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Udaipur is a city and a municipal council in Udaipur district in the Indian state of
Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the
former kingdom of Mewar, and the administrative
headquarters of Udaipur District. It is also
known as the City of Lakes.
History
Udaipur was the capital of the Rajput kingdom of
Mewar, ruled by Ranawats of the Sisodia clan.
Founder of Udaipur was - Rana Udai Singh. The
ancient capital of Mewar was Chittor or
Chittorgarh, located on the Banas River
northeast of Udaipur. Legend has it that
Maharana Udai Singh came upon a hermit while
hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range.
The hermit blessed the king and asked him to
build a palace on the spot and it would be well
protected. Udai Singh established a residence
there. In 1568 the Mughal emperor Akbar captured
Chittor, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the
site of his residence, which became the city of
Udaipur. As the Mughal empire weakened, the
Sisodia ranas, and later maharanas, reasserted
their independence and recaptured most part of
Mewar except the fort of Chittor. Udaipur
remained the capital of the state, which became
a princely state of British India in 1818. After
India's Independence in 1947, the Maharaja of
Udaipur acceded to the Government of India, and
Mewar was integrated into India's Rajasthan
state. |
Udaipur remained
Untouched from Mughals Sisodias, or the Guhilots (Suriya
Vans)have ruled the Mewar region since V.S 191, were
against Mughal dominion and tried every trick
possible to distance themselves from them. Being a
mountainous region and unsuitable for heavily
armoured Mughal horses, Udaipur remained unmolested
from the Mughal influences in spite of all their
pressures. Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur was the
only royalty who did not attend the Delhi Durbar for
King George V in 1911. This fierce sense of
independence earned them the highest gun salute in
Rajasthan, 19 against the 17 each of Jaipur,
Jodhpur, Bundi, Bikaner, Kota and Karauli. Udaipur
retained its romantic quality and Rosita Forbes, who
passed this land of bravery during the decline of
the British Raj, described it as "like no other
place on earth."
Sisodia Kings who ruled from Udaipur Rana Udai Singh
II reigned 1568-1572 Maharana Pratap Singh
reigned 1572-1597 Rana Amar Singh I reigned
1597-1620 Rana Karan Singh reigned 1620-28 Rana
Jagat Singh I reigned 1628-54 Rana Raj Singh I
reigned 1654- 1681 Maharana Jai Singh reigned
1681-1700 Rana Amar Singh II reigned 1700-16
Maharana Sangram Singh II reigned 1716-34 Rana
Jagat Singh II reigned 1734-51 Rana Pratap Singh
II reigned 1752-55 Rana Raj Singh II reigned
1755-62 Rana Ari Singh II reigned 1762-72 Rana
Hamir Singh II reigned 1772-78 Rana Bhim Singh
reigned 1778-1828 Maharana Jawan Singh reigned
1828-38 Maharana Swaroop Singh reigned 1842-1861
Maharana Shambhu Singh reigned 1861-74 Rana Sajjan
Singh reigned 1874-84 Maharana Fateh Singh
reigned 1884-1930 Maharana Bhopal Singh reigned
1930-55 Maharana Bhagwat Singh reigned 1955-84
Maharana Arvind Singh from 1984-
About the city
Udaipur is famous around the world as the City Of
Lakes or Venice of The East. The Pichola Lake, Fateh
Sagar, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar in this city are
considered some of the most beautiful lakes in the
state. Fateh Sagar contains two small islands, one
of which contains USO, or Udaipur solar observatory,
and the other one has a beautiful garden called
Nehru Garden.
Udaipur is well connected to the world through land,
rail and air. It is known for its Rajput-era
palaces. Particularly famous is the Lake Palace,
which entirely covers a small island in the Pichola
Lake. Many of the palaces have been converted into
luxury hotels. The City Palace, or the Palace of the
then King of Mewar, is one of the most beautiful
places to visit in the city.
Interesting Monuments and Places
City Palace: Standing on the east bank of lake
Pichola, is a massive series of palaces built at
different times from 1559 A.D. The balconies of the
palace provide panoramic views of "Jag Niwas" (the
world wide famous Lake palace hotel), Jag Mandir on
one side and on the other the city of Udaipur. Its
main entrance is through the triple-arched gate -
the Tripolia, built in 1725. The way now leads to a
series of courtyards, overlapping parations,
terraces, corridors and gardens - a harmonic
profusion hard to describe. There is a Suraj Gokhda,
where the maharanas of Mewar presented themselves in
the times of trouble to the people to restore
confidence. The Mor-chowk (Peacock courtyard), gets
its name from the vivid mosaics in glass decorating
its walls. The chini chitrashala is noteworthy while
a series of wall paintings of Krishna are on display
in Bhim Vilas. There are numerous other palaces such
as Dilkhush mahal, Sheesh mahal, Moti mahal and
Krishna vilas - in memory of a princess of striking
beauty who poisoned herself to avert a bloody battle
for her hand by rival princess. Now the palace
contains many antique articles, paintings,
decorative furniture and utensils and attracts
thousands of visitors every day.
Lake Palace - Originally known as the Jag Niwas,
took three years to build and was inaugurated in
1746. Nothing but marble is used in the composition
of this palace. It is now a luxury hotel.
Jag Mandir - Another island in the Lake Pichola,
which is known for its beautiful garden courtyard.
Shah Jahan took refuge here while revolting against
his father.
City Palace and Museum - Pratap Museum, While
entering the City palace the straight way go to the
Government Pratap Museum housed with old sculptures
and inscriptions. The antique paintings of Mewar,
the turban of prince Khurram later on called Shah
Jahan, who built world famous Taj Mahal has also
been displayed here as a token of friendship of
Maharana Khazan Singh. Next to Fateh Prakash Palace,
houses beautiful glass and mirror works.
Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal - An excellent museum of
folk arts. Also hosts great puppet shows in its
auditorium.
Maharana Pratap Memorial or Moti Magri: Atop the
Moti Magri or Pearl Hill, overlooking the Fateh
Sagar Lake is the memorial of the Rajput hero
Maharana Pratap with a bronze statue of the Maharana
astride his favourite horse "Chetak". More details
are available at Maharanapratap.net, a fantastic
colloction of facts and figures on Maharana Pratap
and his life.
Sajjangarh Fort - The summer resort of the Maharajas
is atop the hill overlooking all the lakes. This
palace had an ingenious way to collect rain water
for consumption all year around.
Jagdish Temple - a Temple situated in the middle of
the city - a big tourist attraction,
The temple of Jagannath Rai, now called Jagdish-ji,
is a major monument and should be seen carefully.
Raised on a tall terrace and completed in 1651, it
is a tribute alike to the tenacity of its builders
and the resilence of the art tradition it
represents. It attaches a double storeyed Mandapa
(hall) to a double - storied, saandhara (that having
a covered ambulatory) sanctum. The mandapa has
another storey tucked within its pyramidal samavarna
(bell - roof) while the hollow clustered spire over
the sanctum contains two more, non - functional
stories. Lanes taking off from many of the
sheharpanah (city wall) converge on the Jagdish
Temple and walking leisurely through them brings you
face with the many layers of the cultural palimpsest
that Udaipur is. It was built by Maharana Jagat
Singh Ist in 1651 A.D. It is a good example of Indo
- Aryan architecture.
Fateh Sagar Lake- Lovers Paradise : Fateh Sager Lake
is one of the most romantic vicinity for young
lovers, it is situated in the north of Lake Picholas.
It is the most peaceful and relaxing place to spend
leisures for much of the travellers and Udaipur
localities . This beautiful Fateh Sager Lake bestow
with infinite beauty of the Aravali hills at the
backdrop of serene lake body. It was originally
build by Maharana Jai Singh in the year 1678 AD, but
later on reconstructed and extended by Maharana
Fateh Singh, As lot of destruction was caused, due
to the heavy rains. Whereas, today Fateh Sager Lake
is the most preferable site for endless wanderers,
the mornings and evenings are very much refreshing
around the lake, and in the middle of lake, you can
see a grand Nehru park, which is a popular garden
island, showcase an image of boat shaped cafe. The
lake is one of the major attractions of Udaipur,
these are some real moments that you will going to
witness, once please your eyes with the precious
sapphire of Udaipur.
Lake Pichola - The Sapphire Udaipur : Lake Pichola
is one of the most fascinating lakes, which has two
islands, Jag Niwas and the Jag Mandir. This
beautiful shimmering lake is 4km long and 3 km wide,
originally built by Maharana Udai Singh II after he
discovered the jewel of Rajasthan Udaipur. There
are many ghats, like the bathing and washing ghats,
which can be approached through boats from the City
Palace of Udaipur (Bansi Ghat). In the heart of
lake, most delicate world marvel is built the Lake
Palace which is now converted into a heritage palace
hotel. This captivating palace hotel is considered
to be 3 decades old in the history of Udaipur. The
Lake remains fairly shallow, at the time of heavy
rains, and gets dry easily at the time of severe
drought. Once the island dries, it makes the best
time to take the leisure walk inside the most remote
parts of Lake Pichola, where one can sight row of
crocodiles, which is none other a thrilling
experience for most of the enthusiastic travellers.
Factoid - A hermit is said to have advised the
Maharana to establish his kingdom over Lake Pichola,
after the fall of Chittaurgarh by Mughal emperor
Akbar.
Udaipur Solar Observatory- Asia's only one solar
observatory, The Udaipur Solar Observatory is
situated on an island in the middle of the Lake
Fatehsagar (Location: 240 35.1' : 730 42.8' ) and
the main office building is located at its NW-shore
near Bari Road - Rani Road Junction. The site is run
under PRL (Physical Reaserch Lab) in Ahemdabad. The
sky conditions at Udaipur are quite favourable for
solar observations. The large water body surrounding
the telescopes decreases the amount of heating of
the surface layers. This decreases the turbulence in
the air mass and thereby improves the image quality
and seeing. The main objective of obtaining the high
spatial and temporal resolution observations of
solar photospheric and chromospheric activity is to
understand the various dynamic phenomena occurring
on the surface of the Sun. USO (UDAIPUR SOLAR
OBSERVATORY) is one of The six sites comprising the
Global Oscillations Network Group Network in World.
Gulab Bagh & Zoo - A spectacular rose Garden laid
out by Maharana Sajjan Singh, is situated near the
palace on east side of LakeGulab Bagh & Zoo Pichhola.
A library in the garden has a rare collection of
ancient handwritten manuscripts and books. Within
the garden, there is a zoo with tigers, leopards,
chinkara and many wild animals and birds are being
kept.
Nehru Garden - Its a beautiful park, situated in the
middle of Fateh Sager Lake. This attractive park is
blessed with great fauna of beauty, hence covers the
huge area of about 41 acres with its flower gardens
and a lily pond. As the name suggest, it was
inaugurated on the birth anniversary of First Prime
Minster of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. The garden
overlooks the ancient Moti Mahal of MahaRana Pratap
and gives a delightful view of Aravalli hills
surrounded from the three sides. You can also access
here by an enjoyable boat ride.
Bagore-ki-Haveli- This is a very congenial old
building built right on the waterfront of Lake
Pichola at Gangori Ghat. Amir Chand Badwa, the Prime
Minister of Mewar built it in the eighteenth
century. The palace has over hundred rooms and some
very interesting display of costumes and modern art.
The glass and mirror in the interiors of the Haveli
delicate work and well preserved too. It also
preserves a fine example of Mewar Painting on the
walls of Queen's Chamber. The two peacocks made from
small pieces of colored glasses are fine examples of
glasswork. After the death Badwa the building became
the property of Mewar State. It came to be occupied
by Maharana Shakti Singh of Bagore who built the
palace of the three arches also in 1878 and it
acquired its name of Bagore-ki-haveli, the house of
Bagore. After independence the structure lay in
neglect until 1986 when it housed the West Zone
Cultural centre. The haveli now stages delightful
evening's entertainment; the pleasurable performance
of Rajasthani traditional dance and music in the
moody surroundings of the haveli. It is an ideal
place for an evening entertainment while enjoying
the view of Lake Pichola.
Saheliyon-ki-Bari- Maharana Sangram singh builds
this in the mid 18th century. The 'garden of the
maidens' brings to mind the lifestyle of the ladies
of the court. The delightful gardens appear discreet
and in impeccable taste. There are four pools with
dainty kiosks, and all around are flowerbeds, lawns,
pools and fountains protected by a series of walls
and shady trees. The Foundation of the Sahelion ki
bari functions solely by water pressure and no pumps
are used. The garden has a lotus pool, a sitting
room decorated with paintings and glass mosaics. The
whole ambiences is flavored by the nostalgia of
those beautiful bells enjoying themselves in a
lavish aura.
Ahar Museum- Located about 2 km east of Udaipur is
an impressive cluster of cenotaphs of the Maharanas
of Mewar. There are about nineteen cenotaphs of
Maharanas cremated there. The most striking cenotaph
is that Maharana Amar Singh, who reigned from 1597
to 1620. Nearby is also Ahar Museum, where on
display is limited but very rare earthen pottery.
Some sculptures and other archaeological finds. Some
pieces date back to 1700 BC and a tenth century
metal figure of Buddha is a special attraction.
Shilpgram - The crafts village, located north west
of Udaipur, is a must see place
for those who want to see the cultural heritage of
India, its handicrafts etc. Shilpgram hosts crafts
fair every year which is one of the biggest in
India, people from different states in the country
hold their stalls showcasing their art and crafts
work. More information can be found at http://www.shilpgram.org
Neemach Mata Temple - Located on a beautiful green
hill in Dewali (Pronounced Dey-vaa-lee) area of
Udaipur, this temple is beautifully made and a great
experience to visit. It has both stairs and uphill
slope way to climb, which is around 800 Meters of
walk. The experience you get when you are at the top
of hill is unmatched, and the whole Panorama of
Udaipur is visible clearly from there. A must visit
place.
Wlid Life Sanctuary
Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary is located in the most rugged
of the Aravali in Pali, Rajsamand and Udaipur
districts of Rajasthan. It takes name after the
impressive historic fort of Kumbhalgarh, which come
into view over the Park. It is 578 km² in area and
at an altitude of 500 to 1,300m. It is home to a
very large variety of wild life, some of which are
highly endangered species. The wild life includes
wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle
cat, smabhar, nilgai, chaisingh (the four horned
antelope), chinkara and hare. The bird life at
Kumbhalgarh is also gratifying. The normally shy and
untrusting grey jungle fowl can be spotted here.
Peacocks and Doves can be sighted regularly feeding
on grains scattered by the jungle guards. Bird like
the red spur owls, Parakeets, golden Oriole, grey
Pigeons, Bulbul, Dove and white breasted kingfisher
can also be seen near the water holes. Kumbhalgarhs
natural beauty is attracting many tourists and
especially for its accessibility from Udaipur, which
is 100 km from here. Foot tracking and horse safari
organised by local tour operators are proving to be
very popular. A typical safari route enters the
sanctuary from the Kumbhalgarh Fort and cutting
across the sanctuary it reaches Ghanerao, and then
borders an old abandoned road. On this road, one can
sight Chinkaras, Neelgais, four horned Antelope and
many birds. |
