Our Lost Legacy - Part 3

Udaipur - The city of lakes. The heart of Mewar. A city rich in legacy, art, culture and stories of the Ranas. Lake Pichola is undoubtedly the star attraction with various shops and point of interests dotted all around it. There is a huge foreigner attraction here and there are hotels where they repeatedly screen the Bond flick Octopussy. Yes, Octopussy was shot in Udaipur.
I zeroed down on Karohi Haveli for a stay here and explored all of the city by foot mostly. Every corner has surprises waiting to grab your attention.
Here's some sneak peak of Udaipur.

The grand durbar hall at Udaipur Palace


Jag Nivas

Karohi Haveli - the place where we stayed

Udaipur Lake Palace - now a hotel

Dance of the Bawai

The Puppet Show

Mor Chowk at City Palace

Our Lost legacy - Part 2

Rani Ka Vav
Behind this architectural marvel, resides a love story lost in time. While the rest of the world celebrates the Taj to be the epitome when it comes to monument for love, Rani Ka Vav is a beautiful poem, very subtle and is a tribute not just to love. It was also a period where women of India walked with pride and equality. This, is from a Queen in memory of her husband.
Some of the pictures from Rani ka Vav
It is all about War


And Love (Manmadha with his bow and arrow)


Finest stepwell, that is in the pending UN heritage list

The geometrical patterns on the walls

And every column had a sculpture beckoning you.

Our lost legacy - Another trip to the glorious past!

Our lost legacy - Another trip to the glorious past!

5 days of consecutive holidays were up for Deepavali. It was planning time on yet another trip. I needed to get away from the fireworks. Further I wanted to spend all the time with my daughter and show her things she'd enjoy and learn things from. This time I singled upon Udaipur as the place.
To make the trip more fruitful, I roped in two of the finest ancient structures of north Gujarat in to the itinerary - The Sun temple at Modhera and Rani Ka Vav at Patan. I'd further booked a nice haveli at Udaipur overlooking the Pichola lake. Apart from Udaipur Palace, the Puppet show and the Rajasthan traditional dance was high on my todo list along with a promised shopping tour for antiques and art materials.
My car had the complete suspension work done. I was looking forward to the long drive from home to the first stop - Mehsana.
Here are some teaser pics before I start on the travelogue.
The pillars that still stand testimony - Sun temple at Modhera

A reflection of our glorious past - Sun temple Modhera


Ancient treasures - Sun temple Modhera

The stepped tank at Sun temple - Modhera

The mighty elephants that carried the world - Sun temple Modhera