Notes on the Geography of Peninsular India: Udaipur CityUdaipur has other monuments of perhaps greater interest than its palaces--the Mahasati funeral memorials, for example--but we look here at daily life in the old city. Make default image size smaller ![]() The entry through the Chandpol or moon gate. The view here is from the bridge across the stream issuing from Pichola Lake. ![]() Turning 90 degrees to the right: Swaroop Sagar, the channel leading to Fateh Sagar, a 19th century lake. The Lake Palace is in the background, on the right. ![]() The crowds were in abundance because heavy rains had just brought the lake back to life. ![]() There was a general air of jubilation, in part because the town's tourist industry depends on a lake with water in it. ![]() At the Gangaur Ghat, verses from the Ramayana were sung in hopes of procuring more rain. ![]() Back from the water, the city is full of narrow lanes. ![]() A view over those lanes from the top of the City Palace. ![]() The characteristic blue is said to be a recent innovation, replacing the traditional white. ![]() Although this area has been built-up for centuries, construction continues. ![]() The question arises: how are bricks and other building materials brought to the site? ![]() Here, along with ubiquitous cattle, is your answer: donkeys. ![]() Returning after a delivery. ![]() Where streets are wide enough, more modern methods can be used. ![]() Still, there's always a limit to just how modern those methods will be: in this case, concrete is being head-loaded up a rough ramp to the building site. ![]() Tourists, gathering to watch, were shooed away by an annoyed contractor. ![]() At a city market: a cartload of bangles for sale. ![]() Basket weavers. ![]() Around the City Palace, the economy is very heavily oriented to tourists. ![]() Outside of town, there's a very different world: half the people of Udaipur District are said to live in villages that can only be reached on foot. ![]() The countryside is laced with miles and miles of dry-course stone walls. |
* Argentina * Australia * Austria * Bangladesh * Belgium * Botswana * Brazil * Burma / Myanmar * Cambodia (Angkor) * Canada (B.C.) * China * The Czech Republic * Egypt * Fiji * France * Germany * Ghana * Greece * Guyana * Hungary * India: Themes * Northern India * Peninsular India * Indonesia * Israel * Italy * Japan * Jerusalem * Jordan * Kenya * Laos * Kosovo * Malawi * Malaysia * Mauritius * Mexico * Micronesia (Pohnpei) * Morocco * Mozambique * Namibia * The Netherlands * New Zealand * Nigeria * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Peru * The Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Romania (Transylvania) * Senegal * Singapore * South Africa * South Korea * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Syria (Aleppo) * Tanzania * Thailand * Trinidad * Turkey (Istanbul) * Uganda * The U.A.E. (Dubai) * The United Kingdom * The Eastern United States * The Western United States * Oklahoma * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vietnam * The West Bank * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe *