A journey to the Land of Kings -PART 7: Jagdish temple & Bagore Ki Haveli

  Jagdish temple       

            A short walk away from City Palace, we reached, Jagdish temple, with the help of Google map. This old temple was built in 1651, commissioned by Maharana Jagat Singh I of Mewar and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. We climbed 32 marble steps reached near the main temple. The 80 feet temple spire is visible all across Udaipur city. There were small shrines for other deities on the outside. 

Jagdish temple

                The Indo-Aryan architecture is very detailed and mesmerizing to watch. The pillars are adorned with sculptures of dancers, musicians, elephants. Photography was allowed outside, not inside the temple. We spent a short amount of time there admiring the stone-works, and soon departed for our next destination.

Bagore ki Haveli

                We reached this haveli following the directions of Google map and soon acquired the tickets for entry. This architectural gem is situated along the banks of Pichola lake at Gangaur Ghat. There were fewer tourists by the time we reached here, so we could explore more and take out time here. This amazing palace was built by a former Prime Minister of Mewar, Amar Chand Badwa. It was a residence for nobles mainly. Some restoration work was happening at some parts of the haveli. The small courtyard at the entrance, gave us a glimpse of the scalloping archways, balconies and made us anticipate as to what is inside. Soon we entered a gallery which displayed the various insignias and collection of ceremonial and royal flags used by different states during different periods.  After which we started our exploration of various rooms and sections of the haveli. 

Insignias

                Our steps soon led us to a puppet room full of traditional Kathputlis used for traditional Rajasthani puppet show. The vibrant colors and vast variety of puppets representing royalties, commoners, musicians, dancers were such a feast to our eyes. Before TV or radio, these were the favorite entertainment for the Royal family as well as for the common folk. 

Kathputlis on display

                We ascended the stairs and reached a terrace with balconies facing the Lake. We clicked many photos here while enjoying the breeze and talking about sweet nothings. After resting sometime and adding tens of photos to our collection, we resumed our exploration of various rooms of the elegant abode. On the corridors and rooms there were paintings of various royal figures and famous personalities. There was a painting of Panna Dhai, who sacrificed her own child for protecting the prince.

    Inside Bagore ki Haveli

                 Rooms with colored glasses and shaped like small Darbar halls with cushioned seats and preserved antiques such as hand fan were interesting to watch. Scalloped doorways with beautiful floral patterns, peacocks and parrots blended with thikri art (mirror work), made us look twice and spent some time to admire the beauty. The walk through the rooms were more like a glimpse to the past, a look into the luxuries enjoyed by the nobles, and a view of a bygone era. The 3D model of peacock with thikri art as seen in City palace was present here also. Some of these were damaged and they required restoration. 

                Another zone which we liked was the place with rose tinted glasses and star shaped crevices on the doors, which filtered sunlight in the star shape. We actually took some pics here and they turned out awesome.  Soon we entered the area with displays of clothes and turbans used in the past. This section really provided us a visual tour of the style and attire of the Rajasthani people hundreds of years back. There was a separate display of a giant turban also.

Turban display

                Some musical instruments used in the Mewar period was also displayed. We soon entered an armory and weapons display and just skimmed through the weapons displayed. Before we left we saw an art exhibition held inside the haveli, but couldn't meet the artist or any tourist inside. But the art display was really mesmerizing and I would have spent more time there, if time was on our side. We departed from Bagore ki Haveli to meet our driverji outside. On the way my hubby did his usual souvenir hunting and we soon departed for our next destination.

← Previous Page | Next Page →