Rajasthan through her eyes

akroy · 8th March 2009, 10:42

Samurai Madam, Great Rajasthan Pictolog. We virtually visited Rajasthan from Bangalore.
Let me tell you, it was indeed pleasure meeting you at Tirthahalli too.

Abhi

Sowmya · 8th March 2009, 12:48

Very nice Pic. Real Eye feasting.
By the way how did you managed to get the pic inside the palace. Like Arms, Gold Plated Carving, Oil Painting etc. Mysore Palace don't even allow camera inside.

Samurai · 9th March 2009, 09:08

Travelogue Continued...

We came out mesmerized by the beauty inside the temple. I had read about Ranakpur, had seen a few pictures even, but nothing had prepared me for it. Least of all the temple’s exterior. This mismatch I later came to know was in accordance with Jain belief, that real beauty is on the inside and external beauty is of no consequence. We have all heard this statement, but incorporated in architecture? That’s new, at least to me.

We are on our way now, driving through the Aravali ranges

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Langurs, seem well behaved

This is the first time we stopped for pictures by the roadside. Somehow the landscape on our drives never caught my eye until now. The vegetation had mostly been hardy shrubs, lots of it. Only the dunes were unique and gave the feeling of being in a desert.

The only other desert I’ve been to is the Mojave-Sonoran in Arizona. There we came across mind-blowing red rock formations; these natural wonders have to be seen to be believed. It is the backdrop of most Clint Eastwood movies, so we have all seen it onscreen!

Our driver points out Adivasi dwellings along the hilly route. As we get closer to Udaipur, we see lots of greenery, lot of land under cultivation too. Soon we hit highway construction work; it is a slow dusty drive to Udaipur from there on.

Feb 14th Udaipur

Today, let’s start with the Maharana’s vintage car collection. It’s t-bhp’s birthday after all.

1956 Benz 180D

1960 Benz

1966 Benz 200

Vertical gauges

1938 Cadillac convertible, this one is cute

1938 Cadillac

With purdah for women

1924 Rolls Royce

1934 RR Phantom 2, Recognize this?

1934 RR Jeep

To Be Continued...

Samurai · 9th March 2009, 09:23

Travelogue continues...

What are these levers? Parking brake? It’s not a 4WD is it?

1931 RR Safari

Hand operated wiper

1946 Buick Salon

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1930 Ford A

1950 Morris Tiger and ’59 Minor

1961 Austin Camry

1965 Rambler Classic

1942 Ford Jeep

1936 Vauxhall with sunroof

This is timeless

Chevy truck

Solar vehicles

To Be Continued...

SS-Traveller · 9th March 2009, 11:25

Made my day with that glorious set of car pics! I'll have a great day today... Thank you, and please keep 'em comin'!!!

tsk1979 · 9th March 2009, 12:37

Wow, what a Travelogue madam!
We were planning of doing Rajasthan this weekend, but the heat detered us, looks like Bikaner will be our target this winter.

pulsar56 · 9th March 2009, 13:23

Mrs. Samurai, You really know how to keep the petrol-heads at T-BHP happy!

That's one amazing collection of classics for us!

maddy42 · 9th March 2009, 16:12

Guess this solar vehicles belongs to the royal family who owns the lake palace right?

Saw it on travel and living where the ian wright was taken round the palace in it. The best part was he was sitting beside the princess and driven by the prince around palace which was used by the maharana as his go kart track:-)

Great pictures mrs samurai. Please make us rejoice with more on this trip

Samurai · 10th March 2009, 08:07

Wife replies...

akroy: Glad you like it. Incidentally we drove past 'Vihangama' yesterday and were thinking about that trip.

Soumya: Simple, they allowed cameras with a fee.

Tanveer: Thanks. Bikaner is probably the most beautiful of all the forts, do go.

pulsar: We were looking for food when we chanced upon this classics collection. It was sheer luck.

maddy: It belongs to a trust headed by the current maharana. You can find some info about the solar vehicles at Mewar Solar Cell - The City within a City Project, Udaipur and Solar Vehicles

ECM · 10th March 2009, 09:55

Shrimati Samurai,
Did you take lunch in this car museum?They offer excellent thali there with warm hospitality.
Hope you visited Kumbhalgadh which is 80 kms far fm Udaipur.If so kindly post jungle safari photographs.

Samurai · 11th March 2009, 09:54

Travelogue Continues...

Earlier in the day our taxi was replaced by the tour company. We only had city palace on our agenda today, so off we go. Udaipur is a city of weddings, celebrity weddings at that. The Palace being the most sought after venue.

Our guide was rattling off names of all the celebrities that married here, the elaborate arrangements available etc, etc and then he suggests to my uncle that he should consider this place for his daughter’s wedding. He’s looking at me, Oh! I am married, with two kids to boot. We didn’t hear a peep about weddings from him for a long while.

For those of you interested, here’s the venue

“The Mewar dynasty is the second oldest surviving dynasty in the world” says our guide. Who is the first? He says Denmark. I had Japanese in mind. I’m still not sure about the oldest surviving title. But, Mewar dynasty is the longest serving dynasty in the world. They ruled for 1200 years, right from the eighth century until independence.

Udaipur palace

Royal insignia

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Mural showing Rana Prathap Singh on his horse Chetak

Mosaic art

Rana Prathap with Chetak. Mughal elephants used to be armed with swords and trained to cut off horses’ necks. A trunk was fitted on the horses to confuse the elephants into thinking that it is a baby elephant. I have my doubts here, elephants have other senses too. The elephants used to be drunk said the guide. Mughals used to let loose drunk elephants to go on a rampage against the enemy.

Rana Prathap’s chain link armour

This tub used to be filled with silver coins during poojas; the coins were later distributed among Brahmins.

To Be Continued...

SS-Traveller · 11th March 2009, 10:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

...then he suggests to my uncle that he should consider this place for his daughter’s wedding. He’s looking at me, Oh! I am married, with two kids to boot. We didn’t hear a peep about weddings from him for a long while.

that was funny.

Quote:

Rana Prathap with Chetak. Mughal elephants used to be armed with swords and trained to cut off horses’ necks. A trunk was fitted on the horses to confuse the elephants into thinking that it is a baby elephant. I have my doubts here, elephants have other senses too. The elephants used to be drunk said the guide. Mughals used to let loose drunk elephants to go on a rampage against the enemy.

Trained drunk elephants carrying swords, cutting off horses' necks in battle? And horses with trunks confusing elephants who're drunks?

Been to Udaipur, but this legend I didn't hear earlier...

v1p3r · 11th March 2009, 14:26

That dynasty bit is a bit suspect, seeing as how there are atleast 2 separate families and a lot of the rulers are adopted. BTW, the title of Maharana doesn't officially exist anymore, India being a democratic republic and all, so Arvind Singh has adopted it as a legal name.

Mrs Shetty, the 'baby elephant' story is a new one. But the drunk elephant tale is well known, and probably has some truth to it.

Samurai · 11th March 2009, 21:49

Travelogue Continues...

This pleasant courtyard is about 40 feet above ground level (you can actually see the trees peeping out in the first picture of post #56 to get the height reference). This Palace was built around a hill.

Udaipur city

A room made entirely of colored glass

Decorated rooms

Gallery

Lake Palace

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Coloured glass room

Ivory doors

Mosaic art

Puja room?

Handicapped Prince’s quarters

To Be Continued...

Samurai · 11th March 2009, 22:05

Travelogue Continues...

Sun symbol worshipped by the Royal family

King’s Dining room

Passage towards Queen’s quarters

Queen’s hall

That ends our palace tour. We shopped around a bit, and had lunch next to the Vintage car museum those photos are already posted. Evening we visit ‘Sahelion ki bari’ a garden with fountains.

This is our last day for sightseeing, tomorrow we are flying back home. Now, how could we leave Rajasthan without seeing a puppet show

And some folk dances

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We saw a wedding procession on our way back; apparently there were many weddings that night. We could hear qwwalis and fire crackers pretty late into the night. Next day, we had a leisurely breakfast and left for the airport. A wedding retinue had followed us, all the way to Mumbai. They were in high spirits, laughing and moving all around the flight. Somehow the air hostess didn’t seem to catch the excitement. Anyway we reached Mumbai, another flight and we were home around 10PM.

And that is the end of our Rajasthan tour. My uncle and aunt are very happy about the experience. They have been telling everyone about it since. I of course have to do this again someday with my family!

Thanks for reading my travel log, hope you enjoyed it.

That’s all Folks!

8th March 2009, 10:42	#46
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	Samurai Madam, Great Rajasthan Pictolog. We virtually visited Rajasthan from Bangalore. Let me tell you, it was indeed pleasure meeting you at Tirthahalli too. Abhi
	() Thanks

8th March 2009, 12:48	#47
Sowmya BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 493 Thanked: 19 Times View My Garage	Very nice Pic. Real Eye feasting. By the way how did you managed to get the pic inside the palace. Like Arms, Gold Plated Carving, Oil Painting etc. Mysore Palace don't even allow camera inside.
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 09:08	#48
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Travelogue Continued... We came out mesmerized by the beauty inside the temple. I had read about Ranakpur, had seen a few pictures even, but nothing had prepared me for it. Least of all the temple’s exterior. This mismatch I later came to know was in accordance with Jain belief, that real beauty is on the inside and external beauty is of no consequence. We have all heard this statement, but incorporated in architecture? That’s new, at least to me. We are on our way now, driving through the Aravali ranges Langurs, seem well behaved This is the first time we stopped for pictures by the roadside. Somehow the landscape on our drives never caught my eye until now. The vegetation had mostly been hardy shrubs, lots of it. Only the dunes were unique and gave the feeling of being in a desert. The only other desert I’ve been to is the Mojave-Sonoran in Arizona. There we came across mind-blowing red rock formations; these natural wonders have to be seen to be believed. It is the backdrop of most Clint Eastwood movies, so we have all seen it onscreen! Our driver points out Adivasi dwellings along the hilly route. As we get closer to Udaipur, we see lots of greenery, lot of land under cultivation too. Soon we hit highway construction work; it is a slow dusty drive to Udaipur from there on. Feb 14th Udaipur Today, let’s start with the Maharana’s vintage car collection. It’s t-bhp’s birthday after all. 1956 Benz 180D 1960 Benz 1966 Benz 200 Vertical gauges 1938 Cadillac convertible, this one is cute 1938 Cadillac With purdah for women 1924 Rolls Royce 1934 RR Phantom 2, Recognize this? 1934 RR Jeep To Be Continued...
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 09:23	#49
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Travelogue continues... What are these levers? Parking brake? It’s not a 4WD is it? 1931 RR Safari Hand operated wiper 1946 Buick Salon 1930 Ford A 1950 Morris Tiger and ’59 Minor 1961 Austin Camry 1965 Rambler Classic 1942 Ford Jeep 1936 Vauxhall with sunroof This is timeless Chevy truck Solar vehicles To Be Continued...
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 11:25	#50
SS-Traveller Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 8,164 Thanked: 27,132 Times View My Garage	Made my day with that glorious set of car pics! I'll have a great day today... Thank you, and please keep 'em comin'!!!
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 12:37	#51
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Wow, what a Travelogue madam! We were planning of doing Rajasthan this weekend, but the heat detered us, looks like Bikaner will be our target this winter.
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 13:23	#52
pulsar56 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,172 Thanked: 342 Times View My Garage	Mrs. Samurai, You really know how to keep the petrol-heads at T-BHP happy! That's one amazing collection of classics for us!
	() Thanks

9th March 2009, 16:12	#53
maddy42 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Coorg Posts: 2,131 Thanked: 1,328 Times View My Garage	Guess this solar vehicles belongs to the royal family who owns the lake palace right? Saw it on travel and living where the ian wright was taken round the palace in it. The best part was he was sitting beside the princess and driven by the prince around palace which was used by the maharana as his go kart track:-) Great pictures mrs samurai. Please make us rejoice with more on this trip
	() Thanks

10th March 2009, 08:07	#54
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Wife replies... akroy: Glad you like it. Incidentally we drove past 'Vihangama' yesterday and were thinking about that trip. Soumya: Simple, they allowed cameras with a fee. Tanveer: Thanks. Bikaner is probably the most beautiful of all the forts, do go. pulsar: We were looking for food when we chanced upon this classics collection. It was sheer luck. maddy: It belongs to a trust headed by the current maharana. You can find some info about the solar vehicles at Mewar Solar Cell - The City within a City Project, Udaipur and Solar Vehicles
	() Thanks

10th March 2009, 09:55	#55
ECM BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Posts: 226 Thanked: 15 Times	Shrimati Samurai, Did you take lunch in this car museum?They offer excellent thali there with warm hospitality. Hope you visited Kumbhalgadh which is 80 kms far fm Udaipur.If so kindly post jungle safari photographs.
	() Thanks

11th March 2009, 09:54	#56
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Travelogue Continues... Earlier in the day our taxi was replaced by the tour company. We only had city palace on our agenda today, so off we go. Udaipur is a city of weddings, celebrity weddings at that. The Palace being the most sought after venue. Our guide was rattling off names of all the celebrities that married here, the elaborate arrangements available etc, etc and then he suggests to my uncle that he should consider this place for his daughter’s wedding. He’s looking at me, Oh! I am married, with two kids to boot. We didn’t hear a peep about weddings from him for a long while. For those of you interested, here’s the venue “The Mewar dynasty is the second oldest surviving dynasty in the world” says our guide. Who is the first? He says Denmark. I had Japanese in mind. I’m still not sure about the oldest surviving title. But, Mewar dynasty is the longest serving dynasty in the world. They ruled for 1200 years, right from the eighth century until independence. Udaipur palace Royal insignia Mural showing Rana Prathap Singh on his horse Chetak Mosaic art Rana Prathap with Chetak. Mughal elephants used to be armed with swords and trained to cut off horses’ necks. A trunk was fitted on the horses to confuse the elephants into thinking that it is a baby elephant. I have my doubts here, elephants have other senses too. The elephants used to be drunk said the guide. Mughals used to let loose drunk elephants to go on a rampage against the enemy. Rana Prathap’s chain link armour This tub used to be filled with silver coins during poojas; the coins were later distributed among Brahmins. To Be Continued...
	() Thanks

11th March 2009, 14:26	#58
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,334 Thanked: 6,896 Times View My Garage	That dynasty bit is a bit suspect, seeing as how there are atleast 2 separate families and a lot of the rulers are adopted. BTW, the title of Maharana doesn't officially exist anymore, India being a democratic republic and all, so Arvind Singh has adopted it as a legal name. Mrs Shetty, the 'baby elephant' story is a new one. But the drunk elephant tale is well known, and probably has some truth to it. Last edited by v1p3r : 11th March 2009 at 14:28.
	() Thanks

11th March 2009, 21:49	#59
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Travelogue Continues... This pleasant courtyard is about 40 feet above ground level (you can actually see the trees peeping out in the first picture of post #56 to get the height reference). This Palace was built around a hill. Udaipur city A room made entirely of colored glass Decorated rooms Gallery Lake Palace Coloured glass room Ivory doors Mosaic art Puja room? Handicapped Prince’s quarters To Be Continued...
	() Thanks

11th March 2009, 22:05	#60
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,513 Times View My Garage	Travelogue Continues... Sun symbol worshipped by the Royal family King’s Dining room Passage towards Queen’s quarters Queen’s hall That ends our palace tour. We shopped around a bit, and had lunch next to the Vintage car museum those photos are already posted. Evening we visit ‘Sahelion ki bari’ a garden with fountains. This is our last day for sightseeing, tomorrow we are flying back home. Now, how could we leave Rajasthan without seeing a puppet show And some folk dances We saw a wedding procession on our way back; apparently there were many weddings that night. We could hear qwwalis and fire crackers pretty late into the night. Next day, we had a leisurely breakfast and left for the airport. A wedding retinue had followed us, all the way to Mumbai. They were in high spirits, laughing and moving all around the flight. Somehow the air hostess didn’t seem to catch the excitement. Anyway we reached Mumbai, another flight and we were home around 10PM. And that is the end of our Rajasthan tour. My uncle and aunt are very happy about the experience. They have been telling everyone about it since. I of course have to do this again someday with my family! Thanks for reading my travel log, hope you enjoyed it. That’s all Folks!
	() Thanks