Udaipur: About Town

November 15, 2004 journal continued:
I went to an amazing hindu temple called Jagdish temple that was entirely carved marble and stone. There were five temples in one. Shiva, Parvati, Suriya, Ganesh, and Vishnu. Inside the temple, a group of older women were seated around another woman who was playing a drum. They were singing in preparation for giving their gifts to vishnu.

--> Previous
--> Next
--> Home
--> More Adventures
--> India Index

Above: At Jangdish temple, a young holy apprentice.

Left: An older woman, leaving the temple.

Right: At the entrance to Jangdish temple, an old woman sells flowers... small gifts for the gods.

Journal Continued:
The walls of the outside were lined with rows of carved elephants and gods and camels and horses and more. If you saw a carved copy of it, you would be amazed at how much carving work had to be done. This was a larger than life size version... the amazement was even greater. The steep stairs up to the temple were frightening. Looking down from the stairs, you could see the typical Indian street scene.

Right: Inside Jangdish temple, women pass the time, drum a little and talk.

Journal Continued:
A couple of women were selling flowers, a cow was in the middle of the road and cars, and motorbikes were whizzing by in all directions with no sense of which side of the road they were supposed to be on. It is a wonder that anyone succeeds in driving at all here.

Just after, I went to the fountains which were built about 30 feet below lake level and are fed by the lake. Since the lake is so low, the fountains were barely running. I don't know why they were running at all. Evidently, the pools and fountains shoot 20 feet in the air when the lake is normal. Now the pools were dry and the fountains barely shot up 2 feet.

Left: Me at the gardens "Saheliyon-ki-Bari." Usually, the fountains reach 30 feet in the air. This time, however, the fountains were merely trickling.

Right: Outside the gardens, a young woman dresses in full regalia for pictures I think.

Below: A room in Bagore-ki-Haveli. A palatial home built by a prime minister in the 18th century.

Journal Continued:
I was supposed to go to Jagmandir island and see that extraordinary place, but just like the fountains, it isn't working. So instead, I went for a quick drive around the lakes and ended up at a former wealthy person's residence that has been converted into another museum.

They had local art in the basement and artifacts from rajput history upstairs. Plus they had renovated the residence so you get a sense of what living quarters were like. Interestingly, the bedrooms were very small, and the open areas were very large. It is quite different from modern houses where everyone wants their own room... well I should say different from modern american houses.

Left: A mosaic peacock in Bagore-ki-Haveli.

Right: stained glass windown in Bagore-ki-Haveli.

Below: Arches in the inner courtyard at Bagore-ki-Haveli.

Journal continued:
After that, I had the guide drop me off and I went walking around. I walked around the winding streets, with the bulls and the mopeds and the ladies in their colorful saris. I particularly like seeing the ladies on the mopeds with their fashion sunglasses and their pink saris flowing out behind them. It is such a contrast of images within an image.

Left: Walking the streets of Udaipur, I happened to get a peek into the life of two Udaipurri women.

Left: Young lovers in the streets of Udaipur.

Right: A woman hiding in the shadows of a small temple.

Right: A holy cow.

Left: Men, doing... what they do, I guess.

Right: A woman turns a patch of dirt into the best of the corner markets.

Right: A typical site on the streets of Udaipur.

--> Previous
--> Next
--> Home
--> More Adventures
--> India Index