A TOUR TO THE RAJPUTANA Chapter-4

Chapter-4 

Udaipur City Palace

I am fully contented after having a royal lunch. Now we are heading towards the magnificent Udaipur City Palace. On the way, I come to know that the present generation of the Royal family stays at this place. As the car gets parked I notice many sections of the palace has been converted over the years into big expensive hotels by the business-minded folks. I am quite disappointed as inside the palace, there are 4 hotels which don't allow entry for the tourists and for me these kinds of conversions mean ruining the cultural and structural heritage of a rich piece of architecture as this. The section which has escaped from being a part of the hotel has also been grabbed, thus, converting it into a museum. 

As we are entering further into the depths of the magnanimous area, the prior displeasure tends to fade, as the intricate carvings on the palace up to great heights engulf my mind.

Udaipur City Palace

I am totally mesmerised by the striking beauty of the lake, too. I learn further that this is the Pichhola Lake. The sun overhead is gearing to sink and the sparkling of the water with the thin rim of gold at the imaginary end seems wonderful.

In the centre of the lake, there is the Lake Palace. Boating facilities are available and we can go there by boat in the serene environment of the lake and the soft breeze. But yes to my utter dismay, I realise soon that even the Lake Palace has not been left for tourist attraction but is again converted into another posh hotel. This makes me not to choose boating up to that point, as a small protest on my side. 

As we enter inside the campus through the entry gate, the palace seems to enhance in beauty even more. It is tall with the suryavanshi symbol at the top of it.

Finally, we seem to get into the museum, and I find the museum quite interesting as the old artefacts from the past, seem like broken pieces of the puzzle from the tales of history. I am deeply interested in each and every item presented over here. It has the weapons of that time, which were used in many battles by tiers of generations of the Ranas. My attention is caught by the armour of Maharana Pratap, which is displayed and preserved so well. 

I learn that it is this armour that he had used in the Battle of Haldighati. A current of chills passes through my spine as I imagine the armour on the mighty king during the deleterious battle. There are numerous paintings put up on the walls describing events from Pratap's life. 

The armour worn by Chetak, Rana's horse is also preserved on a dummy horse. The part of the armour in front is shaped like the trunk of an elephant, it may be due to the strength of the horse which was compared to be almost equal to that of an elephant or maybe to confuse the elephants from the enemy party.

We start to investigate more through the palace and pass through rich decorative corridors. I peep through a jharokha and find a beautiful lobby with peacock and floral motifs on its walls, painted with blue and green colours giving an expression of grandeur to the area.

The Amar Palace, built by Amar Singh, the son of Pratap has blocks of greenery and grass like a terrace garden. Soon I come up to a bathtub like article placed, which is made up of white marble. A notice grabs my eyesight which states that it was called the "Lakhakund" and that it was used during the coronation of the kings and was filled up with silver coins of which 1/4th was distributed among the general public who assembled to witness the ceremony and the rest was used for the development of the poor. 

The corridors have windows with carvings as well as colourful glasses attached to them. My theory to this observation is to see a colourful world even in the toughest of circumstances.

There is a room which looks like a darbar is being held here consisting of invisible royals and ministers, as cushions are exactly placed in a position to give the utmost comfort, and swings are hung behind where once there would have been curtains for the royal ladies to settle. It presents a perfect still picture delivered from the strings of past.

A room made of glasses and mirrors comes in our way, it is called the sheesh mahal. It reflects even the tiniest bit of light flashed at one corner of the room and is made up of a great number of colourful pieces of glass.

There are names given to each part of the palace, seeing which I understand that every generation of the Ranas, had marked their power and existence by adding an extension to the already built part of the palace, by the previous generation. 

There is also a textile museum located within the boundaries of the palace. It has the collection of costumes the royals used to wear. 

We are now reaching the exit gate, and the sun is setting, painting the sky with warm hues. 

Lake Palace through sunset

Set to drive back to the hotel, soon we arrive and I find myself resting on the bed. As it is time for dinner, I jump into my slippers and with dad reach the terrace where the restaurant is present, I am continuing to recall the beauty of the palace in my mind when the realisation hits me that the palace is just in front of me. A little far at the hilltop, from the terrace I am able to witness the remarkable palace, all lit up to show golden. "Today is 11th November! Oh...the palace is adorned beautifully for the occasion of Diwali", I exclaim, as a couple of firecrackers produce crackling sounds over our head to shed bits of brilliance.

From the hotel terrace

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D.P.