My Rajasthan Tour - Visit to Udaipur
As a part of my Rajasthan tour with my family members, we first visited Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and we were in Jaipur from December 23 to December 25, 2023. We left Jaipur in the morning of 25th December and started our journey to Udaipur. In my last post I have shared my experiences and brief information about the places that I visited with my family in Jaipur. In this post I would like to share my experiences and brief information about the places that I visited in and around Udaipur.
1. Brief Information about Udaipur
We reached Udaipur in the evening of 25th December 2023 by tourist bus from Jaipur. On that day we stayed and enjoyed our X-mass evening and night in the hotel named Keshav Global Hotels & Resorts. Historically Udaipur was the capital of Mewar, and the city was founded by Udai Singh II in 1559. He shifted his capital from Chittorgarh to Udaipur after Chittorgarh was conquered by Akbar. Rana Amar Singh of Mewar accepted vassalship to Mughal rule in 1615 under Emperor Jahangir. Udaipur remained the capital of Mewar and became a princely state of British India in the year 1818. At present, Maharana Mahendra Singh Mewar is the 76th custodian of the Mewar dynasty. Udaipur is called the White City of Rajasthan because of white colour prominent in different marble palaces of the city which were built by Rajput kings. Udaipur is also known as the 'City of Lakes' because of its sophisticated lake system. It is having seven big lakes surrounding the city which are Fateh Sagar Lake, Lake Pichola, Udaisagar Lake, Swaroop Sagar Lake, Rajsamand Lake, Doodh Talai and Badi Lake. To solve the problems of water shortage and poor sewage system, the rulers of Mewar constructed seven artificial lakes and all the lakes are interconnected with each other. Udaipur is also referred to as the 'Venice of the East'. We have visited Fateh Sagar Lake, Saheliyon ki Bari, Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal and City Palace.
2. Fateh Sagar Lake
Fateh Sagar Lake is an artificial lake named after Maharana Fateh Singh of Mewar. This lake was first constructed in the year 1678 by Maharana Jai Singh. The bund which formed the lake was washed away after 200 years due to floods. Maharana Fateh Singh in the year 1889 built the Connaught Dam which enlarged the lake. There are three small islands within the area of Fateh Sagar Lake of which Nehru Park is the largest island. There is a public park with an impressive water-jet fountain in another island. Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO) is in the third island. Total area of the lake is four square kilometers, and its maximum depth is 13.4 m i.e. 44 ft. This lake is encircled by the Aravalli hills on three sides which helps in feeding the lake with water during monsoon. It is now one of the major sources of drinking water to the city of Udaipur. We have enjoyed motorboat ride in this lake. One can enjoy speed boat ride in Fateh Sagar Lake.
3. Saheliyon Ki Bari
Saheliyon-ki-Bari was built from 1710 AD to 1734 AD by Maharana Sangram Singh for his daughter, the princess who loved rain. This garden was for royal ladies including queen with her forty-eight maids who accompanied the queen in her marriage. Saheliyon-ki-Bari means "Garden of maids" and is located on the banks of Fateh Sagar Lake. This garden was designed by the king himself and presented it to the queen. This garden is embellished with numerous fountains in its four water pools, chiseled kiosks and marble elephants. The lush green lawns, flowerbeds and marble pavilions enhances the romantic ambience of this garden. Maharana Bhopal Singh in the later years built a pavilion of rain fountains so that one can have an illusion of rain dancing in cadence with dancing maids. These fountains were imported from England. 
The main reservoir has four black marble kiosks in its corner and one white marble kiosks in its center. You will find sculpted birds on the top of these kiosks that spurts water from their beaks producing the rain effect. This pavilion is also known as 'Bin Badal Barsat' means 'Rain without cloud'. This garden is open from 8 am in the morning to 4 pm in the evening. The entry fee is Rs.20 per person for Indian citizen and Rs.100 per person for foreign citizen. Saheliyon-ki-Bari has five sets of fountains viz., Swagat Fountain, Savan Bhado fountain, Kamal Talai fountain, Rasleela fountain and Bin-Badal Barsat fountain. After entering the garden, you will be welcomed by Swagat Fountain (Welcome fountain) which is the first fountain after entering Saheliyon-ki-Bari. Savan Bhado fountains creates an illusion of rain during the monsoon season. The Kamal Tarai (means Lotus Pond) Fountain is a set of fountains that surround a lotus pond.
4. Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal
Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal is a cultural institution founded by Shri Devi Lal Samar in the year 1952 for promoting and popularizing folk art, folk songs and folk literature. His mission was to preserve and promote rich cultural heritage of Mewar Region. He was awarded with Padma Shri by the Government of India.
5. City Palace
City Palace i.e. Rajmahal in Udaipur is a palace complex built over a period of 400 years by Maharana Udai Singh II and successors Maharanas of Sisodia Rajput family. Its construction started in 1553 which is concurrent with the establishment of Udaipur City because of shifting of capital from Chittor to Udaipur. Maharana Udai Singh II inherited the Mewar Kingdom in 1537 when Chittor was its capital. Because of the indication of losing control over the Fort at Chittor during war with Mughals, he decided to shift capital from Chittor to Udaipur at the location near Pinchola Lake which was well protected on all sides by forests, lakes and Aravalli hills. The palaces within the complex are interlinked through a number of chowks (quadrangles) with zigzag corridors to avoid surprise attack by enemies.
The main entry to the City Palace is through the Badi Pol (Great Gate) leading to the first courtyard. Amar Vilas is the uppermost court inside the Palace complex having wonderful hanging gardens with fountains, towers and terraces. Badi Mahal which is also known as Garden Palace is the Central Palace. There is a swimming pool which was then used for celebrating Holi festival i.e. festival of colours. Bhim Vilas has a gallery of a collection of miniature paintings that depicts the real-life stories of Radha-Krishna. Durbar Hall was used as a venue for official function such as State banquets and meetings. The gallery of the hall was used by the Royal ladies to observe the Durbar proceedings. Weapons of the Maharanas and some of their portraits are depicted here. In 1974, a part of the City Palace and the 'Zenana Mahal' were converted into a museum which is now open for the public.
6. Conclusion
In addition to the above places, we have visited Wax Museum and seen Sukhadia Circle on the way. Sukhadia Circle is a large roundabout in the city and also a popular recreational centre. There is a 21 feet high three-tiered fountain at the centre of a small pond inside the Sukhadia Circle. There is a facility of boat ride in the pond and also an option for camel and horse ride around the Sukhadia Circle. This time we could not enter inside the Sukhadia Circle because of tight tour schedule. One can spend evening in this circle. In addition, there are many other places of interests which are worth visiting. There is a Bird Park at Gulab Bagh where you can see various species of birds including Blue and Gold Macaw. You can visit Shilpgram which is a rural arts and crafts complex. You can visit Mansoon Palace, Ahar Museum, Jagdish Temple and Lake Palace. This city is well connected with several major Indian cities via rail, road and air.
We enjoyed our stay at Udaipur. On December 27, 2023, we checked out from the hotel at Udaipur in the morning and thereafter we started our journey to Mount Abu. Very soon I will come with another post in this blog on my tour to Mount Abu.
(Note: The historical facts mentioned in the article are collected from Wikipedia and some other sources in public domain.)
