Rajasthan rolling - 10(concluded) Pushkar and Chittorgarh

On our way from Jaipur to Pushkar we had planned a short visit to Ajmer too but the President of our country had similar ideas due to which we were forced to trash our Ajmer visit by the security forces.

Reached Pushkar at forenoon and checked in the beautiful property of Hotel New Park. It was edenic with

peacocks and other birds flying around in the gardens facing the cottages. Had a quiet lunch and set out in

the evening to visit the only Brahma temple in the country which is what Pushkar is famous for apart from the annual camel fair.

Hired a ‘guide on a motorcycle’ who led us through the maze of bylanes to the temple and thrust upon us the local priest to pray for our ancestors. After having resisted guides almost all through the tour we indulged in getting ripped off and hoped that our ancestors in faraway lands were satiated by our prayers and offerings.

Apparently if we pray at the lake surounded by thousands of temples, our ancestors will be pleased and we were made to do just that! Then we were led to the Brahma temple where fortunately there were no crowds

and unfortunately no photography was allowed hence after a brief darshan we were on our way back to the Hotel.

In the evening though we went for a walk round the lake. It was very peaceful despite the crowds. Had a

refreshing cup of coffee at ‘Koffe Kulture’, took some pictures and realised that there were more foreigners than Indians out there!

Next morning we set out for Chittorgarh which was a mere 200kms away. We had a booking in RTDC’s property which was in a huge property but had the usual flaws of a Government run institution. Made ourselves as comfortable as possible in the circumstances and after a quick lunch in their restaurant we rested for a while and set out to visit the main attraction – the Chittorgarh Fort. The nice thing was that we could drive all the way up and inside the fort too for a price.

Photograph : Nakul Amembal

The Chittorgarh fort is considered to be the largest in the country and is spread over 700acres. It was built by Maurya rulers in the 7^th century. There are palaces, towers, temples and cenotaphs in the fort.

Photograph : Nakul Amembal

The Gaumukh reservoir is a huge water tank that gets water from a 'Cow's mouth' shaped rock. 

The Padmini Palace has an interesting tale. It is in the northern end of the Padmini lake and apparently it was here that Rana Ratan Singh showed a glimpse of the legendary beauty of his wife Padmini to Allaudin Khilji through a mirror who got enamoured with her beauty.

Photograph : Nakul Amembal

In the middle of the lake there is a three storeyed structure with arched openings and is locally called the Jal Mahal.

Allaudin Khilji who coveted Queen Padmini of Chittaur, invaded the city in 1303 A.D. Queen Padmini and the women of the court sacrificed themselves in a pyre of fire rather than submit to anybody. This supreme sacrifice has been called 'Jauhar' and epitomises the fiery spirit of the Rajputs of the day.

The Vijay Stambh (tower of victory) is the most impressive structure of the Chittorgarh Fort. It was

Photograph : Nakul Amembal

constructed by Maharana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over Mohammed Khilji in the 15th century. This giant tower is nine-storied and offers a picture-perfect view of the down-town from its balconies. This huge tower extends to the height of 122 feet and width of 47 sq ft at the base. The circular stairs of this tower has 157 steps. This imposing tower took 10 complete years to construct. You can trace sculptures of the Hindu gods on the alcoves of this tower.

They do have a ‘light and sound’ show every evening but we decided to skip it and chose to get back to the Hotel and retire early as we had to leave early next morning on our last leg of the trip to Vadodara and then back home.

This was indeed a magnificent road trip through a very colourful land of Rajasthan!

Rajasthan rolling - 9

Rajasthan rolling - 8 

Rajasthan rolling - 7
Rajasthan rolling - 6

Rajasthan rolling - 5

Rajasthan rolling - 4
Rajasthan rolling - 3
Rajasthan rolling - 2
Rajasthan rolling - 1