Udaipur is the lake city of Rajasthan.  Most of the state might be a desert, but Udaipur, with its five huge interconnected lakes is blessed with not just a perennial water supply, but the lakes also keep the city and its environment cool, even in the sweltering heat of summer! The city draws not just crowds of tourists coming from across the world for a glimpse of its magnificent palaces, but also droves of migratory birds drawn by the lakes! The city is thus an interesting blend of history and nature, well worth a leisurely visit. While there is much to see and do in Udaipur, here are some things you should not miss –

   1. Take a leisurely walk around the Fateh Sagar Lake….

Visit the garden amidst the lake and watch the sun set over the water… as well as birds returning home.  In winter, the garden hosts numerous migratory birds, but even in peak summer, we saw scores of birds, especially lapwings, nesting.

While there, also pay a visit to the museum dedicated to Maharana Pratap. While the museum is mostly about the battle of Haldighati, what we especially enjoyed were the miniature models of the Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh forts!

2. Visit the city palace and museum and take one of the complete tour packages… and spend the entire day amidst relics of a bygone era….. the palace is well preserved and provides a glimpse into the life of the royal family in days gone by….

While there, don’t miss the crystal gallery! Can you imagine sofas and beds all made out of crystals? No? Just visit the crystal gallery…. Also included in the complete package

Go for a boat ride on Lake Picchola to wrap up the experience!

3. Ride the cable car to the Karni Mata Temple… Not spiritually inclined? Doenst matter! The view is worth the ride!!

4.      Visit the Sajjangad Fort

Located within the wildlife sanctuary, the fort is the only monument in  the area not maintained by the royal family, but by the ASI. Don’t expect the richness and the opulence visible at the other palaces , but this fort is still worth a visit, for its enviable rain water harvesting system designed over 500 years ago! Talk to one of the guides and they may just take you on a bike ride into the forest, and show you the towers built for the hunting kings and small palaces built for queens to watch the hunting!

5. Wind up your day with the Sound and Light show at the City palace.  Conducted in English during the peak season and Hindi during off-season, the story of the Mewar Rajputs is recited in a captivating manner. Listening to the stories of the kings, queens and their struggles, it is impossible not to get involved. There was not a dry eye at the end! And the palace looks magnificent, all lit up!

Rediscover , relax and rejuvenate yourself in Club Mahindra’s  Kumbalgargh property in Rajasthan

During our road trip to Rajasthan we were fascinated by the havelis that were so unique and beautiful. We were told by the locals that these were built by the nobles and traders who dared not build palaces and yet had to build palatial mansions to differentiate them from the commoners.

Havelis are huge mansions with beautiful frescoes on their walls and they were built by the rich traders as status symbols. The term ‘haveli’ in Rajasthan was first applied by the Vaishnava sect to refer to their temples but later the Marwaris erected huge buildings and called them havelis. They commissioned artists to paint these buildings which were heavily influenced by the Mughal architecture.

Most of the havelis in Rajasthan are not occupied and are tended to by a caretaker.

The first haveli we saw was in Udaipur – Bagore ki haveli. It is on the banks on Lake Pichola at Gangori Ghat. It was built by Amir Chand Badwa the Prime Minister of Mewar, in the 18^th century. In 1986; it was handed over to the West Zone Cultural Centre who then converted it into a museum. They have done a wonderful job of restoring it in consultation with the experts and members of the royal family. To maintain the local flavour and colour they utilised local material and the services of local craftsmen.

There are numerous corridors & balconies, courtyards and terraces in the haveli. The interiors of the Haveli are embellished with intricate and fine mirror work. On view also are the private quarters of the royal ladies, their bath rooms, dressing rooms, bed rooms, living rooms, worship rooms and recreation rooms.

Unique symbols of the Rajput clan, such as jewellery boxes, dice-games, hukkas, pan boxes, nut crackers, hand fans, rose water sprinklers, copper vessels and other items are also on display here.

The second haveli we saw was in Jaisalmer. It was Patwon ki haveli. This ostentatious haveli was commissioned and constructed in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, a rich trader. It has ornate wall paintings, intricate yellow sandstone-carved jharokhas (balconies), gateways and archways.

The office of the Archeological Survey of India and State art and craft department is also situated in the haveli.

Just a few minutes walk away from Patwon ki havelis is ther Nathmalji ki haveli.

This Haveli was the residence of Mohta Nathamal who was the Prime Minister at the Jaisalmer Royal Court. It was commissioned by Maharawal Beri Sal and constructed by two architect brothers named Hathi and Lalu.

It is said that the two brothers constructed different facets of the Haveli simultaneously.

At the entrance of the Nathmalji ki Haveli there are two elephants made of yellow stone. There are beautiful pictures of horses, cattles engraved on pillars and walls.

Then in Mandawa we stayed in a haveli that was converted into a Hotel. It was very beautiful, traditional with all the modern conveniences!

Mandawa is full of havelis and we toured the place on foot and overed most of them. The Havelis were built in this grand style by the prosperous merchants of those times. Now the entire town is referred to as an Open Art Gallery.

All these havelis are now tourist attractions. Apart from the havelis there is nothing else to see in Mandawa and it is known as Haveli tourism! Many of the other travellers we encountered during our journey had decided to stay in Club Mahindra resort- The Roop Vilas Palace Nawalgarh and explore Rajasthan..

Udaipur – founded by Maharana Udai Singh II, when he lost the famous Chittor fort to the Mughals. A picturesque city set amidst aravalli hills, surrounded by lakes, a rich culture and a famous history. I was very excited to leave the more commercialised Jaipur to experience this land of Rajputs. Added to the fact was that we had booked a suite that faced the famous lake Pichola.

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Udaipur is 401.4 km from Jaipur. Travelling from Jaipur, one has to take NH8 route. However that day, the road was blocked due to Gujjar protests. So we took a slightly longer route from Pushkar, via Chittorgarh on NH79.

I was very keen to see Chittor – the doomed fort town which withstood more than three attacks by Mughals. But the most famous tragic tale is that of Rani Padmini who fell into the pyre(jauhar) with other royal ladies while their husbands along with the King Ratan Singh committed Saka – fighting till death a losing battle with Alauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi.

In fact, the doomed tale of Chittoor led to the founding of Udaipur. During the third raid on the fort by the Mughals led by Akbar, Maharana Udai Singh II ran away from Chittor and founded a new city, Udaipur in the foothills of Aravalli range. Since it was well nestled among the mountains, it was safe from the ravaging Mughals.

While the stories are very interesting and full of drama, the landscape is far from it. Going on the NH 79, the scenery appeared dusty, arid and with occasional dry bushes on either side. The bright burning sun gave the final composition to the stark region; we had not even touched the desert region! I dreaded to have a flat tyre in this highway.

Still, it was a good journey, atleast we were in a car! Imagine crossing these regions on a horseback! I loved the stark contrast of the landscape with the colourful clothes the people wear here. While the journey was uneventful, the last leg took away much of my enthusiasm of arriving at Udaipur. Thanks to the President of India!

It seems, Ms Prathibha Patil, our honorable President had arrived at Udaipur to offer prayers at Jag Mandir, the lake temple. This resulted in the inevitable traffic jam that usually occurs in such occasions. The last few kilometres of tarred road looked like a badly packed closet with every kind of vehicle trying to nose its wheel into the last inch of space left on the highway. So what should take 30 minutes took us 2 painful hours of crawling at the speed of an ant.

We finally reached the hotel at 11 in the night and my son went to sleep without dinner – well, atleast in a comfortable bed. Thank you bureaucracy!

Jagat Niwas

The next morning, we rose from our beds to appreciate at the location of Jagat Niwas. The heritage hotel overlooking Lake Pichola was right next to the huge Udaipur Palace. Our room was the lowest one that had box windows jutting into the lake. Sipping chai and looking out, it seemed as if our room was precariously perched on the water.

As I wandered around the courtyard, I spotted a huge tulsi plant with a traditional katte (platform). Jagat Niwas hotel, like every other hotel in this area, was once a haveli. Build in the traditional style with an open courtyard in the centre and surrounded by myriad suites, I suspect this corner to be a ladies’ section. The hotel is a very popular one and one needs to book in advance, especially if you want a lake facing room.

Lake Pichola

Lake Pichola is a vast lake 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. Perched high on one side is the huge Palace and smattering set of heritage buildings that are now hotels. On the other side one can see the ghats, Jagdish temple and in the far end, one can spot the Sajjangarh fort, a summer home of the Mewar royals which is also a good spot to enjoy a good sunset.

The lake however is man made and built in 13th century, by Rana Banjara who evacuated an entire Picholi to form this lake! Lakes such as these were then used as water sources (for bathing, washing etc) other than providing a surreal ambience. Very beautiful and picturesque, this lake can however get completely dry in summer.

The lake has two islands that are home to Lake Palace and Jag Mandir. While the former is now a hotel, the latter is a small Shiv temple with a restaurant and calm instrumental music wafting in hot afternoons. An obvious delight to have lunch at.

About the food, be warned, since most of the tourists here are foreigners, the heritage havelis and the palace hotels serve continental or standard north indian food. To try a local cuisine, one has to leave the lake side and visit the inner areas.

After a series of dal bhatis, we craved for some idli dosas and visited a south indian hotel in the market area. Surprisingly it was great food that we did full justice too! In the western part, look for Gujarathi hotels, they would also serve good South Indian food. I loved the colourful chutneys(atlest four!) that they serve before the main course is ready.

City Palace
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When you go for a boat ride on the lake Pichola, look at the palace from a distance. The huge palace complex appears atleast half the size of the hillock nearby. You’ll get a rough estimate of how huge this palace is. A local guide said with pride that this was the largest palace in Rajasthan & the second largest Palace in Asia! I can vouch for his pride but am not sure about the fact:)

The Palace is actually a huge complex of palaces built during different eras spanning over 300 years. The ‘Rai Angan’ was the first to be built by Rana Udai Singh II. Consequently the Fateh Prakash Palace, Krishna Mahal, Mor chowk etc have been built in different eras. As one enters the palace through a three arched gates (Tripolia), there are several toranas in the passage that leads to mehak chowk. These were then used to weigh the kings and an equal amount of gold was distributed among the people. No wonder the locals like there royalty so much!

The passage leads to a huge courtyard which is often hired for private weddings. Though lucrative for the Palace upkeep, it does take away the royal ambience that goes with such huge palaces. Some of the palaces here are hotels. Check with the reception in advance if you plan to have lunch here since they get booked for private parties where general hungry public are not allowed. Its quite a distance from one end to the other here, so be prepared & keep your rucksack full.

Apart from Udai Singh, the other famous King of the Sisodia clan is Maharana Pratap who defeated Akbar in the battle of Haldighati. The Mewar dynasty is quite long and the stories make a charming book that can be taxing even for a history buff. My advice, take a guided tour – if you get tired, make it across two days for a couple of hours in a day each.

Sajjangarh

This hilltop fort is actually a hunting lodge cum palace of the Rajputs, built by yet another Rana, Rana Sajjan Singh. Perched on the very top of the hill, its interiors are stark, unlike the beautiful City Palace. However the tourists visit this hill top fort for its views of the udaipur city and the magnificent Sunset.

I like the sunsets in Rajasthan. Unlike South India, which have skies with passing white clouds that give a haze to the brightness of the sun, the Sun in Rajasthan is magnificent and hot. Its the only thing that decorates the sky. And at 6pm (atleast in winter), one moment its there and the next moment its gone, taking away the heat and making way to the coolness of the moon. I’m not being poetic, the Sun is.

The best way to know more about the old city is to walk everywhere. While the recent added areas are much like any other modern Indian city, the roads in old area near the Ghats have deceptive narrow roads that almost seems to lead you into someone’s haveli turned hotel. Along the small lanes are shops that sell almost everything – colourful clothes, bags, handicrafts and also ‘fast and furious internet’ connection. Massage Parlours are very popular here and some of them tout the Lonely Planet recommended badges.

While the entire area has a venice like ambience, with every nook or corner leading into an charming haveli, I was taken aback with the aggressive driving in these matchbox like areas. An area that was originally planned for pedestrians have very little of them today. Two wheelers, rickshaws, tongas, cars and even small tempos zip in & out of the urban maze! Enjoyable until you get caught in a traffic jam.

Just one advice to Indian tourists. Most of the LP recommended restaurants serve good continental food. So dont just go by the LP rating – see what kind of food you would prefer.

It was a family trip to Rajasthan in December 2010. Jaipur was our first halt. That afternoon; after a good lunch in the old Jaipur city, we were on the way to Amer.

Jaipur as a city consists of 3 townships – Amer, old Jaipur and new Jaipur City. Amer or Amber (pronounced as um – bur which means Sky) Fort was originally built by Raja Man Singh I in the 15th century. Amer was the capital of Kachhawa rulers who ruled the region from here until Sawai Jai Singh II founded Jaipur.

Our guide explained to us the significance of the word ‘Sawai’ that’s prefixed to Jaipur rulers. It seems when the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah on a hunting spree in the forests of this region was surprised that every Lion had a pierced nose. When he came to know that the Raja of Jaipur had performed such a feat, he proclaimed the king as ‘Sawai’. From then on, all the kings of Jaipur have a ‘Sawai’ prefixed to their names.

As we reached the foothills of Amer, I realised that it’s not just a small fortress but spans across a whole hilly region. One can see the fort boundaries around the many hill peaks and troughs. Amer is a whole fortified township with a separate governing body. Amer has an Amer Development Authority, much like our BDA (Bangalore Development Authority).
As the car drove uphill, we could see many old dilapidated havelis. Our guide mentioned that some of them were in litigation and hence the bad upkeep. He was pretty excited about a couple of heritage dwellings that Vasundhara Raje and Lalit Modi had bought in this heritage zone. Since then there was hue and cry the places were returned to the government, he continued.
We entered the main palace through the entrance that Kings used after a successful battle.A small temple of Kali stands here locked – not for public view. A Ganesha Idol, carved on a single piece of coral, is placed atop the door. The goddess, it seems, is a very fiery one and claimed human sacrifice when she was first installed. Since then there has always been animal sacrifice here.

Pol means ‘gate’ in Rajasthani. The courtyard can be entered through Suraj Pol and Chand Pol. A small staircase leads us to the inner courtyard. As we enter, on the left is Diwan-e-Aam, a place where the King used to hold meetings with the people. Since the Rajasthan rulers had made peace with the Mughals, the Hindu and Mughal friendship reflects in the architecture of this period in Jaipur.

Within the palace is a much beautiful Diwan-e-Khaas, the Durbar hall where the Kings met his ministers.

The Diwan-e-Aam is pillared and much simpler in style and architecture compared to Diwan-e-Khaas which blew my breath away. Bejewelled with Belgian mirrors, the hall is a perfect example to tout Rajasthani craftsmanship. The design has been immortalised in the set created for the Madhubala’s famous song (‘Pyar kiya toh to Darna Kya’) in the movie Anarkali. Movies, thankfully, are not permitted in the area.
In front of the Diwan-e-Khaas is a small garden with fountains. The entire palace area is very beautiful. While from outside it looks strong and sturdy as any fortified area is, the inside reflects the famous Rajasthani craftsmanship and paintings. But what I was really surprised and awed was the civil engineering of those times.
Some excellent examples are in the seasonal chambers for the Queens’ chambers.
Winter: The insides of these rooms are designed with Belgian mirrors that are slightly convex. In winter when the lamps are lit, the glass gets heated and provides much warmth in the room.
Summer: Ducts carrying rainwater are very strategically placed just above the thin curtain that covers the room. As the water drops on the cloth, the draft through the huge windows cools the wet cloth and creates a natural air conditioning to the place.

Spring: Perfumes are strategically placed in inlets that bring in monsoon water. As the water flows over these perfumes, the room suddenly becomes fragrant. The water flows further down and drains into a central garden.
Bathing area: Separate inlets carry hot and cold water into a common room that has a pit, a kind of a bathtub. The waste water can is then channelled through another outlet.
In such a hot place, especially atop a hill, water has always been a precious resource. From the small hunting lodge like Sajjan garh to a huge palace at Amer, the engineers have harvested rain water very skilfully. A common pit is constructed in the palace courtyard where all the collected rain water is streamed into. In those days, battles went on for months. The pit served as an excellent well to pack water for the soldiers.
As we left, our guide mentioned that we could ride up to the fort on an elephant like how they used to come in the old times– something that my four year old would have appreciated more than all the history. We then settled for a camel ride near Jal Mahal as a reward for putting up with his parents and a hot relentless December sun. (It was anything but cold here when we visited. We missed the cold wave by a week I think).
Fact File
Where: Amer is 13 km from Jaipur city
How to go: You can hire a cab/taxi from Jaipur. Vehicles can go until the top. Alternatively there are elephant rides from the foothill to the palace.
What to do: I would recommend a guide to accompany you. Audio guides are also available. Guides fee for the Palace can be around Rs 100 to 150/-

Sand and water have much in common…..One always associates the sea with the seaside, that is, the beaches. When we had been to Bordi, we were amazed to see only sand as far as eyes could see. It was low tide then, and the water was far far away.

Yet, one also associates sand to deserts. For there also, there is sand as far as eyes can see. Truly, Sand and the Sea have much in common. From where one stands, one can see only the same view, stretching, maybe to the end of the world.

As we stood on the sand dunes of Jaisalmer, surrounded by sand on all sides, we felt really small… It was so easy to get lost in the never-ending desert…if it wasn’t for the guide with us…It was scary, but so beautiful…nature at her rawest… One admires the people who live there. It is probably only because they have been born there, and have it in their blood that they can survive there. It is so easy for an outsider to succumb to the vagaries of nature in that land….unbearable heat in the summer, and long, cold nights in the winter. It is the basic rule of survival of the fittest, which rules the place and one can not but help admire the people who have survived in such a place.

It is such people who have made Jaisalmer what it is today. The Kings who ruled this land were proud and brave, and they built a beautiful fort, which, till today guards a city full of life, within its walls. According to our guide, it is the only fort in India, where people still live. In his words, it is “A Living Fort”. And what a beautiful one! Like the other forts of Rajasthan, this one too is well maintained. But, unlike the other forts, here, one can catch a glimpse of what life was like, within the walls of a fort. Narrow streets take one around the fort, within which, everyone knows everyone else. There are people pursuing professions which their great grandfathers practiced, and enjoying it! Since the fort is a heritage site, there haven’t been many changes inside, and people live in the same houses their ancestors lived in, of course with slight modifications. This lends a genuine aura to the place, which makes it a hot tourist destination.

And that brings me to an interesting fact. Tourism brings in the highest revenue here, and everyone wants to have a hand in the pie. So, as our guide told us “Children all over the world learn their mother tongue first, and then the local language of the area. However, in Jaisalmer, the first language a child learns is English, followed by French and Spanish. Many children know Italian and German too. Hindi is a secondary language for them. After all, how many tourists actually speak Hindi? As far as our mother tongue is concerned, it is a dying language. No one speaks it any more. One can earn in foreign currency by speaking in the language of the tourist. Hindi brings in little, but Marwadi, nothing at all!” A very logical reasoning, borne by the truth of his words. I could see so many children conversing in foreign languages, with an ease that comes only with regular conversation, not learning. I myself have learnt French, and actually considered myself to be good at speaking the language, but honestly, I didn’t have the guts to try out my language skills on them… they were so much better at it !

Among the places we visited was the Gadi Sagar Lake. It was once the source of water supply to the city, for the lake was built in such a way that there is water throughout the year. A miracle by itself, to build a like in the middle of a desert, and also have potable water in it! The lake is filled with catfish, which are held to be sacred by the locals. No one would dare to try to fish in the lake! On the contrary, people come and feed the fish daily, as a sort of a vow! The fish have grown to enormous sizes, and the sight of them leaping to catch the crumbs thrown by the people is an impressive one.

An interesting story goes along with the lake. This is the place where the Gangaur festival takes place, attended by the royalty. It seems that at one time, there was a prostitute in the area, who was very rich. She wanted to build something that she would be remembered for, after her death. And, being a gutsy woman, she wanted to turn up her thumb in the royalty. So, she got a huge arch built at the entrance of the lake, through which the King would have to pass during the festival. The king, would, in effect be bowing before her structure. Needless to say, the royalty wasn’t impressed, and plans were made to tear down the structure. This is when the resourceful woman showed her mettle, by constructing a small temple on the arch, overnight. No one in India will knowingly destroy a temple, and the arch stands there to this day. Checkmated by the prostitute, the King pretended to ignore the arch, and entered the premises from one side. To this day, the practice continues, with the kings not using the arch as an entrance.

The old Havelis are a major tourist attraction in Jaisalmer, and rightly so. They are huge, and palatial, and belong to the erstwhile landlords of the area. They seem to be next in the rung after the royalty, and were as conscious of their comforts. The beautiful carvings and the architecture of the houses are worth a closer look.

We visited Jaisalmer in June, when it was hot, but not as hot it would have been in peak summer. It was the off season, and there weren’t many tourists around. What I mean is that there weren’t many foreigners around. The only tourists were Indians like us, on their holidays just before schools reopened. The guides told us that during the peak season, all the hotels would be full, and tents put up all along the roads. Most people came to stay in the tents. That was when the local performers would be around, lending a genuine touch to the heritage sites. From one and all, we heard about the festival season, when Jodhpur and Jaisalmer could be seen at their best.

I beg to differ. Of course, the festivals and the festivities are what make India the unique country that she is, and that is what people come to see and be a part of, from all over the world. Undoubtedly, that would be a great experience. However, one must not forget that these are places where all the population lived in a very small area, within the fort for instance. Outside the fort were vast open spaces, which have remained so, because of nature being what she is, a bit difficult to manage. The feelings and thoughts that permeate the atmosphere in such seclusion are never possible when there is a crowd. Just for that reason, I would like to go back there, again during off season. I can not forget the wonderful feeling I had, of being on top of the world, when I looked down from the fort, or the feeling of oneness with nature, which I felt on the never-ending sand dunes, or simply the pleasure of sliding and rolling down the sand dunes with my son. It is a feeling that stays with me, and one that I would encourage others also to experience.

“Idhar se aap dekhenge to aapko puri Mewar dikayidegi..aur udhar se Marwar” . My guide Firoze smiles as our translator takes over. “He is saying that you can see all of Mewar from here and from there, Marwar, “ translates Rashmi Dhanwani , a human rights activist from Mumbai .

I am at the Kumbalgarh fort in Rajasthan with a group of achievers who have been part of the “Cerebrate team.”Rashmi from our group takes over the role of the translator .

Standing almost at the roof of the fort , I see a 360* landscape of modern day Rajasthan spanning out in front of me.Kumbalgarh fort built in the 15th century by Rana Kumbha in the Aravalli Range had forked Mewar and Marwar and was a political asylum for many princes ,including Rana Udai Singh who later on founded Udaipur, about 90 kms away from here .Feroze continues as Rashmi translates, “Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Kumbalgarh form Mewar , while Jodhpur,Jaisalmer , Barmer is Marwar.”

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

My eyes trace the 36 kms length of the wall of the fort, said to be the second longest in the world after trhe Great Wall of China. The soft hues of the setting sun caress the walls. My reverie is interuppted by Rashmi who narrates the story of Kumbalgarh. Rana Kumbha ‘s attempted to build the fory, but failed until he met a saint who offered himself as a human sacrifice. The martyr apparently advised the king to construct the fort after his death. “ He said to build a temple where the head fell and the main fort where the body lay and a wall was built along the entire stretch.” We pause by as Firoze shows us the two spots which are now worshipped.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

There are nine gates to the fort, the most massive being the Ram Pol or the Ram Gate. We walk past the various gates and gather around Rashmi as she explains.“This is where the lamp was lit,”. According to a legend, Rana Kumbha used to light a massive lamp which used to shine brightly across all of Mewar. “ It is like a symbol of power,” translates Rashmi “and attracted even the queen of Jodhpur to abandon her husband and come here.” The story however did not end up like that of Helen of Troy, as the Rana apparently made the queen his sister and a war was averted.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

There are more than 300 temples within in the fort, a mix of both Jain and Hindu temples. “This is where the legendary Rana Pratap was born as well ,” They patiently wait for us to take pictures, before resuming the narration,” Here you can see the royal queen’s rooms including her toilets !” The guide continues,as we walked down the fort and sit on the steps of a temple overlooking the fort. And then the fort relives its glory, but for a few minutes as the lights come on . We take in the scene as silence reigns .

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

Jaipur is so close to Delhi that we completely take it for granted. I mean we always treat it as a place that can be visited anytime. I have been to Jaipur many times but somehow never explored it properly. In November 2008 I went to Jaipur again with my 18 year old, over six feet tall nephew. We had planned it as a weekend trip. We took the Ajmer Shatabdi up to Jaipur on a Saturday morning and took it back on Sunday evening from Jaipur.

Pic : Mridula D

Our plan was to hire an autorickshaw (because of this recommendation by Arun) with Gopi as our guide. I called Arun and asked for Gopi’s number and got in touch with him. Gopi assured us that he would be at the Jaipur station to pick us up. I got a call from Gopi as the Shatabdi was nearing Jaipur and that was quite reassuring. However, it took us quite some effort to figure out who was who once we got down at Jaipur. Once we met each-other, the first task was to find a hotel.

For our budget hotel we went with Raju (00 91 9829900473) and his friend Gopi’s (00 91 9352540301) recommendation and stayed in Hotel Banipark Palace which is a clean place. We promised Raju and Gopi that we would come out in 15 minutes and go for sightseeing and that is what we did.

Pic : Mridula D

Gopi told me then that he had an accident with his autorickshaw so his friend would show us around this time. When I asked him for a quote for the autorickshaw for the day, I was told I can pay whatever I wanted, as I was there guest. Try as I may, they would not give us a quote.

It was past eleven and Sunil and I wanted to have a brunch first. I wanted to eat Dal Bati Churma and Sunil normal Indian stuff. So Gopi took us to place (near railway station) where we got both. I feasted on Dal Bati Churma and would recommend it highly to all of you.

Pic : Mridula D

Then it was time to head out for sightseeing and Gopi took us to Jaigarh Fort first. The first thing that hit us was the vastness of the fort, I mean we are so used to cramped city life that open spaces tend to take the breath away. Within the premises is the biggest canon on the wheels and there are lot of things to explore. Puppet shows are held within the premises and there are a lot of monkeys to keep you company.

The next stop for us was the Amber Fort and I have been there many times before. There was a lot of restoration work going on at the Fort. Still, the gardens, the palaces within the fort and Sheesh Mahal particularly were the highlights of the day. On our way back Gopi stopped the auto for a while near Hawa Mahal but both of us were so tired by now that we clicked a photo from inside the auto and refused to get out! We did spend quite some time near Jal Mahal though.

Pic : Mridula D

After that we had dinner at Chit Chat (not too great for Indian food but they had very interesting room rates and quite popular with foreign tourists) and then I simply crashed. The kid kept watching for an hour or so but I was so tired that I was asleep within 10 minutes.

On day two, we explored bits of Jaipur that I had not seen before (and all popular places too, imagine how badly planned my previous trips were). Our first stop was Gaitore ki Chattriyan, which was very peaceful when we went there. Our next stop was City Palace which I thought was the highlight of our trip. The palace is really beautiful and worth spending a lot of time with. Audio guides are also available at Jaipur now.

Pic : Mridula D

Unfortunately we tried it only at one place in Jaipur, at Albert Hall Museum and that too Sunil’s insistence! After a little shopping (I love Lac jewelry) and a visit to Birla Mandir, very soon it was 4.00 in the evening and time to head back to the Railway Station to take the Shatabdi Express train back to Delhi. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and we paid Gopi Rs. 500 per day for his services.

Pic : Mridula D

Pic : Indrani

While strolling along the cities of Rajasthan, I found myself admiring the people of Rajasthan too. Especially the women, they wear bright outfits, colors like brilliant red, vibrant yellows and oranges, lively greens and dazzling blues. Women are a symbol of creation and that is why they wear colorful attires. Men wear white because it is symbolic of cleanliness and austerity.

Pic : Indrani

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