CITY PALACE, UDAIPUR

Maharana Udai Singh started building Udaipur’s palace complex at Lake Pichola’s banks after he took the decision of building a capital for Chittorgarh’s (Rajasthan) Sisodia rulers. The construction was continued by the other Maharanas who succeeded Udai Singh. They extended the palace complex by building more structures and palaces. They managed to retain the design’s uniformity, though. Marble and granite were used for its construction. While fort walls surround it and is situated at a height.

The palace is a heritage now and it showcases Rajput’s arts and culture. Its architecture has European and Chinese styles incorporated. It has several beautiful buildings, fountains and gardens which are planned and built well during its times. The arches, domes and turrets inside the palace have splendid artwork that offer a remarkable sight.

The complex is actually a city having large walls that enclose a small township. Many huge gateways lead to this complex and the well-known entrance from the road is via “Hathi Pol” or “Elephant Gate”. During ancient times, Tripolia Pol and Bara Pol gateways were the significant ones.

Udaipur’s most beautiful and biggest temple, 1651 A.D’s Jagdish Temple is located here and it houses Lord Vishnu. At the north side, 1600 A.D’s “Bara Pol” or “Great Gate” is found -it is the first courtyard’s entrance. It also joins to 1725 A.D’s “Triple Gate” or “Tripolia”. In between its gates are 8 carved arches (“Toranas “) made using marble. It is between these gates that the Maharanas were weighed in silver and gold. Their weight’s value was dispersed among the people. Today, it has become the primary ticket office.

After that, there are some marble arches staging numerous elephants competing in elephant fights. The palace also houses several gardens. The museum located inside can be entered via “Ganesh Deori” which means Lord Ganesh’s door. It leads to “Raj Aangan”, the Royal Courtyard of 1571 that was built during 16th century by Maharana Udai Singh. It is the oldest portion in the palace. Several mahals of the palace have become a museum, now. There is an armoury museum too that exhibits weapons and protective gear.

Krishna Vilas houses miniature paintings that portray the Maharanas’ games, festivals and royal processions. Mor Chowk has some unique peacock glass mosaics at its walls. Ruby Palace or ‘Manak Mahal’ has many mirror and glass works. In addition to this, it has porcelain and crystal figures. Bhim Vilas has paintings of Radha-Krishna’s stories and “Suraj Gokhala”, a gallery of glass mosaics. It has wonderful stained glasses. From here, the view of the city is breath-taking.

Zenana Mahal, which is situated towards the south, is the quarters of the queen. This and Palace of Joy or ‘Dilkusha Mahal’ have wall paintings and frescoes adorning it. Dilkusha Mahal leads to a white pavilion called Lakshmi Vilas Chowk which is actually a fine art gallery. It has a good number of the Mewar paintings. Chini Chitrashala has Dutch and Chinese ornamental tiles. Palace of Pearls or Moti Mahal has a wonderful mirror décor. Palace of mirrors or Sheesh Mahal too has mirror work that is inlaid.