The Udaipur to Ajmer sleeper bus experience made the frozen morgue experience feel real. An interesting turn of events including a cargo bus and some daring improvisations brought an adventure to a happy end.
Udaipur on Rivers II – Gods on Every Corner
Lasting Artistic Brilliance
Udaipur's Lasting Artistic Brilliance
Walking by foot to Udaipur City Palace through the city’s meandering alleys was a rewarding, rich and colorful experience all by itself.
It is amply clear that Udaipur art traditions are alive and well even today.
Here are some of the vignettes:
Marble art on Udaipur streets. Jewlery box was a present from my daughter from her visit to Rajasthan
Marble artisanship, in particular, is practiced widely. Using marble from quarries around the city, men sit and hit the material with small hammers, then paint them with black oil. The results are marvellous. My daughter bought me a hand-made marble jewelry box (see pic above) when she visited Rajasthan. Totally delightful.
There are arftul stores and galleries everywhere. Below is the royal sun image in a gallery by the river. The seller approached me by the gate and cajoled me to walk into his gallery. I did not buy anything, but took this picture…
Royal sun motive also seen inside the palace in a streetside gallery
Everywhere Architectural Gems
Temples and decorated gates abound as you get close to Udaipur City Palace:
Decorated gate, Udaipur
I walked by the Vishnu Jagdish Temple, but did not get in as it was very crowded. I now understand I missed a great Udaipur experience, but nonetheless it was very impressive even looking at it on the outside. 
Jagdish Vishnu Temple
Gods at Every Corner
Every street corner, every niche in a wall are opportunities to install a small deity, put some garlands, stop for a minute and give reverence. Even the smallest figures demonstrate Udaipur art ingenuity.
Figures on outside temple walls – Top: maybe Bhagwan Shani Dev. Bottom: Indra’s Aspara.
Shiva avatar inside niche on Udaipur street near City Palace
Vishnu’s (or temple Swami’s?) feet in the lotus
Braham, Vishnu, Mahesh – a small figure by river.
Special thanks to my friend, Sachin Hardas, for attempting to identify the gods and goddesses above.
[It seems like identifying deities is a challenging task even for native Hindus… ]
At any rate, all these vignettes were but appetisers for the crown jewel – Udaipur’s City Palace…
Picture
See the other posts in this serial:
Udaipur on Rivers I – European air, Indian Majesty
Udaipur on Rivers III – Udaipur City Palace
Udaipur on Rivers IV – Lake Pichola Boat Ride
Under the general umbrella of Incredible India – Traveling India
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