Page 387 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

R A JASTHAN  385

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
Jodhpur district. 331 km
(206 miles) W of Jaipur.
* 846,500. n High Court Rd,
(0291) 254 5083. ( Mon–Sat.
_ Jodhpur–Rajasthan
International Folk Festival (Oct),
Marwar Festival (Oct).
Umaid Bhavan Palace, a fusion of Rajput, Jain and Art Deco styles Transport
~ 5 km (3 miles) S of city centre.
E Umaid Bhavan Palace garden on a hillside are the £ @
Open daily. & red sandstone chhatris of
This immense palace, built of Jodhpur’s earlier rulers. The
creamy-pink sandstone and most imposing is that of Balsamand, 6 km (4 miles) north
marble, is a prime example of Ajit Singh with its towering of Jodhpur, has the 19th-century
princely India’s opulence. Its temple-like spire. When he red sandstone water palace of
347 rooms include eight dining died in 1724, his six wives the maharajas beside a large
halls, two theatres, a ballroom, and 58 concubines committed artificial lake. The Sardar Samand
several lavishly decorated sati on his funeral pyre. The Lake, 55 km (34 miles) south of
reception halls and a vast Hall of Heroes has 15 life-size Jodhpur, attracts several water
underground swimming pool. statues of religious deities birds including egrets, ibis
A 60-m (197-ft) dome covers and folk heroes. Further up the and pelicans. On its shores
the cavernous central hall, hill are the queens’ cenotaphs is the maharajas’ Art Deco-style
which, at its inauguration, (Raniyon ki Chhatri) and the tall hunting lodge. The drive here
seated 1,000 people for dinner. and narrow 17th-century Ek passes through interesting
The palace was commission ed Thamba Mahal Palace. Bishnoi villages (see p389).
by Maharaja Umaid Singh,
apparently to create jobs for his
famine-stricken subjects. Begun
in 1929, it took 3,000 men
15 years to complete; 19 km
(12 miles) of railway tracks were
also laid to bring the sandstone
from the quarry. HV Lanchester,
the architect of the Central Hall
of Westminster in London,
created a pleasing fusion of
Rajput, Jain and European Art
Deco styles for his royal patron.
Umaid Singh’s grandson,
Gaj Singh, still lives in a section
of the palace, while the rest
has been turned into a luxury Jaswant Thada, the 19th-century cenotaph of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II
hotel. The palace museum
is open to visitors and has Bhopa Balladeers
an impressive collection of
decorated weapons, watches Like the troubadours of medieval Europe, the nomadic Bhopa tribe
and fantastically-shaped clocks, of western Rajasthan enjoys a lively tradition of storytelling through
paintings, French furniture song and dance. A long painted scroll (known as a phad) is, rather
and porcelain. like a comic strip, crammed with paintings depicting dramatic
The road in front of it, events in the life of a Marwar
leading to the smaller Ajit hero, the brave warrior Pabuji.
Bhavan Palace, is lined with The Bhopa unrolls his scroll,
antique shops. and narrates the story through
songs, highlighting relevant
pictures on the scroll with a
Environs lantern, while his wife brings
Mandore, 9 km (6 miles) north the tale to life with animated
of Jodhpur, was the capital of dance sequences. The Bhopas’
the Rathore kings of Marwar performances draw enthusiastic
until the 15th century, when crowds at fairs and festivals
Rao Jodha built a new capital across the Marwar region. Painted scroll used by Bhopas
at Jodhpur. Set around terr aced
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p699 and pp712–13

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