jagat Singh who ruled Udaipur between 1628 to 1653.

This is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu and has his mount Garuda (half man and half eagle) crafted in brass at the front of the temple to signify that the gates are being guarded by him. A climb of 32 marble steps leads one to the main shrine where one gets to see a 4 armed image of Lord Vishnu.

There is also a statue of Lord Jagannath, carved out of a single black stone. The summit of the main temple is adorned with statues of musicians, dancers, horsemen and elephants and are so elegantly carved in marble. The entry to the temple is free.

We came out of the temple by around noon and since we still had some time on our hands, we decided to do the boat ride to Jagmandir Palace.

The Jagmandir Palace

Also known as the Lake Garden Palace, the Jagmandir palace is located on an island on Lake Pichola and from far looks like a beautiful white floating structure, right in the Southern side of the lake. Adjacent to the City Palace is the Bansi Ghat Jetty from where one can take boats to reach this palace. Tickets are priced at Rs.400/- per head. Three Maharanas of the Mewar Kingdom are credited with the construction of the Palace which started in 1551 by Maharana Amar Singh. His work was continued by Mahanarana Karan Singh who served between 1620 to 1628 and finally completed by Maharana Jagat Singh who rued between 1628 to 1652.

The Palace derives its name of Jagat Mandir from the name of the last Maharana. While the Palace was used as a summer resort and pleasure place for hosting parties, it did also serve as a refugee to asylum seekers during the Sepoy Mutiny revolt in 1857 when lot of European families from Neemuch area were sheltered here by Maharana Swaroop Singh.

The short boat ride to the palace offers on view some fantastic visuals of buildings across the periphery of the lake. As one reaches the alighting point, one cannot miss the carved statues of elephants.

The 3 storied palace has the HRH group of hotels operating from here while part of the Palace is open for public viewing. The Gul Mahal built in 1551 as the first structure in the palace was further developed by Maharana Jagat Singh and later served as a refuge for the Mughal Price Khurram, also known as Shah Jahan.

The palace was built out of yellow sandstone with an imposing dome and has a crescent of Islam fixed atop this dome. There are 3 circular domed chambers, one above the other and the entry to these is through a columned hall.

This palace is a perfect amalgam of Rajput and Mughal architecture.

The Main palace Jag Mandir has octagonal towers which are topped with Cupolas. One gets to see a labyrinth of internal courts, residential suites and reception halls built inside the Palace.

Adjoining the Palace is the Zenana which served as the residence of the royal ladies. There is a nice garden courtyard built with black and white tiles, all replete with fountains and water pools.

One gets to see a wide variety of bushes and colourful flowering plants and trees ranging from the bougainvillea, jasmine, the frangipani and many more.

The photoshoots done, we headed back to Royal Retreat resort which was to be our hangout for the next 2 days along with a whole bunch of over 25 batch mates joining us.

The Royal Retreat Resort & Spa, located on the Badi Hawala road turned out to be a great find for us. With over 100 well appointed rooms spread across acres of lush green vegetation, this lovely property, set against the backdrop of the Aravalli hill ranges has their rooms royally personified with Rajasthan’s art and craft. The rooms are decorated with rare artefacts from the owner’s collections and the property has 3 swimming pools, well connected through walkaways. The spread of food across the couple of days was just amazing.

Though we did curate the menu with whatever knowledge we had of the items to choose from, none of the dishes let us down. 2 days of real fun, camaraderie, singing, chatting almost through the nights, the FIFA World cup finals and a gastronomical adventure brought us finally to Monday when we had to bid goodbye to each other with a promise to keep doing this mini reunions at least once in a year lest we begin to miss the sequenced ones of the 5 or 10 years stuff coz of the planning involved.

5.30 A.M on a Sunday – With all the food gorged on last night, woke up to a very heavy feeling. Was up early and decided to head for a run. Though Sundays are dedicated for my long 2 hour slow runs, could not get myself into the right frame of mind for a long run and instead decided to go for a short run of around 6 to 8 Kms. It was nippy in the air and took me almost a km and a half to get warmed up post which the run became more comfortable. Headed for the Bari Talab or Bari Lake which was around 3.5 kms from the resort. The Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary is located close by.

Sunday at the Fateh Sagar Lake and Hathipole Market

The evening was relatively quieter compared to the previous night but we livened up the proceedings with some bit of singing and post a sumptuous dinner, we retired.

The next day was to be our checkout from the resort. A few had decided to stay back extend their tour into other parts of Rajasthan while some were headed back home. I had Chittorgarh on the radar post which there was an evening flight to catch back home to Chennai.

A 2 hours drive brought us to this magnificent fort, built atop a 180 metre high hill and spread over 700 acres of land.

Located in the city of Chittorgarh, this is one of India’s largest forts, witness to a tumultuous past being witness to many battles between 1303 to 1568.

The Fort is reminiscent of the Rajputana valour, pride, loyalty and sacrifice and is known for its architectural beauty.

This was believed to have been originally built by the Maurya Dynasty in the 7^th Century CE.

Chittorgarh

In the year 1303, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the Khilji dynasty, Alauddin Khilji was smitten by the beauty of Rani Padmavati, the Queen of Mewar and Rana Ratan Singh’s wife and wanted to abduct and marry her.

To safeguard her honour, the queen along with other women committed mass Jauhar (self immolation). The anniversary of this Jauhar is celebrated every year through a Jauhar Mela or fair. The fort was won back by the Rajputs after a few years by Rana Hammir Singh and continued its legacy but became more prominent again during the rule of Rana Kumbha and Rana Sanga.

The fort suffered another attack in 1535 by King Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat who was finally driven away by Emperor Jahangir who restored the fort back to the Rajput rulers. The Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fort in 1567-68 and later on, as part of a peace treaty between his son Jahangir and the Maharana of Mewar Amar Singh I, while Mewar came under Mughal supremacy, the fort and surrounding areas of Chittor were given to Mewar in 1616.The British Empire later annexed the fort and refurbished it in 1905. The Fort is also associated with Meera Bai, a poetess and Rajput princess who devoted her life to Lord Krishna and had stayed in this fort. There is a temple within the precincts of the fort, devoted to her with a small shrine. The pinnacle of the temple is pyramidal in shape and built in Indo Aryan architectural style.

Another temple built in the 8^th century for the Sun God and later converted as a temple for Goddess Kali is very popular within the fort premises and people come here in large number during the Navratri time to worship.

A huge 9 storey tower, the Vijay Stambh or the Victory Tower stands out in terms of its design and was built by Maharana Kumbha to celebrate his victory over the Gujarat and Malwa rulers in 1440. Standing on a 10 feet high base, the tower is around 122 feet high and is filled with sculptures and carvings on the exterior walls.

A steep flight of 157 steps takes one to the top of the tower from where there are some excellent views on offer. The inside walls have carvings of weapons and Gods.

There is another 7 storey 72 feet tall structure known as the Kiri Stambh or the Tower of Fame within the fort complex, built in the 12^th Century CE and dedicated to the first Thirthankara of Jainism Rishabha.

This tower was built by a merchant and decorated within figures from the Jain pantheon.

The 4 corners of the tower have idols of Shri Adinath ji engraved which are about 5 feet high.

Close to the Vijay Stambh, lies the Palace of Rana Kumbha which is more or less in ruins. This is also the birthplace of Maharana Udai Singh, the founder of Udaipur. The Maharana escaped an assassination to his life by Banbir at a very tender age when his maid Panna Dai replaced her son in place of the prince only to lose him while she escaped with the Maharana in a fruit basket. This was the very same palace where Rani Meera Bai lived and also the site where Rani Padmini committed Jauhar along with the other ladies in one of the underground cellars.

The Palace of Rani Padmini is surrounded by a water moat and is located in the Southern part of the fort and is a reconstructed 3 storied white building.

We were out of the fort by around 1.30 pm and headed back to Udaipur. Enroute we stopped by for lunch at one of the wayside Dhabas and helped ourselves to some well made Dal Bati Churma. Got dropped at Udaipur Airport as I had the evening flight to catch back to Chennai.

A good fun filled 5 day trip came to an end. Lots of travel, sightseeing, catching up with college mates and good fun marked the end of our trip and an uneventful hop flight via Mumbai brought me to Chennai in the early hours of Tuesday, the 20^th of December.