Udaipur Diaries - IV

Kumbhalgarh Fort

one of the most humongous, imposing and huge fort complex i've ever seen...where do i begin...it was one of the most auspicious day in Hindu calendar - Maha Shivratri - the day of Lord Shiva...and i had my eyes set on visiting Kumbhalgarh, 86 kms from Udaipur. An enquiry, two days before, at Roadways Information Center had equipped me with the information that bus to Kumbhalgarh was at 8.15 in the morning. well that meant an alarm of 5.30 in the morning. it was still dark and i was up on my feet heading for my sadhana on breezy terrace.
Done with my sadhana and morning rituals, I was all set for the day ahead. To go to Kumbhalgarh, one has to take roadways bus till Kelwara and from there a 6 km cab ride up to the citadel.

Reaching Fort :

After a three and half hours of bus ride, where one comes face-to-face with the countryside of Rajasthan, i reached Kelwara. Longing for that first sight of the Fort, I searched for the taxi stand. After teaming up with two other travellers, we were on our way up the hill to reach the fort. Three kms down the ride and we had our first sighting of the magnanimous Fort, which has stood like faithful custodian safe-gaurding the history of Rajputs for hundreds of years.

First Glimpse

Standing tall against the blue backdrop of sunny sky, the fort was a shining example of the rich cultural heritage left by the great Rajputana Rulers. The Fort not only the symbol of unrelentless, strong will of the Rajput's fight against the Mughal onslaught but also the grand vision they had for their kingdom.

Fort Complex:

The fort is surrounded by 36 km long boundary which can be called as India's Chinese Wall. Built as the protection wall, it also has gates to enter the Fort complex. As you make entry through one the main entrance gates, Vijay Pol (pol - gate), you come across colossal out wall of the Fort built along with massive circular bastions. The sight is over-whelming and the enormity of the rotund bastions just engulfs you.

Gigantic rotund Bastions of the Outer wall.
One can also see the part of 36 km long periphery wall at the bottom of the photograph.

History:
Attributed to Rana Kumbha, this fort was built between 1443-1458 AD under supervision of famous architect Mandan. It is believed that the fort was built over the remains of earlier structure associated to Jaina Prince Samprati of the second century B.C. The palatial complex at the top of the Fort is approached through Aaret Pol, Nimboo Pol, Paghra Pol. The complex also have ancient Jain and Hindu Temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Jain Tirthankars and other miniatur shrines.
Other important buildings inside the complex are birth place of Maharana Pratap, Ruins of Kumbha palace, Badal Palace, Royal Chhatris, and water reservoirs. Badal Mahal is one of the most important and attractive building built by Rana Fateh Singh.

Pictorial tour of Fort Complex:

Palatial bastion rising into blue sky

Top view of the bastion wall , temples and shrines inside the Fort Complex

Beautifully carved chamber of Hawa Mahal

View of chinese wall from the Fort

Chamunda Maa Temple near the Kumbha Palace

Complex view from Kumbha palace

View from Kumbha palace

Ruins of Kumbha Palace

Courtyard of Kumbha Palace

Backside view of Hawa Mahal

Picturesque Palatial Complex

Guardians of the Fort

Return Journey:

Though physically demanding, as one has to climb up and down to go through various building complexes, the one and half hour spent trekking and meandering, through the complex, was worth every moment spent inside the fort. As I walked back to taxi, I turned my head back for one last glimpse of the gentle giant -  KUMBHALGARH.

As we reached the taxi stand at foothills, the fort was nowhere in sight but what was were the memories firmly etched in mind for the lifetime.

After a sumptous luncheon at near hotel, I was on my way back to Udaipur. It was one of most fulfilling and satisfying experience of my trip.

Udaipur Diaries - III (contd...)

City Palace, Udaipur

As you enter the City Palace, the guided tour of Palace museum begins. One can either hire a local guide, if you are interested in hearing out stories and nuances behind each part of fort, or you can take audio guide, which is an audio instrument that comes along with headphones and guides you through the palace. Apart from this the Palace Authorities have placed ample pointers and description throughout the museum so that all the tourists have a informative walk through the Palace.

Tour of the Palace :

Weaponry Room :

Array of arms impeccably mounted on wall

Hand weapons : Swords and Shield

Royal Symbol of Shining Sun capturing essence of 

Suryavanshi Lineage of House of Mewar

Gun Cartridges

Amar Vilas: Amar Vilas is highest point in palace and has wonderful hanging gardens with terraces, fountains.

Fountain area

Intricately carved terrace Corridor

View of Udaipur - The White City (rightly so)

Sheesh Mahal and Library Room : 

Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) - Mirror work is simply awe-inspiring
and is glimpse of artistic finesse of the by-gone era

Door and Walls depicting chinese art form

The Library room has fine wall frescoes depicting stories and characters from various Hindu mythological scriptures. What amazes is the detailing that has gone into the paintings with minutest of minute detail captured into the painting, whether expressions on the face of the characters or weapons held by the deities, everything is painted with precision to the last brush stroke.

Lord Brahma

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Goddess Durga

Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi

Lord Ganesha

Local deity

Lord Eklingji - the presiding deity of Udaipur

White City

Chinese art form depicting King and his ministers

Chinese art form on ceiling

Open air terrace adjoining the Sheesh Mahal

Serene view of Jag Niwas(now Hotel Lake Palace, Taj)
from one of the terraces of City Palace

Mor Mahal (Peacock Palace) : Peacock palace is part of Zenana Mahal and has peacock designs on the walls which are entirely made from colourful glass pieces.

Art work in Mor Mahal is more delicate given the fact that it is in Ladies Chamber

Fine art work made out of glass pieces

Courtyard of Mor Mahal with peacock designs on walls

Each feather is made of thin finely cut glass thread
(just zoom and see it for yourself)

Delicately carved door with floral glass work border

 I hope you enjoyed the pictorial journey of City Palace. But believe me this not even half of what the beautiful City Palace offers. (infact i ran out of mobile battery and couldnt click any further :-P ) There's history in every stone of the Palace enough to fill out volumes. Mewar Paintings gallery, silverware museum, music gallery and on and on and on.

The City Palace visit is soul enriching and immerses you in the rich cultural heritage of Mewar. Fills you with sense of pride and you walk out with feeling of wanting more of it...

Udaipur Diaries - III

City Palace, Udaipur

Ah! finally after roaming in and around Udaipur and a whole day trip to Nathdwara, the moment of reckoning comes!!! visit to the grande, magnificent City Palace, Udaipur. Built by Maharana Udai Singh, the palace has been the silent witness to rise and rise of the Mewar House of Royals. It is said that lineage of Mewar traces its origins back to Kusha, the elder son of Lord Ram and has ancestory which equals Japan's House of Mikado.

Entry tickets are available at the Tourist Information Center set up at the entrance of the Palace. A common entry ticket is of Rs. 30 which entails you for visiting only the palace premises. A visit to museum costs Rs. 115 and a boat ride in Lake Pichola with one hour visit to Jag Mandir sets u back by a cool 340 bucks. So the maths works like this a visit to museum costs you Rs. 145 (115 + 30) and likewise.

Tickets in my hand, I set out to explore and discover the hidden treasures inside the City Palace. At the entrance, one is greeted by the Royal Guards of House of Mewar. The house of Mewar still employs it's own army of guards which along with guarding the palace also play role of genial welcomers and guides for the visiting tourists. The whole Palace has 70 posts and is guarded in 3 shifts round the clock.

The Palace

Entry into the main palace grounds is through wonderfully carved Tripolia (Triple) Gate which welcomes you with all its grandeur offering you glimpse of architectural marvels inside the palace complex.

Tripolia Gate

Background

As you moves towards the tripolia gate, a small red plate tells a story of how and why the city palace was built. It is said that one day  Maharana Udai Singh, when returning from Eklingji temple offering prayers along with his new born grand - son Amar Singh, set out for hunting and killed hare at the spot (entrance of the city palace). There he saw smoke emitting from the hillock. After tying the horse, Rana climbed the hill where he met Goswami Prem Giri ji, who asked him to build a palace on hillock and thus, City Palace was constructed.

Main Palace Complex

As you cross the Tripolia Gate, giant bastions of City Palace draw your attention on the right side. Against the backgrop of azure sky, the sight of palace leaves you wonderstruck.

As you move ahead the City palace is in full-sight for the first time and one cannot but admire the magnanimity of the palace. The palace has various towers, domes and arches which add to the flavor of the heritage site. On the left side of the main entrance of the palace is Mardana Mahal (Gents Chamber) with its balconies facing the palace gardens and on the right of main entrance is Zenana Mahal (Ladies Chamber). In all, the complex houses 11 different mahals which were built by the successive rulers of Udaipur. You have Manak Mahal ( Ruby Palace), Krishna Vilas (miniature Krishna paintings), Dilkhush Mahal ( Palace of Joy), Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) and other various palaces.

Front View : City Palace Complex

Main Entrance of Palace with Royal Emblem

Entrance in the center with Mardana Mahal on right and Zenana Mahal on Left. Mardana Mahal has towers, arches and balconies overseeing the palace grounds.

City Palace at night with all its grandeur highlighted using special lighting.

(to be continued....)

P.S: The complex is so vast that it's a gigantic task to cover everything in one post. Hence, will be posting sub-posts of this individual post...stay tuned...thanks for your patience...Happy Holi

Udaipur Diaries - I

Royal Vintage Car Collection

Udaipur is one of main cities in the Mewar region of Rajasthan and is called as City of Lakes or Venice of East.

My first stop in the city known for it's Palaces, grand hotels and lakes was Royal Vintage Car collection, something which i was going to witness for the first time. At a walking distance from the City Palace, the Vintage Car collection is housed in a large car stable. The entry ticket costs around 150 bucks and if combined with food it costs a grand 250 bucks, which is a good deal considering the fact that the standalone price of The Royal Thali is 160 rs. The combo-deal saves u a cool 60  bucks. ;) :P

What one gets to see is a visual treat and a "must-see" for any car enthusiast. Cars dating as early as 1920s to late 1960s all are on display under one single roof. The brands include some of the marquee names from the autombile world...from Morris to Rolls Royce, from Cadillac to Porsche. Each car is parked in separate garage and has a board, detailing the Name of the car, model number, year of manufacture, country of manufacture and registration number, hanged at the entrance of each garage. Most amazing thing is all the cars are well-oiled, pampered and are in working condition...ready to serve the Maharaja whenever he wishes to take a ride in one of his prized possesions.

The collection is live example of grand life styles of the Indian Maharajas and the taste they had for marquee car collection. A glimpse of the riches of our Maharajas and glory of by-gone era.

The Royal Vintage Car Collection Stable

Morris Tiger 1950

Morris Logo

Austin A55-Mark Cambridge, 1961

Rolls Royce 1924

Rolls Royce Logo

Cadillac 1938

Royal Carriage