Bundi
Thirty-nine kilometres (24 miles) west of Kotah is Bundi,
situated in a narrow, picturesque gorge in the hills.
The former Bundi State was founded in 1342 by Rao Dewa,
a Hara chieftain of the Chauhan clan of Rajputs.
A curious feature of the city,
surrounded by rampart walls, is the main stone-paved
street, with shops 2 to 2˝ m. (6
ft.) above the road level. The street serves also as the
overflow channel for the Naval Sagar, a small tank at
its western end. Unspoilt by the trappings of modernity,
the city looks charming in its natural simplicity.
The Fortress Palace
The castle of the Hara kings, rising above the city in
tier upon tier of terraces, overhanging balconies and
battlemented walls, on the slope of a hill above the
Naval Sagar, is an imposing edifice. Of the attractive
palaces in Rajasthan, the one at Bundi must undoubtedly
be given the first rank. It is an aggregate of palaces,
each having the name of its founder, and yet the whole
structure has a strange harmony of design and
architecture.
The palace is approached
by a steep ramp leading through a huge gateway, flanked
by two stone elephants. Facing the elephants is the
Diwan-i-Am known as Ratan Daulat. Beyond it is the
portion built by Rao Chhatrasal, where the royal thrones
made of silver and gold are to be seen, along with other
relics of the past, in rooms decorated with old mural
paintings. On a terrace above is the Rang Vilas, a small
ornamental garden, overlooking the Chitrasala or picture
gallery. The walls of the pavilion are covered with fine
murals depicting religious, historical and hunting
scenes in the Bundi style of Rajasthan painting.
A road skirting the city
walls and the Jait Sagar, running through wooded hills,
past Kshar Bagh and Shikar Burj to Phool Sagar and back
affords a pleasant circular driver. Jait Sagar is a
lovely lake set in the hills at one end of which stands
Sukh Mahal associated with Rudyard Kipling.
The lake was built by
Jaita, the Mina chief, from whom Rao Dewa wrested the
valley. At Kshar Bagh is a group of 66 carved cenotaphs
of the rulers of the Bundi. Originally built as a place
of his retirement by Raja Umaid Singh, Shikar Burj was
later used as a hunting lodge. The Phool Sagar is a fine
artificial lake above which are the Maharaja’s palace
and gardens. |
