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Published: March 30th 2012
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UDAIPUR, RAJASTAN, INDIA. Friday 23 March, 2012.
Our guide today was called Shurveer and he proudly told us that he was from the Warrior Caste and that in Hindi his name meant "Brave Loins" (yes loins not lions!). M was quite impressed with the name. We still had Mr Barun our driver - and will do until Agra.
Our first stop was Jagdish Temple (yes another temple!). This temple is one of Udaipur's most popular shrines. It was built in 1652 and is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (one of the Vishnu manifestations). The outer walls and towering shikhara (sort of columns attached to the outside of the building) are heavily carved with figures and dancing nymphs. The sanctuary contains a black stone image of Jagannath which was covered in flowers. Each corner of the temple also contained a shrine dedicated to Shiva (the Main Man), Ganesh (Elephant Boy), Surya and Durga (not too sure about these as still not 100% on our Hindu Gods). We strolled barefoot around the whole building with Brave Loins describing the various carvings as we went. We took some photographs before returning to collect our shoes and paying the 'minder' who had so carefully
City Palace Museum
Palace from the Courtyard guarded them (put them on a shelf for 10 minutes). On our way out we were given a handful of sugar and spices (including basil leaves for luck) by a group of very excited children shouting "Happy New Year". M received a large red blob in the middle of her forehead as an extra present. BL told us that it was Hindu New Year and these were a gifts to celebrate.
Next stop was the City Palace Museum, located to the south of Jagdish Temple. The palace stands built in yellow stone on the north-east side of Lake Pichola. It is the largest royal complex in Rajastan and is made up of 11 palaces constructed by successive rulers over 300 years. Brave Loins paid our entrance and camera fee and led us into the main courtyard. Here we could see where the elephant fights were staged. These were not fights as such - more like a 'push of war' (rather than a tug of war) to see which elephant was the strongest. It was a popular spectator sport back then. The women had to watch from behind screens on the upper floors of the palace as they were not
Maharaja Horse Armour
Horse armour with the elephant trunk allowed to be seen by the general public. The gates to the coutyard had huge spikes protruding from them towards the outside about 2.5 metres (8 feet) from the floor. BL explained that these were to protect the palace from attack by armies with elephant 'cavalary'.
We entered the palace complex and climbed the steps to the first of the palace's miriad of courtyards. We then went up to the Garden Palace, which is the main courtyard of the complex, with marble pool and trees. We saw many paintings depicting varous stories relating to the Maharaja in battle. In the paintings the Maharaja was easily identifiable as his horse had the trunk of an elephant in order for the army to be able to recognise him easily and come to his aid if necessary. In another room we saw the Maharaja's horse armour and many other items of weaponry. Our last stop inside the Palace was the Crystal Gallery which houses outlandishly kitch items including crystal chairs, tables, lamps and even a crystal bed.
We went outside and took some more photos of the facade of the palace which is elaborately decorated with tiles and mosaics. BL took
us next door to the palace where there is a hotel that is part occupied by the present palace owner. This guy is very interested in sustainable energy and he has enforced a rule that all the boats on Lake Pichola convert to solar power (he can do this as he owns the lake). We took some photographs of the parts we were allowed to enter and made use of the very posh facilities before exiting and walking towards the boat quay.
At the boat quay we boarded a little boat (solar powered of course) and were taken on a one hour long cruise. We stopped for about 20 minutes at an island in the lake called Jagmandir Ghat. This doubles up as a very flash and expensive hotel. The grounds were lovely and beautifully maintained. We strolled around in the sunshine and made our way to the exit quay and boarded the boat back to the Palace Quay where BL and Mr Barun were waiting.
Both of us were still fairly under the weather with our colds so we declined lunch. BL took us to a little workshop where we could see artists painting the Indian Miniatures
that Udaipur is famous for. The paintings are done using very tiny brushes with fine bristles made from chipmunk hair (they call them squirrels here). The chipmunks are not harmed in order to get the necessary hairs - just given a short back and sides. We were subjected to the hard sell of goods ranging from paintings to furniture. Some of the paintings were done on camel bone, some on silk, some on paper. When we didn't give in, the salesman tried to persuade us we needed a huge elephant or two for our garden. We managed to avoid any more pressure selling when M bought a few of the chipmunk hair paintbrushes to take home for her art. We then returned to the hotel for a rest. Mr Barun agreed to collect us to take us to the local market at 6.00 pm.
After a sleep and a Kingfisher we were taken to the market by Mr Barun who agreed to collect us after an hour. It was absolute havoc with two wheelers, three wheelers, four-wheelers, hand carts, goats, holy cows, ox-carts, people, market stalls and little shops everywhere. We strolled around and D managed to get a
new frame for his broken spectacles in one of the little shops. All fitted and everything for about £7.00. The technology may have been ancient with a water filled grinder for the lenses and primitive pliars to bend the frames etc - but the end result was a working pair of glasses that D thought were more comfortable than the originals. We went back and waited for Mr Barun at the agreed place. While we waited we witnessed a firework display which we think must have been part of the New Year celebrations. We returned to the hotel, had a good dinner and watched some TV before bed.
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Tony
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specs
Do they do mail order prescription specs? :)