Saturday 13 June 2015

UDAIPUR'S COLOURFUL ATTRACTIONS



THE DIARY OF A TOURIST
(By Subbaram Danda)


A traditionally caparisoned white Mewar steed

Udaipur offers to tourists a colourful mosaic of attractions, besides an exhilarating boat ride on the placed waters of Lake Pichola and a unique opportunity to stay in exquisite palaces-turned luxury hotels.  It provides a rare insight into the lifestyles of the kings of the former princely state of Mewar, now a part of the state of Rajasthan, and the cultural background of its people over the centuries.

City Palace

One major attraction is the City Palace, an enormous white edifice that stretches along the waterfront of the lake.   It encompasses several mansions, courtyards, pavilions, terraces, corridors and halls built over a period of more than three hundred years by successive rulers of Mewar. 

A significant portion of the palace has been converted into a museum, which is what the tourists mostly see today.   In the course of our Rajasthan tour in March 2015, my wife and I spent more than two hours going round it, accompanied by an official guide. 

At the entrance, a huge masonry arch with three large portals greets visitors to the City Palace.  Once through it, we entered the museum.  Inside, on a wall we found a large mural of an elephant charging in a battle field.    Then on we had to wend our way through a labyrinth of pathways and stairwells.

An arch with three portals

Entrance to the City Palace Museum

A mural of a charging elephant
    
Some sights in the palace were fascinating.  The Sheesh Mahal (The Mansion of Mirrors) had reflectors, glass panes and glazed tiles all over its walls and the ceiling in a colourful scheme.  Similarly, a large room used for royal dining displayed a comparable décor.  On the wall of a hall a huge ornamental artwork portraying Sun God glistened gorgeously.  

Sheesh Mahal (The Hall of Mirrors)

Royal dining hall

An ornately crafted image of Sun God

A narrow staircase had on both its side-walls neatly-plastered glazed tiles with floral designs.  Interestingly, it had vertical metallic grab bars at intervals, in addition to regular ones.  At the Mor Chowk (The Peacock Square) we could see artworks on buildings reflecting the peacock theme.  From a courtyard overlooking Lake Pichola, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the “Floating Palace” – the Lake Palace on an island in the lake.  

A staircase with vertical hand-grabs

A building in the Peacock Square

The "Floating Palace" as seen from the City Palace

Among the museum’s collections were old weapons, paintings, artifacts, sculptures, royal paraphernalia and models of animals that served the rulers.    Of interest were a gold-plated howda (seat for a ride on an elephant), a palanquin, a horse-drawn carriage, a model of a caparisoned white horse ready to participate in an official procession and an all- silver cradle for royal children.    

A gold-plated seat for use during elephant rides

Another artistically crafted seat for royal rides

A horse-drawn carriage used by the royalty

An all-silver cradle for royal babies
Chetak

The cynosure of all eyes was, undoubtedly, the life-size model of Rana Pratap Singh’s gallant white steed Chetak.  Its exploits are legendary.  We were told that the horse displayed its incredible valour and loyalty in a battle fought in 1576 against the forces of the Mughal emperor Akbar at Haldighati about 40 km from Udaipur.  Wearing a long mask that resembled the trunk of an elephant, it carried its master Rana Pratap on its back and charged forward.  The mask on a fast-moving horse was intended to confuse the enemy elephants.

CHETAK, the loyal white steed of Rana Pratap Singh.  See the
long mask of an elephant trunk attached to its mouth.

When the Rana decided to take on elephant-riding Man Singh, a Rajput vassal of Akbar and commander of the Mughal forces, Chetak pounced on the elephant and pounded its head with its forelegs to immobilize it.  The Rana threw his lance at Man Singh but he ducked and avoided it.  In turn he threw a sword at Chetak and succeeded in badly injuring its right rear leg.  As enemy forces tried to surround it, the horse galloped out of the battle field on its three legs carrying Rana Prathap and ran for more than five kilometres, saving its master.  Finally on the banks of a stream it collapsed.   At this spot stands a memorial erected by the grateful Maharana for his truly loyal horse.

No tourist can afford to miss the City Palace. 

The Jagdish Temple

A prominent place of worship in Udaipur is Jagdish temple, an architectural splendour dedicated to Lord Jagannath, an avatar of Lord Mahavishnu of the Hindu pantheon of Gods.  The presiding deity is the same as in the famous Jagannath temple at Puri in the state of Orissa.  We saw a large number of people, including many foreigners, visiting the Udaipur shrine. 

The exterior view of the Jagdish Temple

The temple is located close to the main entrance of the City Palace.  Built in 1615 by Maharana Jagat Singh I on a hillock, it can be reached by climbing a flight of 32 steep steps.  The stairway is flanked at the top by a pair of massive elephant statues with their trunks raised in a greeting fashion. The temple rises majestically in tiers with its main tower soaring high at the rear.  All the external walls and the plinth are replete with exquisite bas reliefs of elephants, horses, alligators, musicians, dancers and celestial nymphs.  They are well-preserved.  Inside, ornate halls, carved pillars and painted walls cast a mystic spell on the visitors.  

The temple rises majestically in tiers

Tastefully carved sculptures on the walls of the temple

Another set of sculptures

The sanctum enshrines a magnificent four armed black marble statue of Lord Jagannath in the standing posture.  There are also idols of Lord Krishna and Goddess Mahalakshmi.   During the times of worship, sacred chants and chimes of bells emanating from there can be heard all over the temple premises.  Around the main shrine there are four smaller ones dedicated to Lord Ganesh, the Sun God, Goddess Shakti and Lord Shiva.

The Jagdish temple is undoubtedly a grand icon on the skyline of Udaipur. 

Eklingji

It is an ancient temple complex located 22 kilometres north of Udaipur.  Within its high walls there are 108 shrines.  The main temple, dating back to the 15th century, was rebuilt on the ruins of an earlier one.   It is dedicated to Eklingji, a form of Lord Shiva, believed to be the presiding deity of the Mewar rulers. 

The high outer wall of the Eklingji temple
 
In the sanctum the image of Lord Shiva appears as a linga with four faces.  It is made of black marble.  The temple features an enormous double-storyed elaborately pillared hall under a vast pyramidal roof.  Facing the main sanctum is a life size idol of Nandi, the bull mount of the Lord. 

Nathdwara

It is a 17th century temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, known locally as Lord Shrinath, located about 50 kilometres from Udaipur. We were told that it is one of the richest shrines of India and attracts millions of devotees from all parts of the country every year.  The magnificent black marble image of the lord enshrined in the sanctum is believed to be over 600 years old and was brought here from Govardhan Hill near Mathura in 1669 in a bid to protect it from the fanatic hands of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. According to a legend, the place where the temple came up was the site where the chariot carrying the idol got stuck and this incident was interpreted as the divine direction not to move it anywhere else.  

From the point where our car was parked, we had to walk a long distance through narrow lanes flanked by small shops before reaching the main temple.  People thronged it and we had to wade our way inside for darshan.  The security was tight and foreigners were not permitted inside.  Photography was prohibited.

Sahelion ki Bari

Sahelion ki Bari (The Garden of the Maidens) is another tourist attraction to the north of Udaipur.  The garden was designed and raised by Maharana Sangram Singh in the 18th century.  It was presented to his queen to be used by the 48 young companions she had brought with her as dowry.  It was a place of pleasure and relaxation for the royal maidens.   Vast lawns, flower beds, ornamental trees, pools, ponds, fountains, paved walkways and huge portals enrich the beauty of the garden.  Raised on the banks of the Fatesh Sagar Lake, its fountains function through water-pressure coming from it and no pumps are used.

A doorway at the Garden of the Maidens 

The neatly-tended lawns, bushes and trees

Another view of the garden

“Udaipur is a jewel among the cities of Rajasthan” -- this is how our tourist guide described it and we have no reason to dispute his claim.  (Ends)

June 13, 2015