Udaipur

Our last stop in India was this relatively quiet and beautiful city graced by lakes and green spaces. Our hotel, on the shore of Lake Pichola, offered boat rides at sunset.

We were fortunate to see Udaipur with a wonderful guide who not only shared his knowledge of the city, but also provided lots of historical and cultural background about the region. Also stories – lots of them! – about Hindu deities, which were fantastic. I now know why Ganesh has the head of an elephant.

We started at the City Palace, a sprawling complex full of decorative art, paintings, colorful enamel and glasswork and elaborate furnishings.

A recent addition to the outside decor.

Below, an interior courtyard featuring glass mosaics.

Here is one of many peacocks, the national bird of India. Below it is a closeup of the feathers – each slice of color is a separate piece of glass.

Inside the palace, rooms for all kinds of activities.

Here’s the mailroom.

The swing room

A bedroom

A room from which the women of the court could view the goings on outside. The glass, which is original, came from Belgium.

Another imported decorative element, a display of Dutch tiles, probably a gift to the Maharajah.

Notice the tile on the middle left. Our guide suggested that the artist “snuck this one in”.

A view of the city~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up, Jagdish Temple, a 17th century Hindu temple. At 78 feet high, it is a major landmark in the Old City and was buzzing with activity when we visited. Incredible carvings. No photos allowed inside.

The temples, our guide explained, are home to the gods. Worshippers bring food and gifts, because the gods need to be fed, and attended to, and entertained. They are everywhere (not just in the temples) but you shouldn’t fail to visit them at home. The old, who “have more time” tend to make these visits more frequently than the young.

We asked our guide to take us to a market – a real one, i.e. not one for tourists.