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UDAIPUR INFORMATION

Udaipur is a city and a municipal council in Udaipur District in the Indian State of Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar, and the administrative headquarters of Udaipur District. It is also known as the City of Lakes and Venice of the East. The Pichola lake, Fateh Sagar Lake, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar in this city are considered some of the most beautiful lakes in the state.

It is known for its Rajput-era palaces. Particularly famous is the Lake Palace, which covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake. Many of the palaces have been converted into luxury hotels.

The climate of Udaipur is tropical with the mercury staying between a maximum of 42.3°C and a minimum of 28.8°C during summers. Winters are a little cold with the maximum temperature rising to 28.8°C and the minimum dipping to 2.5°C.

Udaipur was the capital of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar, ruled by Ranawats of the Sisodia clan. The founder of Udaipur was Rana Udai Singh. The ancient capital of Mewar was Chittor or Chittorgarh, located on the Banas River northeast of Udaipur. Legend has it that Maharana Udai Singh came upon a hermit while hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed the king and asked him to build a palace on the spot and it would be well protected. Udai Singh established a residence there. In 1568 the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Chittor, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his residence, which became the city of Udaipur. As the Mughal empire weakened, the Sisodia ranas, and later maharanas, reasserted their independence and recaptured most of Mewar except the fort of Chittor. Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818. After India's Independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Udaipur acceded to the Government of India, and Mewar was integrated into India's Rajasthan state.

Sisodias, or the Guhilots (Suryavansh), have ruled the Mewar region since V.S 191, were against Mughal dominion, and tried to distance themselves from them. Being a mountainous region and unsuitable for heavily armoured Mughal horses, Udaipur remained unmolested from Mughal influence in spite of much pressure. Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur was the only royalty who did not attend the Delhi Durbar for King George V in 1911. This fierce sense of independence earned them the highest gun salute in Rajasthan, 19 against the 17 each of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bundi, Bikaner, Kota and Karauli. Rosita Forbes, who passed this land during the decline of the British Raj, described it as "like no other place on earth".

As of 2001 India census, Udaipur had a population of 550,000. Males constitute 53 percent of the population and females 47 percent. Udaipur has an average literacy rate of 77 percent, the national average is 79 percent: male literacy is 83 percent and female literacy is 72 percent.

"It was worth a night's discomfort, and revolverbeds to sleep upon this city of the Suryavansi, hidden among the hills that encompass the great Pichola lake. Truly, the King who governs to-day is wise in his determination to have no railroad to his capital. His predecessor was more or less enlightened, and, had he lived a few years longer, would have brought the iron horse through the Dobarri the green gate which is the entrance of the Girwa or girdle of his hills around Udaipur; and, with the train, would have come the tourist who would have scratched his name upon the Temple of Garuda and laughed horse-laughs upon the lake. Let us, therefore, be thankful that the capital of Mewar is hard to reach. "Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, 1887-9. The City of Beautiful Landscapes The iron horse did interrupt the serenity of Mewar and the Pichola Lake, but Udaipur as such had remained cut off from the outside world for a very long time, even during Kipling's visit. Udaipur, now popularly known as the Venice of the East or the City of Sunrise, has enchanting landscaped gardens and beautiful lakes that beckon both a tourist and a traveler. Lord Northbrook, the 19th century British Viceroy, described the city thus: "Take a lake about the size of Orta, with lower hills and of a lighter colour; put the walls of Verona on the lower hills with a fort or two, add islands smaller than those on Lake Maggiore, covered with marble pleasure palaces and domes Pile up half a dozen French chateaux on the side and end with a piece of Venice."

Described as The Jewel In The Crown The city faces no threat regarding beauty from any other Indian tourist spots. Well, perhaps it has some competition from Kashmir, the Paradise on Earth.

Udaipur has a small airport called Maharana Pratap Singh Airport, after the legendary medieval Rajput King.

Jet Airways has a daily flight to Udaipur from Delhi, Jaipur and Bombay. Indian Airlines operates daily flights between Udaipur and major cities like Jaipur and Mumbai. Air Deccan has three flights a week from Delhi and Jaipur. The city of Udaipur is about 20km from the airport. Taxis to the city cost almost 200 rupees and are the only means of transport to and from airport.