Bewitching Udaipur

Stairway to Divine Bliss?

Majestic Abode of Lord Jagdish

     Our wander-lust takes us to several exotic places.  One such place was Udaipur, renowned as the Lake City and the City of Palaces. It was founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559 and is known as the ‘Venice of the East.’ Indeed, it abounds in the beauty of vast, natural lakes like Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar; and historical marvels.

      

    Firstly, we paid a visit to the Jagdish temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was constructed by Maharana Jagat Singh 1^st in 1651 A.D. It’s a marvelous marble edifice with meticulous carvings on its exteriors and interiors. The temple can be accessed through a flight of around 25 steps and has huge marble elephants standing guard outside.  Smaller temples dedicated to Lords Shiva and Ganesh stand in the marble-tiled courtyard of the temple.  We participated in the morning aarti. 

    

Lost childhood!

    Interestingly, each male devotee can offer seva to the deity by fanning the idol with a bushy fan with a silver handle.  My husband also participated enthusiastically and reverently. 

      

   

   We were shocked to see a small girl, her face painted chalk-white, with a long side-plait and traditional attire, sitting motionless on the first step of the temple.  She sat there throughout the day like a statue and watched with forlorn, starving eyes, as sympathetic devotees dropped a coin into the plate in front of her.  She exemplified a childhood lost in the commerce of life. 
    A variety of puppets, to be used as wall decorations, and other artifacts were on display in the shops near the temple.

      Then we walked to the City Palace, better known as the Lake Palace, as it’s built beside a lake, built by Maharana Uday Singh, in 1559.  The sheer dimensions of that palace’s complex were breath-taking.  A sloping wide road leads to the main structure.  A vast parking lot with landscaped lawns draws attention, before we enter the rather narrow entrance to the palace.  The royal insignia of the erstwhile rulers of Udaipur is mounted over the entrance.  It shows a flaming sun, as the rulers claimed to be descendants of the Sun Gods. Since ‘Uday’ means rise, this emblem of sunrise was apt, I thought.

Regal Splendor - City Palace

The Entrance to a Slice of History!

 Several priceless antique weapons, ammunition, paintings, furniture, textiles etc. were displayed on the various floors of the palace.  The colorful inlay work, stained glass and carved arches were splendid.  The whole city could be seen, panoramically spread out, for miles around, from the topmost portions of the fort.  The landscaped garden jutting into the lake could be seen through the huge windows. 

      

Priceless Heritage!

Aesthetic Backdrop!

      We spotted a century-old, huge, hand-painted Lord Ganesh’s painting on the wall, as we exited the fort.  It had been recently restored to its former glory.  We clicked snaps in front of the compound walls painted with life-sized Rajasthani paintings of warriors on elephants and dolis. 

    Then we had lunch at a nearby restaurant and walked through narrow alleys lined with curio shops, to reach the Pichola lake where tourists had lined up for boating. A launch will take you to the Jagmandir Island Palace which has been converted into a 5-star hotel. The lake’s waters glistened in the afternoon sun.  Beside it was the City Palace Museum. Too tired to explore it, we skipped it and walked back to our guest house.  En route, I bought a unique post-card painted with a standing Lord Ganesh, in bright colors and gold ornamentation.

       

    I quizzed the proprietor of the store, a talented and dynamic lady who painted these exquisite paintings of various deities, on papers of various sizes and sold them to the eager foreign tourists.  She informed me that the ones painted on original, old, used post-cards sold like hot-cakes for their novelty.  She took around 2 to 10 hours, or even several days, to paint her art pieces depending on their size.  The paints were special dyes.  We appreciated her painstaking work and went our way. 

The Sculptor of the Divine Lord Ganesh

      We also chatted up a middle-aged Gujarati sculptor who was chiseling exquisite, smooth figurines of Lord Ganesh.  He sourced the expensive stones from quarry owners and made impeccable figures of the Lord in various postures.  I bought 2 small ones, one in black and the other in brown, for my collection. 

         

       The next day, we went by rickshaw to Fateh sagar lake, Maharana Pratap Smarak and a spacious museum devoted to paintings of Udaipur’s erstwhile rulers.  

      

The Serene Waters of the vast Fateh Sagar Lake

      The vast lake ringed by mountains, has an island containing a garden and Asia’s only Solar Observatory, the Udaipur Solar Observatory; which can be reached by a launch-boat. Recently, on 4th August, 2015, a Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST), became operational there.The Smarak is located on a hillock which can be reached by battery-operated vehicles. We of course, trekked uphill, savoring the panoramic view and were awe-struck by the huge bronze statue of Maharana Pratap, astride his favorite, loyal horse, Chetak. This memorial commemorates the Battle of Haldighati.     

    

    In the late afternoon, we visited Saheliyon-ki-Badi, a small enchanting ‘cooling resort’ for the ladies of the royal entourage of the Princess of Udaipur; in the hot summers. Its USP is the central tank, a lotus pool, fed with water by a perennial underground water-source; that has marble pavilions and elephant-shaped fountains all around it. Even as one enters the central compound, it takes just a clap of one’s hands, to get the fountains sprinkling thin jets of water on the unsuspecting, delighted tourists.

      

  

Saheliyon ki Badi - The Unique Summer Resort!

    A small Science Museum nearby has rock specimens, scientific instruments, etc.

     

   Later, we visited the Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal which houses a museum of puppets and folk arts. We enjoyed a puppet show there. The dancing puppets mesmerized the small audience, with various back-drops and scenarios. A puppet which resembled a female on one side and a male on the other; was expertly handled by the puppeteer who made it dance wildly, round and round. After the riveting show, the puppeteer popped out of the stage, literally dropping from above, with a single puppet and bowed to the audience. He demonstrated the real technique of maneuvering it and amazed us with his dexterity. Every one of us gave him a small token amount, in appreciation; and clicked snaps alongside him and his puppet.

    

You better behave, as I'm your Master!

     The next day, we went for a whirlwind sight-seeing trip. We saw the famed Haldighati, with its turmeric-yellow soil, the Maharana Pratap Museum with tableaus on the life and times of this Marwar ruler, (we bought rose attar, manufactured there in a quaint contraption), the Chetak Samadhi, dedicated to his loyal horse who sacrificed his life for him in the Battle of Haldighati, after saving his life; Nathadwara’s Lord Krishna’s temple, where the deity is adorned and worshipped throughout the day, at regular intervals as per the various stages of his life, like childhood, teenage, adulthood, etc. and the Eklingji Lord Shiva’s temple.

      

  

 Sukhadiya Circle Garden's Majestic Fountain

    The following day, we visited the garden at Sukhadiya Circle, which has a huge fountain, well-manicured lawns and huge trees. Paddle-boats are a highlight here.

   

   Though we longed to extend our stay in Udaipur, we had to fondly bid adieu to this bewitching city.

******************************************************************************
The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan. 

This travelogue has been published in the Plus Eight Edition of Sakaal Times, dated 30th August, 2015.