History of Udaipur – About Udaipur, Rajasthan

This article will walk you through the history of Udaipur and make you familiar about Udaipur customs, culture, tourist attractions and various other things.

Udaipur – ‘The City of Lakes’ or ‘The Venice of East’ is famed for its enthralling allure, the tender and welcoming environment, and the royal fascinating Mewar history. Several places/monuments own an engaging history that lures folks from all around the world. Here is the brief Udaipur history jotted down in points.

History of Udaipur – About Udaipur, Rajasthan

Origin and Foundation

• Udaipur was discovered by Maharana Udai Singh of Mewar dynasty in 1553.
• It was named after the King as ‘Udaipur’.
• When Udaipur was found by the Mewar dynasty, it was a fertile land hence it was declared as the new capital by the King.
• Before Udaipur, Chittorgarh was the capital of Mewar kingdom.
• Maharana Udai Singh II made the decision of shifting the capital from Chittorgarh to Udaipur because of the warfare; he wanted to move his capital to a more secure location.
• The Ayad area was already known to the Mewar dynasty as it served as a capital to the dynasty in the 10th century.
• Maharana Udai Singh II did not choose Ayad area to build the main palace of the new-capital city because Ayad was a flood-prone zone at that time.
• Hence the east area of Pichola Lake was chosen to build the main palace which is now known as City Palace.

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• For the safety of the new capital the king built a wall with the length of 6 km with main gates in it namely – Brahmpole, Ambapole, Hathipole, Udiapole, Chandpole, Surajpole.
• The area that resides in the wall is now commonly referred as ‘The Old City’.
• The British didn’t show their much interest in acquiring Udaipur because it was a mountainous region which made it difficult for their army to carry heavy armored horses and weapons.

Present Mewar Custodian

• The 76th custodian of the Mewar Kingdom – Shri Arvind Singh Ji Mewar is the king of Udaipur.
• That doesn’t actually mean that he rules the city, the city is under the democratic government of India.
• Shri Arvind Singh Ji Mewar was born on 13 December 1944, his patriarch’s name is Shri Bhagwat Singh Ji Mewar and Shri Arvind Singh Ji Mewar is his second son. The first son of Shri Bhagwat Singh Ji Mewar is Shri Mahendra Singh Ji Mewar.
• Arvind Singh Ji has obtained his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer that was certified by the Cambridge University. He later acquired a degree in Arts with subjects – English Literature, Economics, and Political Science from Maharana Bhupal College Udaipur. After this he went to UK and got enrolled in the Metropolitan College, St Albans for the course of Hotel Management.
• He owns several palaces which have been now converted into hotels under the HRH Group; he also owns a collection of antique cars and crystal; and other properties as well like a private airport at his Shikarbadi Hotel, a Polo Club in Jaipur etc.

Knowing the Udaipur Customs

Udaipur is extremely rich in its royal and heritage traditions, various festivals celebrated in the region are:

Shilprgam Utsav

On the outskirts of the city lays Shipgram, a small village which is extremely culturally rich, a 10 day fest is organized in its premise called as Shipgram Utsav/Fest from 21 December to 31 December each year, when artisans from all around the world assemble here and showcase their art and talent.

Gangaur Festival

One of the most celebrated festival of the region, In this festival Gangaur is worshipped, ‘Gan’ stands for Lord Shiva and ‘Gaur’ stands for his wife Goddess Parvati. The idols of Gangaur are worshipped by the women, the unmarried women seek for a good husband in the blessings and the married women seek for good health of their husband in the same. On the Gangaur festival’s evening the women get ready and apply heena on their palms and take the Gangaur idols to the Gangaur Ghat (A Ghat in Udaipur, specially dedicated to the Gangaur Festival) and immerse them into the water of the Lake. A huge procession is taken place that starts from the palace and heads across the old city including chariots, carts and palanquins (palkis); and later reach Gangaur Ghat for bidding farewell to Gangaur.

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Hariyali Amavasya

This festival arrives in the monsoon, Lord Shiva is worshipped in this fest, and in the blessings people seek good rains and green agriculture. Huge fete is organized on and around Fateh Sagar Lake; also several meals are arranged all around the city.

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Jagannath Yatra

The idol of Lord Jagannath from Jagdish Temple is placed on a huge wooden chariot with 16 wheels drapped in red and yellow is roamed around the old city with huge celebrations, the procession is said to be the third largest Rath-Yatra.

Like other Rajasthan regions, various Rajasthani dance forms are practiced in the city, you can easily grab seats of the following folk dance performances in the city. Various dance forms include Ghoomar, Bhavai, Kalbelia and Kachchhi Ghodi.

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To experience and have a close look in the Udaipur’s heritage culture you must visit Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal and Bagrore Ki Haveli, these are udaipur museums that display various paintings, miniatures, masks etc. that depict the culture of the region.

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Climatic Conditions

There are three main seasons that Udaipur experience – summer, monsoon, winter. We suggest you to visit Udaipur in the winter season that occurs from October to March, the temperature remains around 5 degrees at night and around 30 degrees at the day-time, which turns-out to be a pleasant ambience at the particular time.

Main Tourist Attractions

Below is the list of some best places to visit in Udaipur.

• Jagdish Temple
• City Palace
• Monsoon Palace (Sajjangarh)
• The Pearl Hill (Moti Magri)
• Lake Pichola
• Fateh Sagar Lake
• The Courtyard of Maidens (Saheliyon ki Bari)
• Ahar Cenotaphs
• Bagore ki Haveli
• Eklinji Temple
• Dudh Talai Lake

You can watch below video to get quick intro about Udaipur City.

Don’t forget to check out our other articles for brief information about the above mentioned places, also you can share some exclusive pictures of the enchanting Lake City via Facebook message to our page, we’d love to share them and provide you a shout-out.

Comment below if you found any information incorrect or missing in above article for history of Udaipur.