2012: I was on my first ever trip to Udaipur – one of the most popular cities of Rajasthan on the tourist circuit. I found it to be charming, friendly and thrumming with a very joyful vibe. Its pretty famous for the Lake Pichola and the Lake palace hotel managed by the Taj group of Hotels.
We set out to explore the city palace of Udaipur which is one of the most popular tourist spots to go to. The royal family takes huge care to preserve their heritage and the parts thrown open to public are full of charm, craftsmanship and precious artefacts. There is a well documented audio guide and its administration office is one of the most helpful and friendly. Part of the palace is the present day King’s residence and is off-limits for the public.
I was amazed at the maintenance of the gardens, pathways, lighting and the cleanliness that one could see in every aspect of the palace. The stonework of the columns and arcades were clean of any accumulation of centuries old dust.
I fell in love with this gold worked ceiling and walls of one of the antechamber in the palace which were sadly cordoned off to protect from greasy hands and any other destruction a curious tourist hand might endow.
And then we walked onto this section where the postal antiquities were kept and I couldn’t stop laughing. There was a veritable number of bird cages of all shapes and sizes hanging from the ceiling of a charming room over a wooden cabinet which read ” cage for carrier pigeons”. Oh this suddenly made so much sense.
Pigeons have a great inbuilt homing device in their DNA because of which they were traditionally favoured to carry secret messages over long distances. They were bred and kept like royalty by the King and commoner alike. I could certainly see the lavish treatment the royal ones got if their accommodation is any indication to go by 😉
Can you imagine the romance of having a letter from your beloved delivered to you by a pigeon which must have flown thousands of leagues to reach you? Doesnt this thought send a pleasant shiver down your spine? This is the best thing that I saw here and just had to write about.
‘I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.’
Oscar Wilde
What do you think of this system of postal services?
Would you like to have a letter delivered to you via such a postman?
Fact File:
- Udaipur is one of the most popular destination in Rajasthan and one of the most colourful cities for tourist to enjoy.
- Gangaur is one of the most popular festival of Udaipur and is a treat to visit.
Z is the ultimate post!!
For the uninitiated, AtoZ challenge is a blogging challenge wherein one has to write on every alphabet from A to Z and post on all days of April, except Sundays. Usually its better to devise a theme as it makes it easy to write the posts. Plus readers have a reason to stay hooked too.
The A to Z Challenge is created by Arlee Bird of Tossing it Out
and co-hosted by
Alex J. Cavanaugh of Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy Hawkins of Hollywood Nuts
Heather M. Gardner of The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Zalka Csenge Virág of The Multicolored Diary
John Holton of The Sound of One Hand Typing
J Lenni Dorner of Blog of J. Lenni Dorner
My journey so far in the #AtoZChallenge
V – Vanillabeans & Peppercorns
I loved the way you linked up Y with Udaipur . And it would have been a quaint way to receive mail . What are you writing about Z – a zoo?
Thanks so much Sunita. Ha ha Zoo is an intersting idea but no you will have to wait till tomorrow to figure this out!!! 😉
Thoroughly enjoyed my virtual tour of Udaipur through your fabulous post and photos.
Thanks Kalpanaa – so good to hear that!!
Was waiting eagerly for your post… it’s a good one!! How I wish there would still be carrier pigeons around, somehow I find it extremely romantic!!!!!
Prasanna from Team Mocktailmommies
Oh that feels so wonderful to hear that you were waiting for my post. I love it!! Thank you so much Prasanna!!! God bless you for making my day!
And yes the romance of this is awesome; though I wonder if the pigeon got eaten on the way and a letter got lost – what would happen then between the lovers?? 😉
Oh my, I loved the latter part the most and almost got transformed to an age where my letter reached my hands with a pigeon How romantic if world be!
Ha ha Roma -I knew this would appeal to the romantic in you 🙂
Cheers
Gorgeous place and I loved the Jharokha windows – so beautiful! Leanne | cresting the hill
It truly is a blissful place Leanne – glad you liked it!! Cheers 🙂
Intrigued by the pegions and their cages. Comolektky enjoyed the last bit! Charming years of the yore.
Blog: natashamusing
Theme: Travel Epiphanies
Yonder and Beyond
Thanks Natasha 🙂
Ahh! Udaipur I went there a couple of years back. It was beautiful.
Lovely pictures! Made me nostalgic.
Receiving a mail delivered by a pigeon would be quite splendid!
Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Cheers!
Thanks Karnika – yeah Udaipur is gorgeous. I have been twice and still want to go once again!!! 🙂
First of all, congratulations on making it through the A to Z. Well done!
Love the pictures and the story they tell of times gone by.
Thanks so much Corinne!! This feels really good to hear! And yes a big accomplishment for my blog!!! 🙂
I’d love to sit by the Jharokha and read. And a special letter from a pigeon would be lovely too.
Oh yes- wouldnt that be just perfect Shilpa!!? 😉
Udaipur has been on my wishlist forever.. never got around to it 🙁
I hope you get to go there soon – its just stunning in its vibe and enthusiasm 😉
It’s nice to see that they’ve maintained everything so well! Question: How did people with ornithophobia manage their mail in those days? 😉
Ha ha Good question!! 😉
Have not been to Rajasthan. Reading your post and looking at the pics of the beautiful of the place, makes me want to visit that place soon!
Thanks so much Radhika – hope the wish is fulfilled soonest!!! 🙂
Wow O Wow
Such lovely pictures
A Peice Of My Life
Thanks so much Deepa 🙂
Interesting that the king still lives in one part of the building. I wonder how it would be like to have part of my house as a museum – of course, that palace is probably on grounds big enough that the family isn’t disturbed. As for mail pigeons, getting a letter via one would be a big treat for me, as I love birds. I would even send a reply!
Most of the royalty in India have converted their palaces into places of hospitality or museums to run their lifestyles – though monarchy is no longer recognised, the people of the provinces still accord them that respect and they sometimes have also become ambassadors for the goevernemnt!! Most of these kings are still working to ensure their provinces get a lot of amenities!! Its wonderful to see them working to preserve the heritage!! 🙂
As usual, a great piece of post! Lovely read, interesting facts! Kudos!!!
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Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
Collage Of Life
Thanks Anagha 🙂
We had been to Udailpur two years ago. And guess what! We lost all the pictures as my phone was crashed! Reliving those memories through this post cos’ we had been here. I remember singing Kabootar Ja Ja when I saw this in real 😛
Awwww that must have been heartbreaking!!
And yess I was singing the same song – ha ha ha!!! 😉
I haven’t been to Rajasthan but it is one of the journeys in India I intend to take. Love the jharokha. That was such a different world back then. Perhaps not so bad in many ways.
Ohhhh you must travel to Rajasthan – its such a beautiful Indian state with some gorgeous food, textiles and arts and crafts. 🙂
I enjoyed touring this beautiful palace with you very much! As to pigeon mail, I agree it is a wonderfully romantic notion, but at times the wait to hear from one’s love would have been hard to bear.
Perspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyheadb
Truly Barbara it a very long wait especially now that we are so used to instant messaging 😉
I always wonder how they used to train the pigeons. Their method must be so effective. The interiors looks so beautiful and royal. You have been to so many amazing places 😀
Pigeons like the turtles and salmon and other migratory birds have GPS aligned with the earth’s magnetic core – its a scientific explanation and I wont be very good at it – nevertheless they could be trained for a distance of some kilometres; so basically its not the pigeon who started the journey that reached the destination; its like baton passing and there are many pigeons on the way who pass the message from one to another. Hope this makes sense 😉
I want to travel to many more amazing places Raj – my list is ever endless 😉
Excellent photos as always and neat hooking up Y to Udaipur 🙂 I wonder if the palace was the same when I visited with my parents in the 60’s? I have no memory of it being a baby 🙂
There is only one main palace in Udaipur which is and still is the royal residence of the current Maharaja!!
Thanks for being so regular on my blog! Cheers 🙂
Pigeon accommodations? That is an interesting piece of information. Great post.
Thanks for stopping by Youthful
Shari
Thanks Shari – cheers for finishing the ATOZ this year!! Loved reading your posts!! Cheers
Love the Jharoka and the palace is sheer beauty. The tale about pigeons is fascinating and no wonder Kabutar Jaa from Maine Pyar Kiya was borrowed from the legend, I am sure.
I know I loved this Jharokha a lot too Vishal. I ended sitting here on another trip for quite sometime to gaze at the gorgeous lake palace and feel the cool breeze on my face!!
As for kabutaar ja ja – your guess is as good as mine 😉
Thank you for being such a regular on my blog for this challenge- the encouragement meant a lot 🙂
Congrats on finishing A to Z. This has been such a fun journey with you. Are you setting off on world tours for next year’s A to Z? I am in awe of how adventurous you are!
Ha ha Jacqui I wish I could be on a world tour – how I would love that but I think I will just start saving my travel stories of this year more now!! I still have a few posts to write as I tonnes of stories and fewer alphabets – so look out for some more in this month!!
Congrats to you to for havnig a splendid ATOZ!!! Cheers 🙂
Such beautiful architecture Shalz!
Yeah it truly is Sanchie – I have been here twice and I know if I a third time I will wander in these halls again!!! 🙂