Udaipur – The Kingdom Where Grandeur and Simplicity Lived Happily Ever After

As you travel across the length and breadth of a vast nation like India, you will find mindboggling diversity in food, religious practices, climate, languages, attire, and more. While India can be imaginatively called a mini continent, in reality, it is an exclusive melting pot of cultures and traditions like no other country on the face of the earth.

As a Keralite growing up in Dubai, the India that I saw in most foreign travel publications was home to women dressed in exuberant ghagras and cholis, men crowned with mesmerizing turbans, monkeys, elephants, and camels. This was the 90s when the states of North India were the face of India to foreigners.

My knowledge of the culture of the North Indian states was limited to the books I read. And my ardent desire to travel to these mysterious places and see how different these were from the southern states, stemmed from these books.

My recent trip to Udaipur was the fulfillment of a long-standing dream to come face-to-face with a different avatar of a country that was enigmatic in its diversity, yet beautiful in its unity.

Udaipur – The Jewel in the Crown of Rajasthan

One balmy October afternoon, I sat back on my couch at home in Bangalore, thrilled beyond words for having booked tickets for a mini vacation in Udaipur. The magnetic vision of Udaipur’s shimmering lakes and earthy forts was fuel for excitement; however, I witnessed a lot of other marvels right from the airport itself.

Dressed in a pristine white Angrakha kurta and dhoti while majestically carrying a colorful, bandhani pagari, my co-passenger at the airport looked like he had time-travelled straight out of my 90s travel magazine.

When I landed in Udaipur, I observed that as far as my eyes could reach, the landscape was enveloped in a rustic sepia shade. Even little things like the store signs and electrical wiring on the streets seemed different from what I was used to seeing in Bangalore.

The next few days had a whirlwind of activities in store for me. I enjoyed my night tours to witness the mesmerizing city lights that reflected in the waters of Lake Pichola – the heartbeat of Udaipur city. I wandered around the lake, listening to prayer songs that wafted through the air from surrounding temples. At the cultural centers, I witnessed the sheer brilliance of local artists who sang traditional songs, performed astounding dance moves, and delighted us with puppetry.

You cannot return from a vacation in Udaipur without visiting one of its many forts. Kumbalgarh Fort, aptly named the Great Wall of India, is cradled in the Aravali ranges and was a sanctum of refuge for the Mewar rulers during historical wars. The fort is built in such a way that it offers a great bird’s eye view of the surroundings. The beauty of the ruins at the fort and its many temples lingered in my memory long after I returned back.

The City Palace is another tourist hotspot in Udaipur. This 450-year-old palace was the abode of the royalty of Mewar. The museum housed within the palace provides an educational journey through the lives of the kings and queens who lived at the palace many years ago.

You get to see the rooms where the princes and princesses of Mewar spent their childhood. You can check out the traditional cookware that was used to prepare the royal buffets. The quarters of the king, adorned with a constellation of mirrors and gems, are a sight to behold! The room that housed the royal carrier pigeons and their little cages still remains in my memory.

A trip down to the vintage car museum gives you a sneak peek at the luxury cars that the royal family members owned over the years. Saheliyon ki Bari is a garden complex that soothes your senses with its lush greenery, splendid fountains, and marble elephant fixtures. This was a green retreat built for the queen and her female companions, who would often spend their leisure time here away from the palace hustle and bustle.

Colours and Tastes of Udaipur

Shopping for clothes, jewelry, and handicrafts is a delightful experience at the local markets. Hand-embroidered juttis, authentic miniature paintings, dancing puppets, camel leather journals, meenakari jewelry, and a rainbow of bandhani and leheriya sarees enticingly greet you at the markets.

I had some amazing food at the popular restaurants here. The royal Rajasthani thali, Machli Jaisalmandi, and kachori still make my mouth water. I’m happy to have explored the popular street-side eateries here as I got a chance to taste one of the best cold coffees I ever had!

I stayed at a boutique hotel close to the Fateh Sagar lake, which was reminiscent of the royal palaces of the past. Every evening as I strolled around the hotel garden, listening to the gurgle of the lake nearby, I was overcome by a feeling of peace and happiness for I was enjoying my tryst with the beautiful history of our country.

-Leya Lakshmanan is the head of marketing at Embitel Technologies, part of the Volkswagen Group. Outside tech, she enjoys art and baking.