Chapter 9 - Udai Bilas Palace

Udai Bilas Palace is not quite what one would expect for a palace. It is rather small and relatively modern. That said, it is quite a beautiful mansion beside Gaibsagar Lake. Inside the check-in area, a room that evokes an old fashioned smoking room with stuffed animal heads on the walls along with photos of important looking people at important looking events, we waited while someone came to check out papers and take us to our room. There was an antique look to the furniture and the objects in the room, a faded look to match the sepia toned photos on the wall. The man who finally came to register us into the palace was the owner of the palace, the present Maharawal. While we took care of the formalities, he talked to us of his family’s history, how his ancestor was one of the original Princes of India, and the only Prince who refused to sign documents of India’s independence from British rule. As palaces go, this one is fairly modern being only about 150 years old.

We then set off through a courtyard in which the Ek Thambia Mahal was in the centre, to reach our room. En route to our room we also saw the dining area off to the side. As we passed it, we were told that a light lunch was available from the kitchen. Our room was beautiful, even more beautiful was the view. We looked out onto Gaibsagar Lake and the small island, Bijayrajeshwar Temple, which we had noticed on driving into Dungarpur. We quickly dumped our bags and decided to do a bit of exploring before eating. We had three hours before we were to have Sachin take us to the old palace up in the hills.

The grounds in between the palace and the lake were very well kept with flowers, lawn and flowering bushes everywhere. Walking along the lakeside we came upon the palace’s swimming pool and a number of interesting statues. Deciding it was time to eat, we headed back into the palace to find that the dining hall didn’t have a roof over the main dining table which could easily seat thirty people. The table was made of marble and had a centre that was filled with water. Off to the side under a ceiling from which a row of chandeliers were suspended were a number of small tables. We had our lunch at the large central table under the sun.

With the meal done, we continued our tour of the grounds and then took a short walk down the road to see what we could discover. Just before leaving the property, we met this man who was busy carving stones for some project of the Prince. His family have been stone carvers for generations in service of the Maharawals.

Leaving the property for a short stroll, we headed away from the town, continuing down the country road. The road was paved and lined with trees in full leaf. Just outside the gates we passed what appeared to be an abandoned temple. I made plans to return here, perhaps for the late afternoon when we returned from our visit to the old palace.

We passed these ladies who were carrying fodder for farm animals dressed in their colourful work clothes. In front of the women was a young boy who was acting as shephard to a flock of sheep and goats. Now this is what I was hoping to see while in India, ordinary people living ordinary lives. This was how I had imagined India with scenes that told of life unchanged for centuries. These were the common people, not the rich landowners or the up-and-coming city folk trying hard to be Westerners, trying to be Americans in India.