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City Palace,
the majestic white royal building towers
itself on a hill and is surrounded by
crenellated walls. Udaipur City Palace was
completed in its present form by the
contribution of many rulers. Originally
started by Udai Singh, the later additions
were so carefully planned and integrated
with the original building that it becomes
difficult to believe that the building was
not conceived as a whole. The city palace
of Udaipur stands along the shores of Lake
Pichola.
Approach to the city palace is through the
'Hati Pol' or the 'Elephant Gate'. The 'Bara
Pol' or the 'great gate' leads to the
first court, which joins Tripolia or the
'triple gate'. Between the two gates are
eight carved 'toranas' or arches, which
mark the spot where the rulers were
weighed against gold or silver, the
equivalent value of which was then
distributed among the poor. Beyond the
Tripolia is the arena where the elephant
fights were staged.
The path then leads to a series of
courtyards, overlapping pavilions,
terraces, corridors and hanging gardens- a
harmonious profusion hard to describe.The
soft cream coloured central 'Chhatri' has
facing of blue coloured tiles with massive
octagonal towers crowned with cupolas. The
Sheesh Mahal has inlaid mirror work. The
Krishna Vilas has a series of miniature
paintings, which are witness to the royal
processions, festivals and the game of 'Chogan'.
The Chini Chitrashala is famous for its
Chinese and Dutch tiles, the latter of
which has depiction of Biblical scenes
including the flight to Egypt. Radha-Krishna
stories are painted on the walls of the
Bhim Vilas. The glass mosaic gallery with
its superb stained glasses and portraits
afford a panoramic view of the Udaipur
city below. The Mor Chowk has a brilliant
mosaic of peacocks set in the walls
showing the three seasons: summer, winter
and monsoon. There are exquisite terrace
gardens with fountains in the Amar Vilas.
There is also a museum in the fort which
houses the armour of the valiant Maharana
Pratap and the drums & bugles of Rana
Sanga, another Mewar ruler.
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