I am blessed to have a job that sends me to new and unusual destinations around India. This time work sent me to Udaipur, although I had a brief detour to Chittorgarh in order to visit the largest fort in India.
Chittorgarh Fort is positively massive, covering over a square mile of land. From the 7th-16th century, Chittorgarh Fort was the capital of the Mewar Kingdom until it relocated to Udaipur after siege by the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
The fort was built with 130 temples and 84 water tanks for rainwater collection. The architecture was amazing, and I was in awe trying to imagine the amount of labor and skill that went into its construction.
Although very beautiful, the most fascinating part of the fort was its rich history. Chittorgarh had 3 major sieges, each resulting in jauhar. Jauhar is the act of Rajput women throwing themselves in a funeral pyre and considered honorable act to avoid enslavement and dishonor by Muslim captures. Each major siege brought on mass jauhar resulting in the self-immolation of thousands of women.I could easily spent several more hours wandering the grounds.
Udaipur, is commonly known as "City of Lakes" or "Venice of the East". In keeping with Rajasthan's love of color monikers (i.e. Jaipur = Pink City, Jodhpur = Blue City, Jaisalmer = Golden City), Udaipur is also referred to as the White City. It is about the same size as Nacogdoches, TX, yet has about 600,000 inhabitants (Nac has 30,000). It was founded in 1559 and is popular with tourists and locals alike for its Rajput-era (Hindu warrior caste) palaces.
A fun part of being in Udaipur is the boats rides to and from the different palaces on the lake. A short boat ride across Lake Pichola takes you to Jag Mandir, an island palace. This palace was built as a summer resort for the royal family and has now been converted to a space for special events. Its is only accessible by boat, and I had the opportunity to go there for an amazing dinner.
Chittorgarh Fort is positively massive, covering over a square mile of land. From the 7th-16th century, Chittorgarh Fort was the capital of the Mewar Kingdom until it relocated to Udaipur after siege by the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
The fort was built with 130 temples and 84 water tanks for rainwater collection. The architecture was amazing, and I was in awe trying to imagine the amount of labor and skill that went into its construction.
Although very beautiful, the most fascinating part of the fort was its rich history. Chittorgarh had 3 major sieges, each resulting in jauhar. Jauhar is the act of Rajput women throwing themselves in a funeral pyre and considered honorable act to avoid enslavement and dishonor by Muslim captures. Each major siege brought on mass jauhar resulting in the self-immolation of thousands of women.I could easily spent several more hours wandering the grounds.
Udaipur, is commonly known as "City of Lakes" or "Venice of the East". In keeping with Rajasthan's love of color monikers (i.e. Jaipur = Pink City, Jodhpur = Blue City, Jaisalmer = Golden City), Udaipur is also referred to as the White City. It is about the same size as Nacogdoches, TX, yet has about 600,000 inhabitants (Nac has 30,000). It was founded in 1559 and is popular with tourists and locals alike for its Rajput-era (Hindu warrior caste) palaces.
Udaipur is remarkably clean in comparison to other parts of India, and I found it to be very safe to walk around and converse with locals. The city is absolutely picturesque, and I loved catching sunset at Lake Pichola.
I spent most of my four days in and around City Palace working. I was fortunate to grab a few hours to myself to check out some of the area. Maharana Udai Singh II built the palace after leaving Chittorgarh in the 16th century. The palace complex is considered the largest of its kind in Rajasthan, and all the buildings face east, as the Suryavansi Rajputs worshiped the sun god.
sunset view of City Palace complex from Lake Pichola
The interior of the palace was beautiful, intricate, and a stunning display of wealth.
Udaipur was gorgeous, and I really hope to have the opportunity to return for less work and more play!
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