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| Udaipur, Rajasthan | ||||||||||||||||||
History Udaipur is the capital of Rajput kingdom of Mewar, ruled by Ranawats of Sisodia clan. Rana Udai Singh was the founder of Udaipur. The ancient t capital of Mewar, was Chittor or Chittorgarh, was located on the Banaras river northeast of Udaipur. People say that, Maharana Udai Singh came upon a hermit while hunting I the foothills of Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed him and asked to build a palace on the spot with a very well protection. According to hermit`s wish Udai Singh had established a residence there. In the year 1568, the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Chittor and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his residence, which became the city of Udaipur. As the Mughal Emperor weakened, the Sisodia ranas and later maharanas recaptured most of the Mewar parts except the fort of Chittor. So Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818. After India`s independence in 1947, the maharaja of Udaipur acceded to Govt. of India and Mewar was integrated into India`s Rajasthan state. Geography  Udaipur is located at 24.58°N, 73.68°E. It has an average elevation of 598 meters. It is located at the foothills of the Aravali Range; Udaipur lies in southern Rajasthan near the Gujrat and Madhya Pradesh border. The climate of Udaipur is Tropical with the maximum temperature of 42.3°C and a minimum of 28.8°C during summer and during winter maximum is 28°C and minimum is2.5°C. the annual rainfall is 61cm.
Bedach, Vakal, Som, Jakham, Sabarmati, Gomati and Kothari are the main rivers flowing in Udaipur and the lakes are Fatehsagar, Pichola, Swaroop Sagar, Udai Sagar, Badi, Madar, Bagdara and Jaisamand.
Economy Agriculture is the leading economy of Udaipur. The principal crops are Barley, Wheat, Gram, Pulses, Jowar, Maize, Ground Nuts, Fruits, Vegetables and Spices. Cotton and Tobacco are the cash corps. There are mainly two corps seasons. The major corps likes Bajra, Jowar, Pulses, Maize, Sugarcane and Ground Nuts are sown during the month of June and July and harvested in September and October. The Rabi corps likes Wheat, Barley, Pulses, Gram and Oil seeds are sown during the month of October-November and harvested during March-April. Among the oil seeds Mustard and Rape are the important one. Among fruits Orange, Lemon, Guava, Mango, Pomegranate are the main. For cultivation main source of irrigation is wells and tanks. There are few small-scale industries lies in Udaipur. Such as Zinc, Chemical, Gems and Jewellery, Metals and Minerals, Marbles. Main source of income comes through Tourism. Udaipur hotels are among the leading hotels of the state. The Taj hotel and resorts, Oberoi group of hotels, Trident group of hotels and the HRH group of hotels are the main hotels except various other three star hotels with small hotels. Government and Politics Udaipur is the largest district of the division and administrative control. District Magistrate or Collector, who is a officer belongs to Indian Administrative Service, is the head of the District Administration. He is assisted by two Additional District Magistrates. One is for the city and another for the Administration. Transport By Air Dabok airport is 24 kilometer away from the centre. Indian Airline flights connect Udaipur with Jodhpur, Jaipur, Aurangabad, Mumbai and Delhi. By Rail Indian railway is well connected from Udaipur to Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Recently it is connected with Delhi Kota, Mathura and Kolkata. By Road By road it is well connected with several cities. It falls in Golden Quadrilateral, lying midway between Delhi and Mumbai. The other important destinations are Agra Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Mount Abu. Divisions The divisions of Udaipur consist of five districts. The divisional head quarter is situated in Udaipur. Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Dungarpur. For Administration and development, the district is divided into seven divisions. Those are Girwa, Dariyaward, Mavli, Vallabhnagar, Kotda, Jhadol and Salumber. These Sub-divisions again divided into Tehsils and Sub- Tehsils. Demographics As per 2001 Census, Udaipur had a population of 550,000. Males constitute53% and female 47% of the total population.12% of the total population is under six of your age. Udaipur has an average literacy of the rate is 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 83% and female is 72%. Culture Except Hindi and English, Mewari is the most common spoken language of Udaipur. There are many festivals celebrated I locality. Except the national celebrations, the other important celebrations of the district are: - Shilpgram Festival- Shilpgram is a craft village, three kilometer west of Fateh Sagar, has displays of traditional houses from Rajasthan, Gujrat, Goa and Maharashtra. There are also demonstrations by musicians, dancers and artisans of these states. This is the ten days festival hoasted by Shilpgram every year. Mewar Festival- Mewar Festival is celebrated to welcome the advent of spring. It held in the month of April.  Gangaur Festival- Gangaur festival is popular among women, who pray the goddess Parvati. A procession of caparisoned hourses and elephants accompanying the images of lord Shiv is the major attraction. During this festival woman carry the idols of goddess Parvati also called Gauri in form of a procession to Gangaur Ghat which is one side of Pichola Lake.
Teej- Teej comes in the month of July and August. People celebrating the advent of the Monsoon in this festival. Teej is also dedicated to Lord Shiv and Parvati. Married women celebrate it for their happy and prosperous married life. It is the festival of swing, which is decorated with flowers and hung from trees. Young girls and women dressed in green colour cloths and sings the Rajasthani folks. For the Udaipur people there are several entertaining places. Such as,  Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal- It is an excellent museum of folk arts. This museum also hosts the famous Puppet shows of Rajasthan.
Udaipur Solar observatory- It is Asia`s only one observatory, located in the middle of the Lake Fateh Sagar. Gulab Bagh and Zoo- Spectacular Rose garden laid out by Maharana Sajjan Singh. The library in the garden has a rare collection of ancient hand written manuscripts and books. With in the garden there is a zoo with tigers, leopards, chinkara with many more wild animals. Visiting places City Palace- This majestic architectural marvel tower standing on the east bank of lake Pichola. This is a massive series of places built at different times from 1559AD.  Lake palace-Originally called as Jag Niwas, took three years to be completed. Now it is turned as a luxurious hotel.
Jag Mandir- it is another Island of lake Pichola, which is famous for its beautiful garden courtyard. Shah Jan took refuge here while revolting against his father. Maharana Pratap Memorial or Moti Magri- On the top of the Moti Magri or the Pearl Hill, there is a memorial bronze statue of Maharana Pratap with his favorite and famous horse Chetak. Sajjangarh Fort- this place was used as the summer resort of the Maharajas. It is situated on the top of the hill where one can overlook all the lakes. This place has an ingenious way to collect rainwater for the consumption all through the year. Sukhadia circle- A landmark built on a traffic roundabout in Udaipur. It is a three-tiered fountain that is lit at night. Jagdish Temple- This famous temple is situated in the middle of the city. This is the temple of Jagannath Rai and now called as Jagdish-ji, is a major monument and taken care by Rajasthan Tourism Department. Maharana Jagat Singh 1st built it in 1651 AD. It is a very good example of Indo-Aryan Culture.  City palace and Museum- while entering to the City palace, the government Pratap museum is housed with old sculpture and inscriptions. The antique paintings of Mewar, the turban of Shah Jan and many more things are collected.
Fateh Sagar Lake- This Lake is also called Lovers Paradise. It is situated in the north of lake Picholas, which is a most peaceful and relaxing place to spend leisure. It was originally built by Maharana Jai Singh in the year 1678 AD but later on reconstructed and extended by Maharana Fateh Singh. In the middle of the lake there is a garden like an Island, which is called Nehru garden. Lake Pichola- Lake Pichola is one of the most fascinating lakes, which has two islands, Jag Niwas and Jag Mandir. This beautiful shimmering lake is 4km long and 3km wide, originally built by Maharana Udai Singh II. Dudh Talai- this is a beautiful rock garden, with musical fountain. Bagore Ki Haveli- Amir Chand Badwa, the prime minister of Mewar built this Haveli in the eighteenth Century. This palace has over hundred rooms and some interesting display of costume and modern art. Nathdwara- Sri Nathdwara is lies 48 kilometers from Udaipur; its name signifies literally means the gateway to the Lord. Ranakpur- In Ranakpur village one of the famous Jain temple and one much more older Sun temple is located. Haldi Ghati- This place is very famous in History books. A mountain pass in Rajsamand district that hosted the battle between Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and the Mughal emperor Akbar. Mount Abu- It is a popular hill station of Udaipur. Eklingji- It is one of the biggest temple complexes situated nearly 22 kilometer in the north of Udaipur. Eklingji was built in 734A.D, which consist of 108 temples. This temple complex was devoted to the royal family of Mewar. Flora and Fauna  Nature has gifted Udaipur with of gardens. The important gardens of the city are: -
Saheliyon Ki Badi Sajjan Niwas garden Nehru garden Manikya Lal Verma Garden Deendayal Upadhyaya Garden Moti Magri Rajiv Gandhi Park UIT Wolkem Park Sanjay Gandhi Garden Nehru Bal Udyan Aravali Vatika Guru Govind Singh Park Motha Park With all these natural beauties, Kumbhalgarh wild life sanctuary increases the charm of Udaipur. Kumbhalgarh wild life sanctuary is located in the most rugged of Aravali in Pali, Rajsamand and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan. It takes name after the historic fort of Kumbhalgarh. It acquires 578 sq km of area and an altitude of 500 to 1,300m, which is a home for a very large number of wild verities. The wild life includes wolfs, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, sambar, nilgai, the four horned antelope, chinkara and hare. Peacocks, doves, red spur owl, parakeets, golden oriole, grey pigeons and white-breasted kingfisher are the main birds founded here. Education Udaipur is filled with various institutions, for which it is also called the learning city. Except the normal schools and colleges the import institutions are: - Shrinathji Institute of Technology and Engineering Udaipur. Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies. College of Technology and Engineering. College of Dairy and Food Technology. Maharana Bhupal Government hospital, Udaipur. Global Institute of Nursing, Udaipur. Maa Aswara Shikshan Sansthan College of Nurshing. Maa Gayatri BSc Nurshing College. Mateshwari Nursing Institute. Srinath Institute of Nurshing. Sunrise Institute of Nurshing. Synergy Institute of Nursing. Dr Anuska Vidhi Mahavidyalaya Vardhman LawCollege Bhupal Nobels Law College Udaipur College of Laws and Studies. The Institute of Company Secretary of India. | ||||||||||||||||||
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