Udaipur: City Palace

Above: The entrance of the palace.

Left: A mural of something I didn't see in India. Well I saw some boys on an elephant carting around some sugar cane. Does that count?

Below: Another mural that adorns the walls of the palace.

November 15, 2004:
I arrived early this morning in Udaipur. I had to get up at 5 am to catch the plane here.. a 30 minute flight at the most. I was met as usual at the airport by the airplane meeting guy and his driver. They took me to my hotel, the rang mahal. It is another example of a small palace that has been in the family for generations and is now a guest house. You can tell that the place was once very nice with walls of ornamental carved bookcases, and amazing silver tables and detailed carved cabinets, and more. They were also clearly into hunting as they have their antique rajput rifles on the walls and a couple of very old leopard heads mounted on the wall. My room is the Kusch Mahal room... which is simple, but has some really nice pieces in the room.

Journal Continued:
If they had better sheets and a better mattress and better lighting, it could be deluxe. But it is one of those things where the repairs were essential, but not done with quality in mind. The funny thing is that if they had done a little more here and there, they could charge a lot more. In any case, it is nice and comfy and the people who run the place are very nice. The old man is at the counter most of the time. He was there when I registered and then asked me... "I have to ask you a direct question. Why do the Americans want George Bush?"

I have gotten that question a lot. I try to explain it as much as I can, but I am still completely confused myself... so I say that.

Left: From these windows you see lake pechola.

Right: Inside the palace, a romantic light fills the air.

Journal Continued:
Once I registered my tour guide showed up with his driver. We went first to city palace which is still owned by the maharana... passed down for like 20 generations. Each generation added their own little bit to the place and the end result is a little schizophrenic but still amazing. There are all these rooms that have inner courtyards that had jasmin water pools and beautiful trees. They also used the lattice marble walls for the women to look out and receive the wind, without being vulnerable to prying eyes. I just love how all of these places were open air all the time.

The city palace overlooked the lake pechola... which was at one time quite deep. Now it is all but dried out.

Left: One of the Maharana's beautiful Mawari steeds. The Mawari breed has ears that almost touch at the top.

Below: Inside, this special room of mirrors and colored glass.

Journal Continued:
The city palace also overlooked the two island palaces.. lake palace which is a lux hotel which you cant visit unless you want a very expensive dinner. The other you can't reach right now because the water is too high to walk to and too low to boat too. I suppose if you had some rubber boots, you could make it.

The maharana were also quite fond of colored glass which they placed in many of the ornate walls facing the sun. The sun is an important image in the palace as this region is particularly fond of worshiping the sun. They had several golden sun faces around the palace. Another very unique element of the palace was the use of embedded glass mosaics. They would set the glass pieces in the wet plaster and when it dried you had a mosaic wall that was flush and smooth. It is the sort of thing that looks amazing in a palace setting and would be way too much anywhere else.

Left: more colored glass. Each of the maharanas had their own unique style and it was demonstrated in their little additions to the palace.

Right: Columns in the light. My favorite kind of picture.

Left: A little boy, enjoying the view from the palace where little maharanas sat for hundreds of years I am sure.

Below: A beautiful family that had come to enjoy the castle. I loved their colorful clothes. Without even trying they could outshine the rooms of colored glass and mirrors.

Journal Continued:
That is ok, if I had been faster, I could have gotten a good shot since they were right in front of me briefly, but my manual camera isn't the best at things like that. I have to zoom and focus and check the light meter and focus again... and then the tiger has walked out of the frame. Anyway, after such a succesful day, I was happy.

The next morning I hiked up to another abandoned fort. The fort of the raja that overlooked the park. It had become a monkey city with langors everywhere running around and sitting on the fort walls enjoying a fine view. I guess the life of a monkey isn't so bad. They seem to enjoy themselves.

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Journal Continued:
In the afternoon, waiting for the second safari, I sat by the pool and chatted with the children of some german embassy people. The kids were very friendly. They surrounded me, and wanted to know everything about the US and life there. They spoke English as well as german. It is nice to meet kids that aren't terrified of strangers.

I also went to a local cooperative work place where they make goods and sell them and export them. The money goes to the women and for the first time, their children are able to go to school the women have money to pay for health prevention... a major success story. It was nice to see such a positive example of good deeds.