Saheliyon ki Bari

Our last destination for the day was :Saheliyon ki bari" or the garden of the maidens. This was one of my favorite spots of our trip. Our driver picked us from the vicinity of Bagore ki Haveli and we soon left for the garden.

This was a pleasure garden built by Maharana Sangram Singh II for the Queen and her 48 maidens, to relax and stroll about. Amidst the arid hot climate of Rajasthan, this garden provides shade and greenery. Precise engineering and water works had made this place much different from the surrounding areas. This garden was supposed to be designed by the king himself as a gift for the queen.

This place displays fine Rajput architecture. Before the entrance, there is an artful arrangement of plants in the shape of a giant butterfly, as if hinting towards the marvels which we were going to see inside. Even though it was mid-day, the place was teeming with visitors.

We walked in through the main entrance gate and was soon amazed and refreshed by the sight of fountains and flowers. Soon we entered a pool area- Rain fountain courtyard,- Sawan Bhado pool highlighted with white marble dome in the centre and black marble chatris (umbrella like dome) in the corners. People were trying to take pics in these domes and we also got my picture in that. The pool is named after two monsoon months of India- Shravana and Bhadrapada. The arrangement of fountains was in such a way as to recreate rain, when you stand inside these. So, a person could enjoy the feeling of monsoon while under the scorching Rajasthan sun, if you are here. Even though I was running a slight fever and was on antipyretics, I still went inside the dome for the iconic photo. The little bird figurines on the chatris added more to the charm. Over the walls there were rich growths of bougainvillea flowers of various colors falling over creating a nice shade.

We reached another pool with fountain nick named as Ras leela pool, with fountains present in the centra as well as along the periphery of the pool. The pool itself was surrounded by towering palm trees and others like a green wall.

We walked along grass beds and small shrubs and arrived at another iconic fountain - the Lotus pool with elephant shaped fountains. The pool is filled with lotus plants and the centre contains a fountain with 3levels. On the outer rim of the pool there were elephant shaped fountains, in which water seems to be flowing out of the trunk.

Lotus pond with elephant shaped fountain

We walked around and reached another fountain area, which I don't know the name. This area was similar to the Ras leela pool. As we walked around the garden among the shrub and tree lined path, I could hear the twitter of some birds hidden in the canopy. The curious thing is that the fountains were operating with no electricity, just by utilizing gravity and hydraulic principles. We walked and relaxed for a while and soon said bye to this amazing garden.

Outside the garden, our driverji treated us to the world's best Lemon tea, for which we had to wait for about half an hour. When we got the tea, I accidently spilled some of the hot liquid onto my husband's hand, which somehow dampened my enthusiasm for a while (fortunately not enough to cause severe scalding). We soon left for lunch and after which our journey to Jodhpur started.

My fever was not subsiding properly, we brought medicines on the way and I tried to rest amidst the loud cab music and traffic. On the way to Jodhpur at the tea stops on the way we bonded over with another couple from Kolkata who were under the same travel agency, but in a different cab following our same itinery- Swatiji and Bhaiyyaji.We reached our night stay Heritage Kuchamen Haveli by night. The place was cozy and grand. But due to tiredness and time constraints, we couldn't explore the place properly. After having dinner I chatted with our new acquaintances for a long time, before returning to room.