Whenever I think about Rajasthan, the first word that pops into my mind is 'vibrance' because Rajasthan is just so vibrant. The men in colourful Safas with curled moustaches, women wearing ghagra cholis hiding in ghoongats, the culture, folk arts, music, dance just everything is go intriguing. This time I got a chance to visit Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan thanks to Club Mahindra Holidays for having their resort there.
The way to Kumbhalgarh from Udaipur is through small towns and villages where you can see the humble village life. Men and women working in farms, women carrying water, children running along cars waving out to passengers, cattle blocking the road, camels carrying hay, more animals and stone-lined walls. When I finally reached the resort, I was awestruck by its structural beauty from the fountain and the colourful glass door welcoming us to the comfortable cozy rooms.
The next day after exploring the resort we went to explore the Kumbhalgarh Fort which stretches across 36 kilometers of the Aravali mountains. It was one of the forts built by Rana Kumbha which was named after him and is also the birth place of Maharana Pratap, the brave warrior of Mewar. It houses around 360 temples and covers a huge area with a boundary wall of 36 kilometers, claimed to be the largest continuous wall after the Great Wall of China!! The fort has a breathtaking view form the top overlooking the boundray wall and the Aravali ranges. The fort is also very well maintained and clean. It comes to life when illuminated in the evening for about half an hour and looks truly magnificent.
The next day we went to the famous Shrinathji and Eklingji temples. The Srinathji temple is located at Nathdwara amidst narrow bye-lanes and shops selling mostly silverware, kundan jewelery, bandhni sarees, artifacts and sweets. This temple attracts huge amount of crowds during the festive season. Next we went to Haldighati, a mountain pass where the war between Maharana Pratap and the Mughal emperor Akbar took place. During this war Maharana Pratap's loyal and devoted horse Chetak got wounded and one of its hind leg was severely cut. Inspite of the injury he carried his master to the other side of the ghati jumping over a nearby stream. Chetak breathed his last once his master was safe and to cherish his loyalty and sacrifice a memorial is erected in the very place. Haldighati houses the Maharana Pratap National Memorial which is a museum and airs a documentary on his life and a sound and light show depicting the major events of his life.
The next day we visited Chittorgarh, the largest fort in India. Chittorgarh witnessed three Jauhars (self immolation on a pyre) the first led by Rani Padmini. The great saint poetess Meera Bai also lived here. Though now the fort is in ruins, it is not difficult to visualize the grandeur of this place during its days of glory. It houses the Fateh Prakash Palace, Rana Kumbha Palace, Padmini Palace, Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh, Gaumukh Reservoir, seven Gates of the fort and numerous temples.
On the last day of our stay in Kumbhalgarh we went for the Wildlife Safari. It was fun as the wind zoomed past my face in the open jeep. It was a bumpy ride on the stone road throughout the safari with the road wide enough only for one jeep lined with wild grass on either side. It was a good experience even though we could not see any wildlife apart from the monkeys and the deer and it reminded me of the Tiger Safari in Corbett where with my dampened enthusiasm all I saw was the tiger's paw!!
The next day we left for Udaipur to return home and thanks to our flight being delayed that we got extra time to shop in Udaipur!! We returned home in time to celebrate Diwali with fond memories of the trip.
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