Day 2
Udaipur's labyrinthine streets have some fascinating bazaars and
we browsed through them in the morning - Small shops selling the
tie-and-dye fabrics which
the city is famed for, particularly the leharia
(wave-patterned) ones which are, perhaps naturally associated with
this city of lakes.
 Other
good buys include Udaipur's brightly coloured folk toys,
pichwais,
miniature paintings,
ornamental swords, enamel
jewellery and terracottas
from the nearby village of Molela.
We had been too overwhelmed by the City Palace Building and
Museum yesterday, to see the the two hotels in the City Palace
complex. And we strolled into them today - Shiv Niwas and Fateh
Prakash Palaces.
Shiv Niwas has played host not only to
celebrities ranging from Jackie Onassis to Queen Elizabeth II, but
was also a location for the James Bond movie, Octopussy.
And, I have always liked 007's taste in women and hotels :)
The smaller Fateh Prakash has some of the the
most exquisite Mewar miniature paintings from the Maharana's
private collection and the Crystal Gallery with
Belgian glass crystal furniture.
Mandana on a village hut
in Shilpgram. |
We had lunch at the Gallery restaurant and then went to
Shilpgram, an interesting "living
ethnographic museum" that gives a superb insight into rural
Rajasthan. Spread out on a hillock, it has village huts of various
regions furnished with traditional household items. One can also
sit and watch how different craft items are made.
In the evening, we went to the Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal
Museum on folk object and pieces and enjoyed a cultural
dance show there.
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