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Royal splendour At Udaipur

In Udaipur, you sit in a boat for quite a long time. No great hardship though, since Pichola, the lake I am on, gleams a dark blue, the stunning white mass of the Lake Palace rises whiter than white in front of me, the isle of Jag Mandir sits stolid to my left, and far on the horizon, the Sajjangarh fort rises from a crag. Altogether pleasing to the eye.

Udaipur, the White City. That it certainly is, because views of the place from any height show it to be a mass of white-coloured buildings. Udaipur, City of Lakes. Well, there’s the Fateh Sagar Lake (circa 1678) and then there’s the famous Pichola, which is a pretty shallow man-made lake. There is the Jaisamand and the Udai Sagar lake, as well as the Jiyan Sagar, all on the outskirts of Udaipur.

Udaipur as a city is less than charming, a dusty little town with winding lanes crammed with stationary and moving vehicles, women in bright lehengas and thick silver anklets, men in colourful saafas, gold glinting in their earlobes.

The place is dotted with interesting little shops selling camel hide notebooks, art paper and the like. There is the Sahelion ki Bari, an 18th Century garden with a lotus pool hideously marred by a green statue of a woman, lush green lawns totally taken over by hordes of noisy tourists, marble pavilions all painted a deep grey for some depressing reason.

The Maharana Pratap Smarak sits on a small hill and apart from an impressive statue of Pratap atop his famous horse Chetak, also holds a pictorial history of both Pratap’s valorous deeds as well as a potted history of the Mewar Ranas. The founding deity of the Mewars as well as the city, Eklingji, is tucked away in a modest, ancient temple in the fold of dry and dusty hills on the Ajmer Road. It is well worth a visit.

The City Palace is, of course, the top draw. Standing on a promontory of Pichola, the palace holds 11 palaces within it, with all the balconies, towers and cupolas affording some great views of the glinting Pichola. The son et lumiere showed up the magnificence of the palace through a rambling account of the Mewar kings, their beauteous queens and their ongoing battles with the Mughals. One evening, we sit on the opposite bank at an Army mess, gazing at the lit palace…indeed, a special sight.

My personal highlight is the walk through the Crystal Gallery in the Fateh Prakash palace, just behind the City Palace.

You pay a ridiculously large entrance fee and get to see a wide collection of lovely crystal items, crafted by F & C Osler of England. There are knick- knacks, bowls, fly whisk handles, perfume bottles, photo frames, lampshades, washing bowls, a brilliant emerald set of glasses made to hold a secret in-house elixir, and the highlight, some really huge chandeliers, all lit to hold one’s gaze.

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