Udaipur, a city I believe was better off in the state of Gujarat for two reasons –
- Think desert and then think a rainforest. Udaipur is like a lovechild of the two! And most certainly, with no ‘sand’ around, Udaipur doesn’t seem as though it is geographically supposed to figure in the state of Rajasthan.
-
There is little, if any, sign of non-vegetarian dhaba-like places in the city of Udaipur. Hey, wait! Isn’t Rajasthan famous for its Laal Maans (a mutton delicacy)?! And seriously, this is not in Gujarat?! (for those who don’t get it, Gujarat is a neighboring state notorious for its vegetarian fan-fare).
But I am getting a little ahead of myself. We were still in Mumbai the last time we spoke.
So Day 1 of the That Sojourn was fairly elaborate. Left home at 3 am. Flight at 5 am. Landed in Udaipur by 6.30am.
It was a coincidental smart choice – we decided to head to Mount Abu straightway rather than making a halt at the city, which means we easily saved around 2 hours of travel time. Now, why visit the lone hill station of this state? Well, when your grand mom told you stories about her mysterious trips to this mountain at the other end of the country (my grand mom has settled in Calcutta – yes, pretty much the other end of the country), one couldn’t help but visit the place out of childhood curiosity.
And curiosity has its reasons for existing.
Mount Abu has a lot to offer. The 3 principle campuses of Brahma Kumaris for the atheist-yet-spiritual in you, the Dilware temples for admirer of architectural beauty (pity they don’t allow photography within the vicinity of the temple- as if to create a veil around the pristine beauty of the intricate marble work), the Nakki Lake for every water-deprived Indian from North India for boating in nearly 40 deg C…
Visit it for the Dilware.
The drive back to Udaipur was just as serene – the scenery was along the lines of what the Scottish Highlands look like in my head. Green hillocks, the Sun playing peek-a-boo with you behind these hillocks as you weave in and out of them; cattle grazing without a care in the world (ok, quite frankly, I’ve not know a ‘perturbed’ cattle to be grazing…); and fortification ruins all along the way to Udaipur – and you know your tryst with history has already begun.
Categories: Travel
Walk The Line 
Interesting description and very nice picture of the temple (I suppose it is that Dilware temple)
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Yes, it is. Thanks! 🙂
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Mount Abu doesnt have Rainforests. These are what are called xenomorphic sub-tropical thorn forests and sub-tropical evergreen forests at higher altitude. These, despite the complex nomenclature, are still beautiful beautiful forests…
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