Discovering tranquility in the shadow of palaces
Udaipur’s ‘land of kings’ evokes India’s historic, regal, romantic and beautiful past
UDAIPUR, INDIA — With a centuries-old palace as the backdrop for an earlymorning yoga session beside calm Lake Pichola, Udaipur was living up to its reputation as a place blessed with good vibrations and moviescreen good looks.
The woman stretching next to me said she comes here from her Mumbai home as often as she can. “I tell my family I want to go to India.”
In Udaipur, 600 kilometres from often-chaotic Mumbai, she finds her homeland’s traditional past. It’s historic, regal, romantic and beautiful.
More foreign visitors are thinking outside the Golden Triangle when planning an India itinerary, straying outside the traditional Delhi-AgraJaipur route to visit this lakeside royal city in the state of Rajasthan, dubbed “the land of kings” and home of the enduring kingdom of Mewar.
Green and studded with man-made lakes, some claim the area has an ideal positive energy. Maybe that’s why Udaipur is a favourite spot for marriages and honeymoons, including Indian elite and Bollywood stars. Jennifer Lopez performed for the guests at one lavish reception.
Centuries-old marble Mewar palaces appear to float on the surface of Lake Pichola, so one of the best ways to experience Udaipur is by boat. We made two trips on the lake, one to arrive at our hotel, the Oberoi Udaivilas, and another on the hotel’s vintage teak pleasure boat, waiting for sunset while sipping Darjeeling tea and nibbling delicate treats.
The buildings on the shore rise from the water line to give Udaipur its nickname: the Venice of the East.
Luxury hotel the Lake Palace, a white marble summer royal residence built in the middle of Lake Pichola in1743, is also a popular movie setting, including 007 film Octopussy and TV series The Jewel in the Crown. Udaipur was also a location for hit comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel.
Inspired by that movie’s cast, you can buy a Judi (Dench) Jacket at custom clothier Rama Krishna Textiles, where co-owner Babu Lal Soni made outfits for Marigold cast and crew, including Dench, Bill Nighy and Richard Gere.
Soni designed a Nehru-style pashmina wool coat lined with silk for Dench, naming it after her. You can have a Judi Jacket made for about $450 or a linen tunic like she wore in the film for about $90.
Soni also demonstrated how to prepare one of India’s famously featherlight pashmina shawls before wearing (prices started at about $130): Take each end in your fingertips to “swing and breathe” the wool.
The Mewar dynasty, founded in the sixth century, is still presided over by a Maharana, a title meaning “custodian of the kingdom.” We’re told it’s not unusual to see Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar walking around the town or the City Palace grounds, but we didn’t spot him.
Touring the 16th-century City Palace was a fascinating look at royal life. The complex includes 11 palaces, gardens, courtyards and triumphal gateways where victors were showered with rose petals.
We had the regal treatment — literally — from Abercrombie & Kent guide Vikram Singh Shaktawat, whose Mewar noble grandfather worked at the palace.
He had intimate knowledge of the place he’d often played in as a child, leading us along secret passages and narrow stairways to avoid the crowds. Along the way, he introduced us to friends, including a guard with a magnificent moustache.
Stunning silver and blue peacock mosaics ringing an interior courtyard and brilliantly coloured miniature paintings of Rajasthani life were standouts. One area of a palace is devoted to furniture made entirely of crystal, including a massive bed, another to ornate silver elephant carriages, called howdahs.
At Mayur Arts co-operative,150 artists copy classic miniature paintings we admired around the City Palace, using ultrafine squirrel-hair brushes. We learned how minerals and semiprecious stones are ground to make the brilliant pigments. Artworks start at about $30 for small pieces.
And the feeling of peace and positive energy that settles over a visitor in Udaipur? That’s on the house. Linda Barnard was hosted by Abercrombie & Kent Luxury Tailor Made Travel and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, which did not review or approve this story.