Up with the barking dog (next door) breakfast on the roof and off to explore the City Palace 10 minutes walk away, up the road past all the little shops and friendly locals. At the top of the hill we arrived in the busy square and crossroads full of traffic and hawkers, immediately opposite is the marvelously carved Jagdish Temple rising above 32 marble steps but our destination was ahead of us.
The entrance to the Palace is through a very large gate which brings you into a big courtyard surrounded by small expensive shops selling everything a tourist may wish for, this is where elephant fights used to be held - a tug of war with trunks, we were relieved to be told it was not with tusks - the elephants were given alcohol, this was only banned in the 1950's we were told. We were approached by a very pleasant young local man who offered to be our guide for 150rs, he turned out to be most knowledgeable.
This is Rajasthans largest palace rising from the shores of Lake Pichola, the building of which was started in 1559 and was added to for the next three hunded years, so the structure and palaces are a wonderful show of 
architectural styles. In the first courtyard we saw the Tripolia arches where on special occasions the maharajas were weighed in gold or silver which was then distributed to the needy - wondered whether this was where the saying 'worth your weight in gold' came from.We particularly enjoyed our visit to the Pratap Gallery, where there were statues of Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak wearing their original armour, including an elephant like trunk for the horse, which confused the sword wielding fighting elephants who apparently thought he was a baby elephant. This revered horse died after the battle of Haldighati in 1576, having taken the Maharana to safety on only three legs, the other being so badly injured. We saw a fantastic marble Ganesh surrounded by beautiful glass inlay, the lovely Peacock courtyard with five marvelous peacocks inlaid with over 5000 pieces of mosaic and surrounded by glass inlay, the Badi Chitrashali Chowk where there were Chinese tiles, more glass inlay, murals and fabulous views of the city and Lake Pichola - which is full of water after a good monsoon - apparently it can sometimes be empty in the summer.
We enjoyed a rest in the Badi Mahal which has many carved pillars and shady trees, where our interesting guide spoke to us about the Hindu caste system and marriage. We enjoyed the Zenana Mahal or Queens Palace, temples, exquisite miniatures, paintings, furniture, mirrors, glass, and gardens. Part of the palace fronting the lake has been converted into a hotel. This beautiful place different again from other Rajasthan palaces that we have visited is very well preserved and maintained, a lovely place. We were not allowed to take photographs!
Our guide suggested we walk fom here to Hanuman Ghat where we can cross the footbridge and then have lunch, we looked around for a while and found it quite different from the other side of the lake, we ended up at the Mango Tree Restaurant owned by Bubble a very personable man, John and he chatted for ages about people and politics, the food was cheap and very good, there were small tables but we sat on the floor on rugs and cushions, nice.
Our friend had earlier asked us to his home to meet the family and take chai, home was a large modern house in a quiet street where we were introduced to his mother, sister who is a pharmacist, and aunt. They are artists who also do decorative work inside buildings even travelling to France - and I am ashamed to find that I can't remember the family name.
That evening we treated ourselves to dinner at Ambrai where we ate in the garden by the lake, listening to unobtrusive musicians while gazing across at the beautifully illuminated City Palace on one side and on the other the Lake Palace Hotel, we had an excellent meal at a candlelit table and sat for ages with our G & T's happily gazing - it got quite cool could have done with a pashmina.
No comments:
Post a Comment