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Showing posts from July, 2023

Mewar: Parting Words

 So the journey ended the night I boarded the train from Udaipur with a heavy heart. I was staring back again and again. I left a part of myself in Mewar. My parents say I am so obsessed with Mewar that I might have had some previous life there. I so wish! As the train went out of Udaipur station one can see the beautiful heritage city lit up in all its glory. Here I want to share my parting thoughts on the trip. The Food! It's utterly delicious, and I tried everything from the local aloo sabzi, matar to the famous Churma, Khichdi, Ghevar and even Biriyani. Their Saag and vegetables are so yummy! My personal favourite was the Ghevar which you have to preorder. Sweet Ghevar was delicious. So are their Thalis. Udaipur being a foreign tourist hub had wonderful continental dishes, chocolates, coffee, drinks and cakes. I loved the food there as well. Even tried Dosa in Udaipur which was okay!!! Fishes are not that available, chicken is and if you are vegetarian Mewar is heaven!  Tr...

Chawand: The Maharana's Capital

  Jaismand Lake Chavand is around 59KMs from the capital Udaipur and an hour's drive. Firstly I would like to mention that no tour packages mention Chavand sadly. If you want to visit, then you have to separately hire a cab and go because it is further southwest almost near Gujrat Borders. We decided that since we are hiring the cab we will also visit Jaismand Lake.  Locally called Dheber Lake, this is the largest artificial lake in Asia, built by Rana Jai Singh when he built a dam over the Gomati River. In 1685 Jai Singh built this lake to follow in his father's footsteps who built the Rajsmand Lake (Rana Raj Singh I) The Badal Mahal here was constructed by the Rana of Jaipur and the islands on the lake are inhabited by Bhils. The stairs lead down to the lovely boats. Do enjoy the boat rides here and sit a while and enjoy the cool breeze before you head to Chavand. Road to Chavand The Road to Chavand is very narrow and filled with Village scenes and forestland. Rana Prat...

Haldighati: The Battlefield

The year 1576. It's been four years since Maharana Pratap was coronated as Rana in 1572 and Akbar had sent three peace treaties via Man Singh and Bhagwan das in 1573, 1574 and 1575. Maharana Pratap was in a dilemma; if Akbar refused to wage a war then how could he win back all the portions Mewar had lost since 1568. He was intelligent enough to send Amar Singh, his successor to meet Maan Singh when he arrived in 1575. This resulted in a verbal duel and Maan Singh's insult by Amar Singh. Akbar let Maan Singh command his army in a battle against Pratap. Pratap's message was clear, it was a war of independence and not for any religion or against one. To establish this, he made his friend and Afghan aide, Hakim Khan Sur, nephew of Sher Shah Suri, the commander in chief. The historic Battle of Haldighati took place in the "Rakth Talai" or "Khun ki Talai" later known as Badshahi Bagh, beside the Banas River, on 21st June 1576, after the Mughals camped there on...