10th January 2011, 11:25
| #76 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bangalore
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10th January 2011, 12:06
| #77 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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11th January 2011, 00:43
| #78 | ||||||
| BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Quote:
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Iam unable to find any link to folk songs on chetak on the net. At the puppet show at the Lok Kala Mandal, we were treated to a song which went something like.. O chetak pe aaswar. Movie of 1960s 'Jai Chitod ' had a song on chetak .... o pavan vegh se udane wale ghode... I'll try to find some more.. Quote:
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We continue appreciating the Moti Mahal..    Ancient wall painting of Radha and Krishna inside Krishna Mahal  Maharana Bheem Singh's chowk.  Being from the Suryavanshi dynasty, Maharana Bheem Singh installed the Sun emblem on front facade of the Palace in 1820 for the people of udaipur to view the sun during monsoon before beginning their morning rituals. This emblem can be seen from Manek chowk and from all over Udaipur. Maharana Bhupal Singh, who lived till 1955, later installed the sun emblem inside the palace. Crippled by an attack of TB and confined to a wheel chair, a seperate room was built for him the view the sunrise and sunset from the same room. He could also view the proceedings on the Mor Chowk during festivals.   Maharana Bhupal Singh was the last ' Maharana' of the mewar dynasty before the unification of all princely states into political India. Our guide mentions that before partition, he withstood unrelenting pressures from across the border to join them. Later, he single handedly unified around twenty princely states to form union of 'Rajasthan'. Maharana Bhupal Singh's room with a view towards Lake Pichola / sunset  Udaipur towards the east  Mor chowk ( The peacock courtyard ) was built during the 17th century as a durbar hall. The chowk was used for performances and get togethers during festivals. Later, in the 19th century, imported mirror mosaic and coloured glasses were added to the peacocks.     A wall painting of Radha and Krishna using natural vegetable dyes. The dyes have stood fast ! really fast.  Our guide was laughing at me when i struggled to click the paintings through glass ! and went on the say that it was tough for a professional photographer too. I agreed, I was just a point and shoot photographer ! Whatever you do, the relection is there ! We move on to the Zenana Mahal, the ladies section of the Palace which housed the Laxmi chowk and later led us to the rang bhavan and Badal Mahal. Notice the spirit run pedestal fan, Lamp shades from Italy and chandeliers from England.      Outside the Zenana Mahal. Preparations a BIG Fat Indian Wedding ! Anybody here ? The booking details are below, please invite us ! Please. We dont mind driving 1800 kms to attend the wedding !    We exit the Palace complex through the Toran Pol. The sharp protrusions on the door was to prevent elephants of the enemy army banging their heads on the huge door to open.  It was time to say goodbye to our guide, Sri Himmat Singh. Gudiya and Titli had tormented him with hundreds of questions - which he welcomed. Gudiya was selective with her questions - who, what, when, where.. etc but Titli is a bit naive.. Did the king really sit here ? This plate was really used by the king ? Why was the king so fat ? Some of the answers made her very serious and lost. We had seen similar reactions from her in Mysore palace, chitradurga fort and Hampi. History buff in the making ? Who knows ! As a parting gift, our guide hands them a piece of paper after writing something on it. It was a website address. He says he enjoyed being with us and we too agree to have enjoyed his service and friendly nature. We thank him and leave. The website : www.eternalmewar.in Net savvy guide !! We drive through the now crowded narrow streets, ask for directions at Chetak circle, and take left towards NH 76 - next stop Chittorgarh. As we drive we discuss that one day is grossly inadequate to feel this city. A must visit city in a lifetime, we agree, but stay atleast for two sunrises and two sunsets. Chevy lover is lucky ! Other tips - hire a guide, preferably elder, who does NOT mention - raveena came here, priyanka danced here, Mallika slept here, Rakhi wed here....these stuff may be for those bunch of school kids - who screamed with joy ! Good guides are available at RTDC Hotel Kajri for less than Rs.300 a day and tell him upfront - we do NOT want to shop ! These guides enjoy huge commisions at these handicrafts / Razai / painting shops. Member Deky had mentioned this in another thread. Thank you Deky ! we were lured but we stood fast. Enjoy local cuisine at local bazaar streets / small restaurants ( which are clean ) - not upmarket ones where we find only paneer dishes. 11.50 am - the road to Chittorgarh   Zebra.. oops..Camel crossing  This stretch of NH76 was arguably the most desolate 100 kms stretch of the entire GQ. Fully concretised, point to point straight road and very sparse traffic. Later that day, towards Jaipur, we had to pay back for this luxury with compound interest ! The toll booth operator at Narayanapura smiled at us, karnatak se ? haan ji . gudiya and titli waved - tata bhaiya, tata.  Chittorgarh byepass came up within 60 mins - slightly confusing. We drove ahead from the diversion for 100 mts, realised, took a u turn ( the wrong way ! ) to come back on the empty road to get down towards chittor. The town was another 12 kms away.   Lunch time - drove into RTDC Hotel Panna . At the restaurant - no occupants - were apprehensive. The manager assured us fresh lunch - and so it was. Ordered, what else ! Tandoor roti with paneer . Ok, let me clarify here - despite 11 days of paneer, i lost 1.5 kgs. So, the the GQ drive is a good weight loss programme. Ask for a guide at the reception. " Go to the fort, ask for Akhilesh" 20 mins later, after we cross the railway lines and a crowded bazaar, up the hill and past numerous pols............Akhilesh ji, here we come ! Last edited by roamingrao : 11th January 2011 at 00:58. | ||||||
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11th January 2011, 07:53
| #79 |
| BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Faridabad / Sonipat
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14th January 2011, 12:29
| #80 | |
| BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Quote:
Continuing... At Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Day 4. 2.30pm - We pass the Ram temple near the entrance to the fort and pay the vehicle entry fees. Tens of guides swarm us, but we are adamant - Akhilesh kahan hai ? they reply in unison - Arrey sir, woh toh ek tailor hai ! hum authorised guides hain - hamara badge dekhiye ! We are perplexed - how can RTDC recommend a tailor ? We drive on further on the narrow road and stop in front of on what seemed a govt museum - well laid out lawns, but the gates were closed. Wanting to have a second opinion, i ask the gate keeper for akhilesh guide, he calls for another guide from nearby - ' yaheen kaheen hoga' - Aah, atleast akhilesh is for real ! The bunch of guides come here too, ' sir, hamne aapko bola hai - woh toh tailor hai '. We drive on to escape the 'guides', pass some monuments, parking lots, and then suddenly enter a deer sanctuary on the southern end of the fort. Reluctant to take a u turn, we continue on what seemed the periphery road of the fort - along the eastern face, pass another 'stambh' on the eastern side ( later we come to know it was the keerti stambh ), desolate roads on the north end and come back to ram temple at the main entrance - only to find the bunch of guides laughing at us. A loop of 5 km and 20 mins wasted - we had done an anti clockwise survey of the fort ! This time, serious, we follow an elderly guide leading a bunch of school teachers from Bangalore and ask what we should have done much earlier - sir, do you have akhilesh's number ? 10 minutes later, Akhilesh was in front of us. Yes, he was indeed a tailor, born and brought up at the fort and most important - preferred by RTDC ! 3.00pm, the first thing i ask him - when should i leave this place to reach Jaipur at 10pm ? " max 4 hours drive " . So, that gave us three hours at the fort, but two was sufficient. He began his narration. For the next two hours, his constant narration saw us through the Rana Kumbha Palace ruins, Meera mandir, Vijay stambh, Rani Padmini Palace, Bhim lat on the southern end and on the eastern side far below - the famed battleground ! Mythological part - said to be built some 5000 years ago by Bheem ( Pandava ) but the earliest evidence found in the fort suggest it was built by Chitrang Mori of the Maurya dynasty in the 7th century and named Chitrakut which later became Chittor. Our first walk was through the ruins of Rana Kumbha Palace. Maharana Kumbha's rule was the golden era in mewar history, expanding the territory far and wide, building 32 forts all over Rajasthan including the famed Kumbhalgarh fort. It was in the same palace that panna dhay, the nurse maid of an infant Udai singh who sacrificed her own chid to save the prince. It is also said that Rani Padmini committed sati inside this palace. Next, we drive to the Meera temple. Meera bai, now a house hold name for her devotion to Shyam ( krishna ). Her refusal to commit sati after her husband Bhojraj's death earned wrath from her clan and tolerated punishments no end. She departed from chittor and settled in dwaraka after which her disappearance is well known. This temple displays the same Giridhar gopal idol a sadhu presented to her in her childhood days. The idol was preserved in the city palace of udaipur till 1953 till its shifting to this temple.     Kumbha Shyam temple. Our guide has single handedly tilted the whole fort away from Mughal Delhi !  Vijay Stambh was built by Maharana Kumbha in 1440 after his victory over Malwa and Gujarat. The highest two storeys are of the same width as the first two base storeys, which itself is a architectural marvel.       We visit the Mahasati sthal next to the Vijay sthamb - the place where thousands of rajput women and children self immolated themselves to avoid humiliation in the hands of the rival army. This act, Jauhar, is followed by Saka - the male members wear saffron dress, apply the ash from the mahasamadhi, place a tulsi leaf in their mouth and then ride out for complete annihiliation of themselves or the rival army. It is interesting to note that jauhar was not performed when the rival army were marathas. Gaumukh Kund    inside Sri Sammideshwar temple ( tridev )  Rani Padmini Palace further down towards the south. The concept of Jal mahal ( palace in a pond / lake ) originated from here. Our guide rubbished the legendary story of Rani Padmini being shown to Allahuddin khilji through a mirror. He says, no Rajput in his proper senses would show his wife to his enemy, even through a mirror - whatever be the circumstances. Their dignity does not allow them to do so. He says a daasi's ( maid ) face, who was equally beautiful, could have been shown to please Khilji    On the eastern side, we pass through a gate to view the plains below - the famed battleground where Akbar camped and seiged the fort in 1567.     Jahangir returned the fort to Rajputs in 1616 but the damage was done – forever. If you learn the spelling of opulence in Udaipur, you would learn the word 'sacrifice' in Chittorgarh. The founding bastion of the Rajput clan from the 7th century, this fort has seen it all - emergence of the rajputs, their valour, true sense of nationalism, their honour and dignity. If the walls of the fort could speak, she would mention the thriving mewar dynasty from 7th century to 15th century, numerous granaries, artillaries, palaces, temples, schools, numerous overflowing wells, fountains, ponds, 80 bazaars, 18 varieties of artisans, 36 tribes of rajputs... a mini country. Not many tourists here – only locals who had come to the kalika mata mandir. I fail to understand – does Incredible India mean only palaces ? If a 800 year old India's largest fort which narrates a saga of valour, heroism and selfless sacrifice does not signify Incredible India, what does ? We thank Akhilesh, who refused to accept anything more than his charges, and leave chittor fort. Coming back down the hill, we ask a policeman on the main road the road to Jaipur. Turning left at the next turnaround, pass under a railway bridge and later the chittor byepass - back on the GQ. This time, it was NH79. Time - 5.30 pm. We fill diesel at the BPCL Soniyana which had a Ghar Dhaba attached. Buying biscuits and water, we knew we would not stop for dinner till Jaipur.  The road was empty till the Bhilwara byepass and then it started - tsunami of trucks ! Both lanes were occupied by very very aggressive drivers making overtaking impossible. I dont know where they came from ! I had never seen 40 feet long cartainers overtaking from the extreme left lanes at 100 kmph ! I admit - i was nervous ! 150 odd kms of hell . Things calm down only after we cross over to NH 8 near kishangarh. Ajmer byepass to Kishangarh we were on NH79A. I deserve a chai - we drive into a dhaba just before Kishangarh toll plaza - no cars, only trucks. I get down to survey if wife and kids could come out. A few steps inside ........ had to beat a hasty retreat ! It was not a dhaba – a den. Fantastic road all the way to Jaipur where we reach at 10.30pm  Call up RTDC Hotel Swagatham and ask for directions. Tucked away in a corner behind a narrow road off a flyover opposite the main railway station - that’s how you explain the location of this hotel. Safe parking space, friendly staff, large rooms, again extra bed for free butttttt……………. no dinner. 11pm - we unload all the bags into the room and start back. A restaurant opposite the railway station was not suited to us, so turn back, pass under the flyover, turn right and enter MI road ( what is MI ? ). A couple of city dhabas on the left waved at us. Gudiya crys – no appa, not roti again ! We drive on, good broad road, may be a very busy commercial area during business hours – MNC banks, airline offices….. A couple of restaurants were open further down on the right side. Park and run together to the door – sorry sir, we are closed. The road was deserted by now. Idea ! ask for a bada hotel ! 10 minutes later, we enter the Om towers on the same road and treat ourselves at the 24 hour coffee shop. My wife got her favourite dish – chats ! and kids got too – ice cream ! I too got - a lighter purse ! Last edited by roamingrao : 14th January 2011 at 12:36. | |
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14th January 2011, 21:41
| #81 |
| BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Day 5 : October 12, 2010. Jaipur - New Delhi : 285 kms. Our pleasant stay at the RTDC Hotel Swagatham, Jaipur, was marred by the staff at the restaurant for breakfast. Shoddy treatment, careless attitude - swindlers !! We took it in our stride - we were in a metropolitan city - things like this happen. On the brighter side, our car was washed sparkling clean for a partly Rs.30 and later on i realise - they gave us good guide ! We speak to our guide for the day, Vikram Singh Panwar, our 3rd Rajput guide - we would like to be New Delhi before 8 pm. Hvkumar had told us that the time taken from Jaipur to Delhi would not be less than 6 hours. So, we had to leave before 2pm. We finalise a list of places to be covered in 5 hours - of course, including lunch ! We again drive on MI road, at 9am - full of life. Taking a right turn later on, we drive on a broad tree lined road to Statue circle. Sawai Jai Singh 2, the founder of Jaipur. An excellent town planner, astronomer par excellence, scientist, mathematician, astrologer, architect, social reformer and a sanskrit scholar. Emperor Mohamad Shah honoured him with the title Sawai ( meaning one and quarter more intelligent than any man )  We drive on further on the road passing some govt offices and enter Rajpath. The Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha.   We are guided to see the Sawai Maan Singh Cricket Stadium ( SMS stadium ! ) from outside and then the Birla Mandir. The Albert Hall Museum. Named after Albert Edward, the Prince of wales during his visit to the city in 1876. originally meant to be a town hall but later on converted to a museum.  From here, we enter the old walled city. All buildings were painted in pink for two reasons - all palaces and forts were built using pink sandstone which is abundantly available in the region, later on, to welcome the Prince of wales, Sawai Ram Singh ordered all houses and building to be painted in pink to match the palaces and welcome the prince with the colour of roses - pink. Hence the sobriquet - pink city.  The Hawa Mahal. built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, this facade was built on the zenana part of the city palace. Numerous small windows form the facade for the ladies inside the palace to enjoy breeze without being seen from outside.   The Town Hall  The Jantar Mantar. A world heritage site. As mentioned earlier, Sawai Jai Singh 2, was a renowned astronomer. These architectural observatories were built to observe the movement of sun and then interpret the findings into astrology The sun dial    Instrument to locate the north star  Narivalaya Yantra. Notice the shadow of the needle ( at the centre ) on the particular zodiac sign  The Zodiac instruments  The Samrat yantra high above and Jai prakash Yantra on the right  We cross over to the City Palace and go through Mubarak Mahal where royal costumes were on display, The Chandra Mahal where exquisite paintings were on display, Diwan I Khas, a royal audience hall. The rest of the palace is still a royal residence. We did not pay the steep camera charges, hence no photographs. The Jal Mahal on Amer road   Hunger set in fast after our weak breakfast in the morning. Vikram singh, knowing that we are vegetarians, recommended Suraj Dhaba further down on amer road. Delicious food, clean, very quick service despite being a bit cramped inside. Enjoyed traditional Rajasthani Thali. Tummy full, we drive further on amer road to encounter heavy traffic on the narrow ghat road. Coming down, we have our first glimpse of the Amber fort.    Turning left after the Maota lake, passing through narrow stone paved streets of amer village and up the road to the fort. Jaigarh fort is visible high above on the hill    Parking was hapazard on the two levels and then, we walk a long way up to the main gate.  Started to build by Raja Man Singh, the commander of the Akbar's army in the late 16th century, it was completed 150 years later by Raja Jai Singh 1. The fort and the mahals inside display both Hindu and Muslim style of architecture.      The Kesar Kyari Bagh  30 snaps up.. Amber fort visit to be continued.... Last edited by roamingrao : 14th January 2011 at 21:47. |
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16th January 2011, 00:45
| #82 |
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16th January 2011, 20:55
| #83 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bengaluru
Posts: 4,211
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17th January 2011, 22:00
| #84 | ||
| BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Quote:
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More pictures from Amber Palace, Jaipur. View from Zenana Mahal     Jaigarh fort as seen from the terrace  Jai Mandir   Our princess Titli watches the proceedings on the Jaleb Chowk  A typical Mughal Garden, Charbagh  Sheesh Mahal, The palace of mirrors     Raja Man Singh Palace     on our way out of the Fort   We come out from the Palace at 2.30pm, drive down the fort and bid goodbye to our guide at Amer village but not before his comments that we deserve a gold medal ( The CWG fever was on ) for undertaking this kind of journey across India. Going by his words, we know that TBHP members would win all the gold medals - each medal for a travelogue ! In such scenario, we also know the person donning the most gold medals !!! Right , Sir ? We drive towards New Delhi. Excited that we would be in our Raajdhani. The Aravalli ranges give us company.   Undivided road takes over. Road construction equipments, hundreds of trucks lined along the road, dusty environs. Very very dusty indeed. We pass through a crowded Shahpura and then further ahead, Kotputli. A traffic cop pulls us over at Kotputli, checks our papers asks where we are headed to ? I answer - Dilli, Air Commodore Rao ke ghar, commonwealth games dekhne ke liye ! He returns the papers with the same haste he snatched it from me ! An equally crowded Behror welcomes us at dusk. Passing through the town took 25 mins - absolute mayhem ! An hour later, we enter Haryana, the 4th state in our transit, but not before we pass a small board ' Rajasthan - visit again ' - Yes, we will. we enjoyed your grandeur and hospitality. Gurgaon Toll plaza  Gurgaon - New Delhi was super fast. So fast that we could not appreciate the numerous brilliantly lit buildings along the road. The city looked magical and peped up our spirits after the frustrating and tiring 6 hour drive from Jaipur.  Pass the Airport exit on the left and on the right, we take the ramp down to approach the Ring road at 9.15pm  We were too excited to be driving in Delhi ! could'nt help this for the records ! We had clear directions / instructions to the Guest house at Iskcon temple, East of Kailash. Hundreds of devotees walking towards the Kalka devi temple too helped us to reach the temple / guest house. Safe and guarded parking space ( our most important prerequisite for the entire trip ), a small / compact room and prasadam from the temple. At Rs. 200 ( in Delhi ! ) we could'nt have asked for more ! | ||
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18th January 2011, 07:11
| #85 | |
| BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Faridabad / Sonipat
Posts: 119
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| Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Incredible ! The way you explain things, I love reading your travelogue. Quote:
Even more astonished when I visited Belur Halibedu and realized that these are not even in the tentative list of world heritage monuments in India. I was really irritated when the Archaeological Survey of India's guide was more interested in showing us "Special Statue on *** education" rather than the hundreds of amazing carvings inside the temple. Here is the list of world heritage sites in India India - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Btw  Were you talking about Air Commodore Rao, who was in AHQ some time ago (may be a couple of years ago)? My father knows him pretty well, he used to be in Bangalore as my fathers officer long time ago. I even met him in Subroto Park once. Not sure if we are talking about the same one here. | |
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18th January 2011, 10:27
| #86 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! @ Roamingrao, Congratulations on the trip ! I have done just the Bangalore Mumbai leg, now I feel like doing the entire loop  . And you chose the right time of the year to do it, as far as the weather is concerned. |
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18th January 2011, 16:27
| #87 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Roaming Rao, that was an excellent trip with your family. You have taken great care in your narration and have provided so much information about history. Here is my five star rating for your log!! Awaiting the rest of the journey's details and pics. Since there is so much admiration for the brave horse Chetak, here is a pic. He looked like a small white elephant then!!!   If you don't mind, I can share some more pics of scenes which you have missed! Udaipur is one of the most beautiful places on earth, undoubtedly!  Last edited by Chevy_lover : 18th January 2011 at 16:29. |
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18th January 2011, 17:36
| #88 | |||||
| BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Quote:
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Last edited by roamingrao : 18th January 2011 at 17:44. | |||||
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18th January 2011, 19:43
| #89 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 170
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18th January 2011, 21:11
| #90 |
| Senior - BHPian | Re: Our Incredible India Drive - 13 days on the GQ ! Hey Roaming Rao, here are some pics for you from Udaipur! Sunrise at Pichola Lake. The first rays of the sun falling on the palaces in the lake.     View of the palaces from Pichola Lake.        Some more views of Udaipur...    Finally, some night views...       |
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