Final Day in Udaipur (27 Dec 2015)

Dedicated to my grandsons Ashwin, Rishi and Rohan

RAJASTHAN CALLING  -  Part 4 

Final Day in Udaipur (27 Dec 2015)

“What we missed in Ajmer we would make up in Udaipur,” we had promised ourselves, when we left Ajmer hotel in haste. So next morning, we walked up to the locally famous Kachori and Jalebi shop for a sumptuous breakfast, and bought some for the rest in the hotel. The Hare Krishna devotees were doing the morning Nagar Bhajan with all accompaniments and a portable public address system too. The lead singer was one from outside India, His intonations were impeccable. Must have been here for quite some time. 

After the ‘pet-puja’, we walked to the City Palace, close by. It was built about 400 years ago. According to the Guide, it is the second largest palace in India, the first being the Mysore palace. There was however no doubt that it was a wonderful structure, an architectural marvel, and several feet above the ground. The present descendant, now a common man, holds a portion of the palace (should run into several acres, I guess) for his personal use. The rest is a well maintained tourist attraction. It took us full two hours to cover all the places - Diwane Khas (King’s meeting hall for VIPs), Diwane Aam (for the Common Man), a vast underground rain-harvest water tank underneath the place where the common men assembled; provision for Hamam bath with hot water supply through natural means, jacuzzi, the king’s bed room, separate enclosures for the royal ladies to watch the Parliament in session, secret escape routes stretching into several miles, etc.

A word about the Guides in general. These days when you buy the entrance ticket, they ask you if you need a guide and collect the fee for him if you opt for one. And they allot you one by turn. We learn the Tourist Department invite applications for the post, ask them to appear in a written test, hold an interview for the successful candidates, and give them extensive training before entrusting them with the job. In other words, the guides are quite knowledgeable. (The guy in Jodhpur confided in me that he was teaching Hindi upto the 10th class before he switched over to this profession).

After the City Palace, we drove to Shilpa Gram - a handicrafts and hand loom fair in which artisans from all over India participated. It was a great annual attraction among the locals. After an extensive ransack of the shops around, Ashutosh and I carried the items that the ladies had bought, and dumped them at the rear of the SUV, much to the discomfiture of Gungun and Mannu. But they never grumbled.

Now it was time for lunch. Earlier, while checking in at Jaiwana Haveli, we had asked the Manager to recommend some good restaurants for breakfast and lunch, aside the tourist attractions. “Well,” he replied, “we have our own rooftop restaurant where we have a good menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But if you happen to be in the city around lunch time, you could go to Natraj Restaurant for a an elaborate Rajasthani or Gujarati lunch.” We headed for that place. After a wait of twenty minutes, we got our turn. We rushed in as though it was now or never. Yes, it was already past 2.30 afternoon. And the children had been so well adjusting. We enjoyed a hearty meal which reminded us of the lunch at Rajdhani in Bangalore.

We did some final shopping at Udaipur. Thereafter we had time either to visit the Monsoon palace on top of a mountain, or have a boat ride along Lake Pichola. The consensus was for the boat ride. Here too the last trip, at 5 pm, was full. But again because of the heavy tourist rush, they arranged one more at 6 pm. This was a blessing in disguise. We could see a temple in the midst of the lake fully illuminated and the drum and cymbal beat to denote evening Aarti. Also the lake hotel (not sure if it was Taj) was very well lit and decorated. We learnt the place was regularly let out for marriages, and it was a marriage ceremony that was going on.

The drop-off place at the lake was by the side of our guest house. So we walked to our hotel. Some preferred to skip dinner thanks to a heavy lunch, while others took a lighter version before returning to our respective rooms to pack for the next early morning drive to Jodhpur.

(Next: Jaunt to Jodhpur, the blue city)