A memorable Trip to Udaipur- Day1

Finally its 13th December - a morning in the city of Lakes n Forts... yeaahhh...we are in Udaipur with a group of around 50 people...

A view of Udaipur Railway Station 

Me with my friends, colleagues, managers n their families were waiting for this day from last 1 month....to be free from their hectic life of the job...

Now everyone seems enthusiastic to explore the Udaipur & were ready for lots of fun , masti n dhamaal :))

A double Decker bus was waiting for us outside the Udaipur railway station..On the way from Railway station to hotel, we enjoyed the beautiful view of ancient Udaipur ..

We had checked into the hotel which we already booked  in advanced..we relaxed here for few hours and then got ready for the first glimpse of the Udaipur forts..

So,,Here is the our first destination.. The City Palace

Udaipur City Palace is one of the architectural marvels of Rajasthan, located peacefully on the banks of Lake Pichola...

Main Entrance of City Palace

City palace was built by Maharana Udai Singh as a capital of Rajasthan in 1559, after he moved from Chittor, as there were signs of losing control of the Chittor fort in wars with the Mughals….He choose the site near Lake Pichola for his new kingdom because the location was well protected on all sides by forests, lakes and the Aravalli hills.

After Udai Singh’s death in 1572, his son Maharana Pratap took the reins of power at Udaipur. 

Now we all were feeling so hungry that without wasting a single moment, we moved forward to had lunch at Natraj Hotel.. a Hotel with awesome spread of Rajasthani and Gujarati thalis and nice ambience..

After having lunch, we went to take the boat ride on Lake Pichola.. it feels very relaxed in the boat ride.

Lake Pichola  is the one of most beautiful and picturesque lakes of Rajasthan.. This lake looks more enchanting with its scenic surroundings..

Pichola Lake is enveloped by lofty Palaces (which now converted into Hotels), temples, bathing ghats and elevated hills on all its sides...

Bathing ghats at lake Pichola

Now we reached the Jag Mandir Palace.. it is one of the beautiful palace located on the southern island of Lake Pichola.. The three-storied Palace is a palatial structure made in yellow sandstone and marble. It was Built in 17th century, and was raised by Maharana Karan Singh to serve as a hiding place for Prince Khurram (popularly known as Shah Jahan).

Between the years of 1620-28, Maharana Karan Singh ruled the region and during this period Prince Khurram revolted against his father. Maharana Karan Singh helped Prince Khurram as he was born to a Rajput mother. Khurram, accompanied by his wife and two sons left the kingdom. Then, Maharana Karan provided them a safe haven in the City Palace of Udaipur and later move them to Jag Mandir Palace.

Elephants carved out of white marble, giving the impression of guarding this beautiful island Palace..

Late by this evening, we were at  Bagore ki Haveli… I was eagerly waiting to visit this place from the beginning of my journey.. this time I was not interested in this magnificent haveli.. rather madly waited to watch the Rajasthani Cultural program "Dharohar" and the popular puppet show …

Although I was not able to capture those beautiful moments in my camera.. as I was busy in locking those wonderful moments in my eyes...

The singers and dancers who performed there were really awesome and very talented.

I just want to share the little bit info which I know about these folk dance forms..

Chari Dance in which few Women dancing while carrying ignited brass pot on their heads…this is a traditional dance by Gujjar community of northern Rajasthan,,,

Terah Taal Dance in which musical instrument manjira is tied on the body of artists and they played it in thirteen different style..it is originates from Kamada Tribe of Rajasthan

Gumar Dance in which the colorfully dressed women covered their faces, circle around and dance with the rhythm..this is a well respected traditional dance of Rajasthani royal families.

Women performing Gumar Dance

Bhavai Dance  in which the gratification of Rajasthani women been represented when she gets water in desert after walking so long keeping several vessels on their head…

This was the last performance of the program which holds everyone's breath...

It was performed by a single woman balancing eleven pots on her head and dancing on the sharp edge of a plate and broken glasses…

She performed so marvelously on the different no of songs… and the whole haveli was filled with the round of applause when she performed on a very famous song "dama dam mast kalandar" with total 11 pots on her head…
Me and my friends were feeling so excited and happy after watching her performance that we couldn't resist ourselves without having a pic with her.

A big cheers to this lady

These dances were followed by the Puppet Show in which sting puppet dances along with music and puppeteer’s hands…

Bagore Ki Haveli looks marvelous with glowing lights in the night

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