A TOURIST'S MISCELLANY
(By Subbaram Danda)
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| The front view of the memorial in Jaswant Thada |
Apart from the Mehrangarh fort (the
Citadel of the Sun), Jodhpur in Rajasthan has several other tourist attractions. They may not be as great as the fort but they
do have their own unique charm, as my wife and I found out during our tour of
the city in March 2015.
Jaswant Thada
One of them is Jaswant
Thada, a beautifully landscaped complex housing a royal memorial and several cenotaphs. Named after Maharaja Jaswant Singh II of the
former princely state of Marwar, it was conceived and developed by his son
Maharaja Sardar Singh.
The grand complex, artistically planned
with lawns, pathways and flower plants, is situated about one kilometre
downhill from the Mehrangarh fort. The all-marble
memorial, completed in 1906, has a dazzling tower, ornate columns and well-designed
corridors that captivate every visitor. Often
it is described as the “Taj Mahal of Marwar.” Inside the memorial there are portraits of the
successive rulers of Marwar and a complete genealogical table of the royal
family. The cenotaphs, also built in marble, are
flat-roofed. They are of Jaswant Singh,
four other kings and two queens.
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| Entrance to Jaswant Thada |
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| Close-up of the memorial |
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| Interior of the memorial |
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| Some cenotaphs |
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| The memorial seen from another angle |
Umaid
Bhawan Palace
Another place of interest for tourists
is a palace sprawling over 26 acres on a high terrain built by Maharaja Umaid
Singh between 1929 and 1942. Called
Umaid Bhawan Palace, it also resembles the Taj Mahal. It is said to be the only palace to have been
constructed in the 20th century.
One of its special features is that it was erected with hand-chiselled
sandstone blocks put in place through an interlocking system eliminating the
use of binding mortar. The imposing
central dome of the palace rising to a height of 170 feet has a whispering
gallery underneath.
The history of construction of this
palace is fascinating. It was taken up
as a famine-relief project to provide jobs to many poor people. A special railway line had to be laid for a
length of 10 kms to transport sandstone to the site. A workforce of about 3,000 toiled for 15
years to complete it.
Unfortunately, general visitors will not be able to appreciate this “spectacular palace”
fully. A residence for the royal
descendants and a luxury hotel have together taken up a large portion of the
palace and so that space is out of bounds for ordinary tourists. Worse, even a vast chunk of the garden in the
front has been cordoned off.
However, open to the
public is a museum in a relatively small area that displays royal
portraits, artefacts, weapons, clocks, crockery, models of aeroplanes and
hunting trophies. We completed going
round this area in less than half an hour.
Within the compound, in an enclosed area away from the palace, one can
see a display of vintage cars.
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| The façade of the Umaid Bhawan Palace |
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| The 170-foot high central dome of the palace |
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| A garden in the front |
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| The vaulted roof of an interior hall |
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| An open courtyard |
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| The entrance to the luxury hotel |
The Mandore Garden
Further,
tourists can explore Mandore, a town located eight kilometres north of Jodhpur.
It was the capital of Marwar before it was shifted to Jodhpur. Inside a vast garden in the town there are
several red sandstone memorials and cenotaphs of many past rulers. Most of them are in good condition and they
stand out. The memorials resemble
temples, as the kings of those days were regarded as divine beings. The cenotaphs look like cupolas on
pillars. From the gate one has to walk
some distance to reach the point of these temples. Monkeys provide company to the visitors!
Another
attraction in the garden is “The Hall of Heroes.” Sixteen gigantic figures of Hindu deities and
folklore chieftains can be seen chiselled one after another horizontally on the
side of a cliff. They have been painted
in bright colours or in white.
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| A temple-like memorial for a Marwar king |
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| Another memorial designed differently |
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| A multi-tiered memorial with a cenotaph |
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| Interior of a memorial |
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| Sculptures on pillars and walls of a memorial |
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| A long-shot of "The Hall of Heroes" on a cliff side |
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| Close-up of sculptures in "The Hall of Heroes" |
With a
few more attractions, Jodhpur is a variegated treasure-house for history buffs
and archaeologists. Photo opportunities
are, of course, aplenty. (Ends)
May 30, 2015
