Rajasthan :Jodhpur

inside the royal mehrangarh fort : the meeting place of the rathore rulers
the defences from the walls of the fort
exquisite archtechture : beauty +architechtural brains

THE UMAID PALACE : IT IS ALSO A HERITAGE HOTEL

If the Mewar is having udaipur as the tourist capital the Marwar across the aravallis are having Jodhpur. this city is called the sun city and rightly so . Jodhpur was THE LAND OF THE RATHORE'S and the place is named after Rao Jodha. Contrary to perception that Rajasthan is not a green place Udaipur and Jodhpur are one of the most coulourful cities in India ( at least I think so) and the most dominant colour of them all is GREEN. The place is green and the trees have variety in their shapes and sizes .

In our short excursion to the place we visited two places and they were the MEHRANGARH FORT and the UMAID PALACE.

At mehrangarh fort we saw the culmination of architechtural beauty and brains.a fort which at that time would be penetrable as it was bulit on a hill and was as very strongly built. The view from the top could ensure that any incoming trespasser could be viewed from several kilometres away and blown away to pieces by the number of cannons placed at strategic locations.

There was the sheesh mahal the queens rooms and the meeting place of the rulers of Rathore clans from all India ( the seats in which were expanded as the clans grew in number.) The queens would view the proceeding from the windows on the walls .

inside the fort you see people selling all sorts of things : Marwari texts to lehngas to fabrics woven in the local styles. One thing gets reaffirmed in your mind : Rajasthan is the place of colours , even the fabric is so colourful. At the corner you see a man singind with his sarangi like instrument in a language you half understand ( if u understand hindi fully) but the music is so enchanting that you wait there till he stops.

There again the guide shows you how the Rajas converted a long piece of cloth into a PAGDI .and then you enter the museums and find the PALKIS SWORDS GUNS THRONES are all in front of you.

Umaid palace was bulit very late ( early 20th century and the architechtural style hence has a victorial tinge to it).