Wonders of RajasthanVibrant Rajasthan – Travel to the Land of History, Legends, Valorous Warriors And Heritage Hotels….

Come March and tourists head in droves to catch the Elephant Festival in Jaipur. We were among those tourists. Jaipur is a princely city of Rajasthan which takes immense pride in its famous Elephant Festival which is celebrated in March during the festival of colors, Holi. In keeping with the tradition of traveling frequently, I along with my friends reached Jaipur one day before the festival. We were booked in the heritage hotel Alsisar Haveli, which is a wonderful hotel. After seeing this hotel it would be no exaggeration to say that we had traveled back in time to the era of raja-maharajas. The royal treatment was overwhelming and something which I will remember for long.

During the celebration of Elephant Festival, the Pink city of Jaipur gets transformed in to a “famous venue” as tourists from far and wide come here to witness the charm of the colorful and royal Elephant Festival. It is the most popular festival which is celebrated with great pomp and show in the princely city. Dedicated to Elephants, this festival recreates the royal splendor of the raja-maharaja era. Jaipur’s Elephant Festival is organized by Rajasthan Tourism every year.

On our way to the festival venue our guide Sukhvinder Singh said with strong conviction that we will surely enjoy the festival which is marked by elephant parade, polo match, tug of war, elephant beauty contest, folk dances and many more events.

As we entered the stadium we saw it was fully packed with visitors and tourists who had come to see this festival. The morning of this eventful day was marked by the procession of the breathtakingly decorated elephants in the Chaugan Stadium. Other animals like horses, cows and camels later joined the elephants in the parade. The music band was playing drums and elephants were marching royally. I was feeling as if we had stepped back in time to the era of raja-maharajas. The scene was perfectly royal. And then we treated our senses with wonderful folk dance performances. It was very uplifting. Everybody seemed to be in high spirits.

After the long procession ended, the exciting tug of war began. I found this session the most interesting as this war was between a female elephant and 18 tourists. I think it was not fair as the female elephant had to fight alone against 18 people. But this royal creature dragged the tourists and finally won. I was so happy to see that as I was on the side of this majestic creature. People, no offense please. I asked our guide how and when do the tourists sign up for this event. He said that one needs to apply for this 2-3 months before the festival and then around 18 tourists are selected from around the world.

Next event was the elephant polo match between two teams of Jaipur. In this match each elephant was controlled by a mahout who sat on the neck and the players sat on the back with a long stick to hit the polo ball. Well it was quite interesting. It was something unusual which we rarely get to see.

Now this last event was another session of the festival which I liked a lot. Holi on elephants! Sounds too exciting na! We sat on elephant’s back and threw powdered colors on the people below who were also busy playing with colors with each other. This day was full of fun, excitement and entertainment. It was one of the best trips of my life.

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Battlefields and war scenes of the cinema, the vista of chaos, actually drive me crazy. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies. My next trip, luckily, took me to a marvellous journey to India’s finest forts & battlefields. It was Rajasthan tourism. Though I had explored this desert land earlier, but it was worth visiting again & again.

This land of royals has a rich past and magnificent heritage. While going through the Rajasthan travel guide, I came to know that great personalities ruled various regions of Rajasthan and left marks of bravery, grandeur and valor. During my trip to the cities like Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur or Bikaner – I’d explored the classical monuments like City Palace (Jaipur & Udaipur), Chittaurgarh Fort, Jaisalmer Fort, Taragarh Fort, Junagarh Fort, Mehrangarh Fort, Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Hawa Mahal and Sheesh Mahal. Therefore, I decided to go for the conventional battlefields this time.

I started from Bharatpur, where the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary adjoins Deeg & Dholpur – the core elements of the Jat history of Rajasthan. Later I drove to Karauli, en route visiting Khanwa, where the Battle of Khanau was fought in the year 1527. This was the place where Babur defeated a formidable army raised by Rana Sanga of Mewar & established his rule over north India.

My next halt was Ranthambore where I first visited the Ranthambore Fort. After the defeat of the Chauhan King Prithviraj III by Muhammad Gauri in 1192, it was led by Govinda Raja, grandson of Prithviraj. Later after many battles & rulers, it came under the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in the year 1559. Later I headed towards Udaipur, en route visiting Chittorgarh. A guide there told me that after the Mughal Emperor Akbar captured Chittorgarh in 1568, the capital was moved west to Udaipur, in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. Chittor Fort is a live example of the battles between the Ranas of Chittor & Alauddin Khilji, Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat & Emperor Akbar.

Next I visited the Victory Tower, built in 1440 AD by Maharana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over Mohamed Khilji. This 9-storyed tower is adorned by sculptures of Hindu deities and is the piece-de-resistance of Chittorgarh. After that, I continued to Udaipur, which was founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh after his final unsuccessful attempt to defend the Mewar capital, Chittorgarh. Apart from the scenic & architectural beauty, it doesn’t have much to boast of. So I headed towards Kumbalgarh, the fort of Rana Kumbha that is surrounded by greenery & wildlife and is also within a short driving distance from the famous 15th century Ranakpur Jain Temples.

En route we also visited Haldighati (Gogunda) – the most famous battlefield of Rajputana where the most famous battle was fought in the year 1576 between Rana Pratap & the Imperial Forces of Emperor Akbar.

According to Rajasthan tour itinerary, Jaipur was next on my list. But I was running short of time, so I made a quick list of all the places to see in Rajasthan on my next trip. This short trip was quite exciting as well as informative. I never knew that addicted could be so pleasurable. I surrendered my soul!

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Mandawa Haveli

Rajasthan is undoubtedly one of the most incredible and impressive tourist destinations of India. The moment you start exploring it, you come across amazing and fascinating attractions. The royalty and beauty of this land take the tourists to the times of raja-maharaja. Mandawa is one such destination of rajasthan where there is so much to see and experience as a tourist. I recently visited this place and came back completely mesmerized by its architectural beauty and pleasant aura.

Located in the Shekhawati region( well known for its awe-inspiring architectural work) of Rajasthan, Mandawa is a beautiful fort town. Tourists from across the globe come here to see its famous havelis( mansions ), temples, chhatris( cenotaphs) and frescoes. The glorious history of this town dates back to 1755. To give a royal taste to tourists the havelis here have been converted into heritage hotels.

My first halt was Mandawa Fort which dominates the land of this town. It has been converted into a heritage hotel known for its architectural brilliance. I was completely spell bound by the architectural beauty and royal ambiance of the fort. My guide Joginder Singh told me about the history of the fort and the interesting stories of the then raja-maharajas. The walls of the apartments of the fort are adorned with mesmerizing frescoes and paintings. The carvings and mirror work deserve special mention. One of the apartments named Durbar Hall fascinated me a lot with its wonderful paintings, carvings and antiques. The fort offers breathtaking views of the town. Here one also gets a chance to see the royal costumes of the kings and their fierce weapons.

My next destinations were the havelis of Mandawa which are like art galleries. From royal architecture to lavishly painted apartments, beautiful paintings touching various themes and exquisite carvings, all can be seen in these havelis. Some of the havelis I visited were jhunjhunwala Haveli, Murmuria Haveli and Gulab Rai Ladia Haveli. Each of the haveli had its own unique charm and beauty.

In the evening I explored the bazaar of Mandawa and bought a beautiful painting and a carved chair. It was such a great experience to travel to Mandawa.

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Kumbhalgarh Forts

Royalty and splendour of Rajasthan always captivate my imagination and fascination which brings me to this place time and again. Last week I with my two friends planned to spend our weekend at Kumbhalgarh Fort which is located 84 km from Udaipur. We reached Udaipur, popularly known as the Venice of the East in the morning by Mewar Express from Delhi. After reaching here we hired a taxi and reached Kumbalgarh Fort after 2 hours of road journey.

Kumbhalgarh is a fortress located in Rajsamand District of Rajasthan. It is perched over the Aravalli Hills and is the second most important fort, after the Chittaurgarh Fort, of India. Perimeter of this fort’s walls is extended over 36 kilometres in length which is longest in the world after ‘The Great Wall of China’. Inside the fort premises there are 360 temples out of which 300 are ancient Jain temples and the rest are Hindu temples.

We visited every nook and corner of this majestic fort without any guide. The architectural supremacy and grandiose construction of this fort stunned us during our exploration. The complex structure of this fort enabled it to withstand several attacks from the Gujarat, Malwa and Mughals armies. Built by Rana Kumbha, the fort is situated over 6,233 feet above sea level . It is also the birth place of the legendary King Maharana Pratap. While exploring this royal structure we paid a short visit to Andheri Gate, Suraj Pol, Salim Mahal, Chand Pol, Jai Pol and Laxman Pol.

Among all these places of interest the Badal Mahal is most fascinating aspect of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. It is highest place of the fort which was built by Rana Fateh Singh in the 19th century. I was totally mesmerised by the the view of pastel coloured walls and its changing shades according to sun inclinations. This place offers best scenic views of the entire city and dense greens of the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. From this point one can also see the 36 km long serpentine boundary wall of this fort.

Some of the equally beautiful structures of this glorious forts are Salim Sagar, Nikumbh Mahal, Suraj Kund and Jal Mahal. This fort also houses a number of small and large towers which offer fascinating bird’s eye view of the surroundings.

The most absorbing part of this place is the resonating sound of Sarangi, Thori, Kamaycha, Ektaara and Mochng which narrate the heroic deeds and love stories of Rajasthan. Seated on the rooftop watching the magnificence of the royal culture with melodious background music was the most captivating part of this tour which will remain intact in my memory forever.

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I was thinking about my next vacation considering that I had

Nakki Lake, Mount Abu

only 2 days in hand. I was flipping through the pages of Srishti, the nature based magazine and came across an article on Mount Abu. I really liked the article and decided to visit Mount Abu in Rajasthan. One of my friends Monika accompanied me.

While on our way to Mount Abu I read a little bit about it. It is the only hill station of Rajasthan, the land of raja-maharajas. It was once the abode of saints and sages and it is believed that around 330 million gods and goddesses used to reside here. Also it is a place where 36 warrior clans emerged from the great Agni Kund or sacred fire pit.  I wondered what a rich history Mount Abu has! It is also an important Jain pilgrimage. After listening to the history I realized that Mount Abu is much more than a summer retreat.

We arrived at Mount Abu in the early afternoon. We were booked in Connaught House Heritage hotel. Its wonderful architecture and pleasant ambiance were simply overwhelming. After refreshing ourselves with tea and delicious snacks we decided to visit the Nakki lake. The climate was pleasant, just like the destination.

We had hired a guide named Shankar who was a nice chap. He told us an interesting legend about the lake according to which it was dig by a Hindu God by his nails and hence was named nakki, meaning ‘nails’. It was very rejuvenating to be at this lake, which offers picturesque views of the surrounding hills. We also enjoyed a boat ride on it. With gorgeous green surroundings in Mount Abu it is hard to believe that this place is in Rajasthan which is  a desert.

The day was drawing to a close and we now moved to the Sunset point, which is located at a short distance from the lake. We were all eagerly waiting for the famous sunset of Mount Abu and here it was. It was overwhelming!

Elated, we came back to the hotel and after a delicious dinner, retired to bed a little early. The next day we were slated to go for Dilwara Jain Temple, Guru Shikar, Mount Abu wildlife Sanctuary and Adhardevi temple.

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