Kankarwa Haveli, the name of the boutique hotel we booked in Udaipur was not the only novelty that intrigued us. Equally intriguing was how Udaipur - the city of lakes came about in the most arid of states: Rajasthan. Riding on the open prop engine Indigo air-plane from Jaipur to Udaipur, little did we know that not only will our intrigue be satisfied but also blown apart by Udaipur.
Lake Pichola - meaning the lake behind the palace, is the centrepiece of Udaipur's allure, harbouring not just the Udaipur's city palace but also the houses of noble families, maisons of denizens and lively ports along its shore.
Snug into a comfortable corner along the banks of the lake, Kankarwa Haveli stood inconspicuously in the Quartier for noble families. As we stepped into the blanc washed building, little did we realize what we were in for.
Ushered by the owner, we walked to the room, while he meticulously informed us of Udaipur's hidden treasures we must explore. The door to our room for the night beheld our first foray down the memory lane in Udaipur. The immaculate door must have stood frozen in time, because it's design, those intricate carvings around the edges and facade, the golden bolt running across the 2 folds, to be held together by the lock which probably is only found in antique shops contemporarily. As Celine bought forwarded the key, I couldn't help but be reminded of the flying old dilapidated flying key that the Harry Potter had to grab to unlock the entry to dungeon guarding the Sorcerer's Stone.
Stepping into the chamber, this room seemed to carry the vestiges of time, the way it was laid, exuded of nostalgia. Sky blue coloured walls had a calming effect which was perfectly complemented by minimalist furnishing of the room, as we stood close to the entrance, a bed to the left and a low tea table and comfortable poufs sat juxtaposed to the windows overlooking the lake. As we approached the windows we could hear the faint breaking of lakes waves on the pier close by, as the light danced with the moving waters. Such a calming way spot. However, our stomachs soon reminded us it's time to enjoy the culinary offerings of Udaipur. At 9 pm, we were lucky to find a lakeside rooftop place called Rainbow.
The restaurant had beautiful seats carved on wall side, so one could be situated almost over the lake. What could be better in Udaipur than to sit next to the lake and be served some delicious local vegetables and yoghurt based curry kadhi pakoda, with faint contemporary Indian music filled the ambience.
At 10 pm, we went for a quick stroll around the town, which seemed more lively than us at this hour. We could feel our comfy bed calling to us, and thus we gravitated towards it.
Only to be woken up the next morning with a faint recurrent thumping sound seeping in from somewhere on the lake shore. As we fluttered our eyelids open, we gradually accosted us to the sublime morning light in this beautiful room. At 6 am, the blue light resonated with the sky blue colors of the chamber, while the buildings across the lake glistened in the golden light of the rising sun.
As we stepped out of the bed and looked out of the window , we chuckled with the realization that the "thamp" sounds were because of a woman washing her clothes bashing them with a bat next to the lakefront.
Beckoned by our stomach, we begrudgingly moved to get ready for breakfast. Locking our room was quite an experience, which challenged Céline's knowledge of physics. As we tried to find our way to rooftop where the breakfast is served, we couldn't help but marvel the beautiful architecture of the hotel, with beige walls and corridors running on all floors and local animals' sculptures ornamented the corridors. 2 staircases led to dead ends, but the 3rd time we found our way to the rooftop and gasped by the beautiful view. The golden light filtered through the scaffolds of building onto our face, while making the lake and the buildings on the opposite side of the lake glitter.
Feasting on traditional Indian breakfast, aloo paratha (pancake stuffed with spicy mashed potato), we were bursting with excitement to see what the Udaipur has to offer already.
First stop we made was at the majestic Jagdish temple situated mere 3 street turns away. The centrepiece of the town, this temple has stood the test of time for a thousand years, and has evolved from when this was the royal temple to now when it's the temple for every family in Udaipur. Most stunning feature of this temple was the intricately carved "sikhara" - the tower over the God's sanctuary. Entire scenes from the city's events and holy scriptures seemingly brought the history of the temple to life.
Bemusingly we met a local who surprisingly spoke French, and introduced us to the local styled painting, which we were enraptured by, and purchased 3 of. Next up, we found ourselves being chaperoned by a local guide along the imposing corridors of the City Palace of Udaipur. From the intricately bejeweled corridors for the queens to simple unadorned pathways for the widows, the palace was gargantuan. The palace windows overlooked lake Pichola on 1 side, and the sprawling city and the mountains on the other.
From there, we made our way to the palace in the middle of the lake - Jalmandir palace. Greeted by a flock of pigeons as we arrived, the lunch break in this place was perfect. The gardens surrounding the palace were sublime beyond reckoning, and the bird sounds, the sounds of waves breaking on the shores, made us gasp in wonder.
As the sun's light was turning golden nearing the end of the day, we made our way back to our hotel room, earnestly awaiting the view of the setting sun from our beautiful room. As we anticipated, the chamber looked sublime, soft blue light in the back blended into the golden red hues towards the end of the room facing the windows where the sun's rays filled in. Complementing this was the dancing light of the reflection of Lake on the roof, making the whole room come alive.
While Celine decided to read, I took the opportunity to take a moment to breathe in this view through my camera, longing on one of the comfortable pouf next to the window sill. We watched the sun turn fiery red, and the birds became increasingly vocal about how beautiful the sunset was. The waves and light painted a thousand transcendent patterns over the room, while the boats scurried about the lake. We couldn't believe the scene that we were a part of, in this moment, together.
The next morning, we just couldn't resist exploring the local markets, starting with the vegetable market where the locals sell their local produce, some even coming from distant villages. The whole market was abuzz with activity, ablaze with earness customers haggling for best price of tomatoes, bananas, and salad, while the goats nonchalantly meandered, inconspicuously embezzling the lush greens when the vendors aren't looking. Occasionally a few motorcycle customers ventured into this bygone era, sounds of their honks bringing us back to reality. Slowly, we made our way back to the tuk tuk to try out the next spicy market. Bustling with people looking for the perfect tingly spice, spice market was the perfect place to see people going about their daily schedule. An unexpected yet welcomed surprise was the mounds of Holi colors sitting on vendors' carts while the denizens went around looking for the perfect hues they would like to don this upcoming holi.
The time just flew by as just as we finished exploring the market. We had some time remaining, just enough for a quick lunch and then exploring the royal garden. Another sumptuous meal later, we walked around the beautiful garden. Beautifully laid around the centre fountain, the lush greens and variegated blend of flowers beckoned one to stay within these pathways forever.
The distant prayer chants signaled to us it was 5 pm. We scurried to catch tuk tuk into the town to experience the local dances which were scheduled at the townhall of Udaipur. Each of the dance represented different regions of Rajasthan, depicting the rustic lifestyle of local folks across the variegated climate prevalent here, ranging from temperate Jaipur to semi-arid Jaisalmer. While some villagers danced to the hymns of ferrying water in pots from the Oasis, others sang of the victory of good over evil.
Enraptured by the stunning performances, we almost lost track of time, however the departure time for our bus to Jaisalmer was imminent and begrudgingly, we had to return to the hotel for packing up our belongings. Few hours later we were on the Swagat Travels sleeping bus liner, blissfully sleeping our way towards the belle ville of Jaisalmer, fondly remembering the unforgettable memories we just made in Udaipur, the city of lakes.
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