Tucked in a hollow in the courtyard of the tawny Jagdish Temple in Udaipur,
Rajathstan, was a "souvenir" sculpture of the venerated god Shiva.
I dismissed it; anxious to see the ancient original I was told was buried in
the sacred interior. “Yes, let’s move on,” my guide agreed. “This fake is
only 1,400 years old.”
I stopped in my tracks, in a culture celebrating its 5,107th year, I realized,
“ancient” is relative. To put it in context: no one knows the age of the
real idol, a four headed god carved out of oil-slick-black marble, with
luminescent white eyes and obsidian irises. Its existence is attributed to
divine provenance; like mountains, like the sky, it just is.
Udaipur evinces that same awe-inspiring timelessness. It was conceived of as
pleasure city for the world’s longest serving uninterrupted dynasty, the
Mewars, who’ve ruled for over 1,400 years. It centers on Lake Pitchola, an
artificial body of water created by the kings so they could dot its banks
and islands with their pleasure palaces.
Climate change has seen the lake bone-dry at certain times of the year, when
the city’s elephant (owned by a local priest and available for private hire
through hotel concierges) and cattle would graze the lakebed. Lately it’s
been topped up by monsoon rains, and the city restored to the image of it’s
heyday — the 1750s. That was when its spendthrift ruler constructed his
all-marble island Lake Palace, and his hilltop summer residence, Sajjangarh
Fort or The Monsoon Palace.
You’ll climb 3,100ft above sea level on sinuous roads through what is now the
Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary where several reclusive tigers lurk, to reach
The Monsoon Palace. The panoramic view of the sparkling lakes and undulating
back of the mountainous region and alone is worth the trip, but give the
chintzy wildlife displays in the palaces former grand hall a miss.
The hilltop palace is empty now, but the lakeside city palace is still the
home to the current Maharana, and as glittering and lush as a Bollywood set.
It was a set for another type of movie in fact, in 1983 James Bond leapt
from its windows into Lake Pitchola in Octopussy, though you’d do better
staying in its dazzling confines.
Room after room of tiled and mirrored opulence greets the visitor. Mosaic
peacocks gaze haughtily off walls, frescoed elephants and horses – symbols
of prosperity and power respectively – grace entryways and history fairly
drips from the complex’s ornate scalloped window frames bejeweled with
candy-coloured panes. One room commemorates the martyrdom of an Indian Helen
of Troy. It once housed a beautiful royal daughter who, aware that disputes
over her hand in marriage from neighboring princes would tear her kingdom
apart, swallowed poison and took her own to prevent war.
This story is depicted in murals of minute detail in miniature artistic
renderings, a specialty of Udaipur. The craft of painting with a single
rabbit hair dipped in crushed minerals. A school of miniature art is located
on the path to the Monsoon Palace and the over-eager proprietor will
demonstrate the process while artisans sit-cross-legged around him hard at
work painting in painstaking detail on bits of silk or wood. Visitors are
expected (though not required) to purchase a piece of art from this gallery
in reciprocation - bear in mind the quoted prices can usually be halved by
bargaining.
The current quirky Maharana – now a hotelier who runs a
luxury resort out of his mid-lake palace – has a fixation with solar
power and takes great pride in his annual
solar powered rickshaw rally held in April. He also is a proponent of
solar powered boats, and has a fleet that offer cruises of the lakes in an
effort to keep water pollution to a minimum.
Pet projects are in his genes, it seems. His ancestor, the Maharana who
splashed out on building most of the palaces mid-18th century, had a thing
for bling. Dazzled by a Waterford Crystal catalogue, he orded its entire
contents, as well as custom objects d’art such as a crystal bed.
Unfortunately he died before the order was completed and shipped from
England, but the entire gaudy collection is on display in the attached Manak
Mahal or the Ruby Palace.
At the gates of the Maharana’s palace is the Jagdish Temple, whose looming
front staircase, festooned with face-painted monks who’ll pose for your
snaps for a donation, recalls Aztec temples. It’s worth a visit, but far
superior is the ruinous temple of Sas Bahu, sacked by the Moguls. The
crumbling remains still boast intricate 10th century carvings, replete with
Kama Sutra poses.
But for a truly moving spiritual experince visit Eklinji, holiest temple of
Udaipur and its ancient capital. Eklinji houses the ancient idol of Shiva.
The complex is comprised of108 tiny temples to different gods, Ganesh, the
elephant headed, Lakhshmi, Shiva’s wife, but central is Shiva whose icon
lies at the heart of the complex. Each and every Monday you can witness the
Maharana himself paying tribute to the god whose benevolence the Mewar
dynasty believes they owe the longevity of their reign.
