Udaipur

 2020 February end ....

Udaipur the city of lakes a real jewel in the state of Rajasthan

It was  founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh I and surrounded by the beautiful Aravalli mountains .and offers stunning views especially at sunset . 

The palaces reflect the architectural grandeur prevailing during the period of Rajputs and the scenic landscape is descriptive of how nature could be generous where it chooses to be. 

Jagdish temple built in 1651 an Indo-Aryan architectural marvel is dedicated to Lord  Vishnu  .

One can see beautiful wall carvings, and elephant sculptures 

The Lake palace is situated on the banks of Pichola Lake and is a blend of European, Medieval and Chinese styles of architecture. 

Another man made wonder in the city dominated by nature, Lake Pichola is surrounded by huge hills, magnificent palaces, temples and bathing ghats.

Jagmandir or Lake Garden Palace is said to have served as an inspiration for the Taj Mahal when Shah Jahan took refuge here in his younger days. 

This palace has a long history and is considered one of the symbols of friendship between the Mughals and Rajputs.

Octopussy the Bond Roger Moore starrer was shot at Monsoon Palace, Lake Palace, Jag Mandir, Fateh Sagar Paal and Pichola

Rajasthan or Rajputana as it was called before India got freedom is known the world over for its forts and more for its opulent palaces .

Unlike many erstwhile royal kingdoms the palaces are still owned by the royal families who had converted many into palace hotels and maintained well .

Most Goverment owned palaces have been lost to decay ,pilfering and poor maintenance .

 A garland given to a monkey is bound to be so .

Amongst the palaces the most remarkable and recent one is the palace complex in Udaipur the city of lakes .

It was built 500 years back over 3 generations of its Mahranas .

Udai singh II wanted to move way from Chitor as it was less safer to protect from enemies and Mughal emperor Akbar was repeatedly attacking too.

He asked a learned hermit about where to locate his new palace .

Udaipur was on banks of a huge lake called Pichola and was surrounded by forests and Aravalli mountain ranges .

So it was protected by nature .

Hermit blessed king to build his palace there 

So arose the Udaipur city palace ,the Jag mandir palace and Jagvilas the summer palace which today is Taj lake palace hotel .

The city palace itelf was huge at different floors and sprawled out interconnected by corridors halls courtyards etc .

Walking across it and climbing its floors were hard to knees so my wife vetoed it so i went alone ..

The huge gates of palace were called pols .

The main gate opened into tripol later hathi pol .

Today the main building is a well preserved museum which showcases art ,life,battles,of the royals .

Across lake pichola wedid go to jagmandir but not to jagvilas hotel ..

Some pictures