Day 3, 4 and 5
We started from Jaipur around 7 AM to Udaipur in a cab which local hotel people helped arrange. (Note: online rental of cabs turns out much cheaper)
We planned to visit Ajmer and Pushkar on the way.
Ajmer and Pushkar Kahani
We reached Pushkar first after a beautiful drive on NA 48. We could smell the presence of a shrine from a distance with the fragrance of incense sticks filling the air. Once we reached the temple, we got pulled into a ritual by the Pushkar Sarovar. What I noticed is that the pooja style is so different from South India. Having used to see the priests in Dhotis, I was flabbergasted to see priests wearing casual jeans.
Pushkar has a Brahma temple which is one of the very few Brahma temples in the world. It dates back to 14th century. The temple resides by the side of a serene Pushkar lake which was decorated by the beautiful petals of roses offered by the devotees. Pushkar lake is divided into multiple ghats where people were seen taking a dip in the holy lake.
Mandakki/beaten rice and sugar bits given as prasada.
The best part of Pushkar was having lunch at a local Dhaba where the rotis and dal bhaati choorna were made fresh using firewood.
Ajmer was an experience. Ajmer is known for the shrine of the Muslim Sufi saint Garib Nawaz, Ajmer Sharif Dargah built by Akbar in the 16th century.
We walked for nearly a mile to reach the Dargah. The road was decorated with green and white flags. The streets were crowded with shops of colourful dhoopas on both the sides. As we reached near, I spotted a lot of shops with baskets of fragrant rose petals. When we entered the place, one one side we found people chanting prayers seated in rows. On the other side, there were people offering their prayers leaning against the prayer wall.
It was night when we reached Udaipur.
Udaipur Memories
Udaipur, aka City of Lakes welcomed us with cold weather and lit up lakes around the city.
We had an entire day to explore the city of lakes. After a yummy South Indian breakfast at our homestay, our first stop of the day was at City Palace.
Before we visited palace, we spotted a beautiful temple rich in architecture just outside the palace. Jagadish temple, built around 16th century is a work of Māru-Gurjara architecture.
City palace which at the time our visit was famously known as the place where Ambani’s daughter had her Sangeeth, is a magnificent structure with view of the lakes from all corners of the palace. The palace was built over a period of 400 years by the Mewar Dynasty.
The interiors of the palace is something to lookout for with intricate mirror-work, marble-work, murals, wall paintings, silver-work and leftover of colored glass on the walls and ceilings.
Ghats; series of steps leading to the lake, were constructed to fetch water from the lake. The ghat near City palace by Lake Pichola is called Gangaur Ghat. The ghats areas are calm with Ravenhatah players doing their magic.
One of the place totally worth visiting is Bagore Ki Haweli. Its a mansion converted to a museum now housing world’s largest pagdi, puppets and various artifacts. Blush pink Bougenvilla flowers filled the front yard of the haweli.
Haweli’s have a concept of courtyard for activities like socialising, trading markets, cultural performances. The courtyard also had a plant of Tulsi in the center. Watching the occasional showers fall into the courtyard while eating a hot plate of mawa kachori must have been a view to watch!
The haweli had kitchen, prayer room in the ground floor and rest of the rooms in first floor with terrace opening up to the view of the peaceful Lake Pichola. Sheesh Mahal was also part of the Haweli. There was a room built for a widow which was all white and a photograph of her husband.
A part of Bagore Ke Haweli is converted to a theater where folk dances of Rajasthan will be performed every evening. The ticket counters open up just 30 minutes before the show and there will be limited number of seats. Some of the folk dances performed were Ghoomar, pot dance, dance with lamps.
After getting a dose of the royal history of Udaipur, I wanted to experience the markets and streets of modern Udaipur. It was so structured starting with shops for silver, followed by wood, steel, processed foods, dals and tea powders, ending with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Sahelion Ki Bari is a garden with fountains which was built for the queen and the royal ladies. You might like this place if you are into botany as varieties of flowering, medicinal plants are cultivated here.
How can we not go on a lake ride in a city of lakes? What better time than sunset to go on a boat ride?
Boat ride in Fateh Sagar lake at the perfect time of sunset was one of the best experiences we had at Udaipur. The water was gleaming golden orange reflecting the rays of sunset. To add more hue to the frame, we had a smiling and talented Ravenhatah instrumentalist playing the tunes of Sandeshi Ati Hai, Pardesi pardesi meri jana nahi. Perfect memories were made and moments were captured by the selfie freaks on board. 🙂
We ended the day by walking on the side of Ganguar Ghat where the entire place was lit up and reflection of the lit up structures in the lake was a view to watch!
Places Visited:
City Palace
Udaipur Market
Saheliyon ke Baari
Lake Pichola
Days Spent:
2 days
Happy Exploring!
Stay tuned to read the last leg of my trip to Rajasthan!